Coheed and Cambria has always been one of my favorite bands. I dig the prog-rock, love their sound, and actually have become pretty invested in their wildly imaginative and indisputably epic science fiction saga covered in their lyrics. No World for Tomorrow, released in 2007, was incredible. Three years later saw Year of the Black Rainbow, and while it featured high production values and better quality, it was a disappointing, highly forgettable album.

I’m happy to report that their newest release, a dual album set called Ascension and Descension, respectively, is a return to everything that made the band good to begin with. The band explores a variety of sounds and styles, and the albums are fresh. Even the poppier, more catchy tunes are balanced with epic ballads and harder riffs, like Domino the Destitute, reminiscent of arguably their best songs ever, Welcome Home and No World for Tomorrow. These albums are a return to form, and if you’ve ever been into Coheed & Cambria at all, you should probably check this out. For my money, Descension is slightly stronger as a whole, but both albums are great.

I was also glad to see the story return, chronicling a prequel tale that sets the stage for the later chapters. You can scoff at stories told through lyrics, but reportedly, Mark Wahlberg is working on producing an adaptation of the bands’ story into a film called The Amory Wars.

For this innovative fusion of music and film, I’ll be there midnight release.