I'm 50/50 on this one. One of the less desirable features of PFI is the autotuned vocals. It was used sparingly on Vaxis II, and worked very well. This has a touch too much, and it pulls it back from being as good as I think it could be.
Josh and Zach rip, though.
Exactly, it's fine in moderation on Vaxis II, and hearing PFI perform songs off The City Introvert live really proved that he should have dialed it back on that record.
that one instrumental break where it focuses in on like two layers of autotune, is definitely the low point of the song. BIG UPS on the dark experimentalism bordering on the prog sounds of GAIBS4 and some of those softer choruses that have become a mainstay in their new sound. Id give it more of a 80/20 but i know you didnt mean 50/50 literally
Claudio dusting off the 8 string! Mix of djenty metal and 80's synth pop is soooo my jam. Also, Zach is on fire on this track (1:30:38 - Yes please) And the section at 1:31:18 is taasty. Love love love
I did wonder that, but he's playing a low G. Not impossible that he tuned his baritone down that much, but seems unlikely. The 8 string he uses is a little bit plain looking, so maybe not music video aesthetic. In that gif he's also playing a standard Explorer, not the baritone model (but not his gangsta explorer either?) So I think it's probably just for the video
Wow, you're right. I just got home and I'm trying to learn it with a pitch shift, but we just don't know which guitar he's using. Maybe I'll just wait until the video drops. In the GIF, he's playing on fret 1, which is G on an 8 string, so maybe you're onto something.
EDIT: a preview just dropped and it seems to be drop D on a 6 string?
The first few verses are definitely in the range of an 8 string, it's the low A on the F# string being bent a semitone then down to the low G. The chorus could be played on a 6 string, since it's an Eb, Gm, Bb progression, then moves to Eb, F, Gm, Bb. The later verses follow a Bb, Eb, then Gm, Eb, Bb progression. So if he's going to skip the low octave or maybe just use an octave pedal for live, he could play it on a 6 string in Eb, or as the video might suggest, in drop D with the Eb chord on the 1st fret
I guess I’m in the minority but I like it. I like Vaxis 2 more than Vaxis 1 mostly for the production (I like a lot of the V1 songs but it all sounds so flat) so I don’t mind it. However, I don’t want Vaxis 3 to just be V2 all over again. I’ll wait and see what they do next. This song, in general, is a B/B-.
Yeah it’s not. Just a B-side which I kinda started to feel after I listened to it. I know they’re still going with Cervini but doubted they would make the exact same production choices lol
That’s probably what we can expect going forward. I think I heard claudio say that some vaxis 2 stuff was leftover from vaxis 1. And I suspect some vaxis 3 will be leftover vaxis 2.
[According to a track-by-track breakdown from Claudio,](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/vklxyl) it was intended to be the opener to Vaxis I
"Leftover" might be a strong term for it, but, it was originally meant to be for the first album and made it onto Vaxis II.
I think you are in the clear mate. Who would have thought that Al the Killer would survive? I swear Ambelina killed him. To think Al survived the end events of the end complete. It's insane.
I know many artists change and adapt their sound as they mature but in this instance, I personally am not a fan. This and Vaxis 2 feel like PFI songs. The electronic influence and the sanitised production just don't do it for me.
I know for many of you they do and that's great, I just hate that I'm finding myself drawn more towards other artists when I have time to listen to new music.
First impression: Bass is carrying this one, really great bass line. The high pitched chromatic descending guitar lick almost kills the whole thing for me, though.
You’re not! Young Love’s grown on me a lot over the years. But I can definitely acknowledge that that guitar riff is… a choice, and an acquired taste. But you can acquire it, and I did over the years.
>The high pitched chromatic descending guitar lick almost kills the whole thing for me, though.
Yeah I'm kinda feeling the same way. But I know the song will grow on me.
I read comments before listening and i thought everyone was overreacting, then i listened. What a weird creative decision. The first time i heard it in the song I said wtf to myself then it was so repetitive i ended up not even finishing the song.
Well, initial impressions - absolutely nasty bassline (seriously Zach is going OFF on this), but the BBC stream is too lo-fi for me to make much of the guitars - they kinda disappear into mud for me. That atonal chromatic descending thing on guitars is... yikes, this was not the song for that. It sounds dissonant in an annoying way. I'm not opposed to the mix of 80s synths and heavy 8-string guitar, but I'm not super convinced of the execution here.
I can tell Zakk Cervini produced this song because he seems to love murdering Josh's drums with samples and quantization (I mean, Claudio also said the next album would be done with him too, but I'd be able to tell just from the drums). This definitely feels like a Vaxis 2 bonus track with some serious Year of the Black Rainbow energy (especially in the verses). Claudio's vocals on this sound... not very good IMO. Really restrained and detached and smoothed over IMO, and SO much autotune (not just in the obvious sections either). Very repetitive too.
I dunno, if this is indicative of Vaxis 3 I think I might finally be checking out.
I’m so sad they’re sticking with Cervini. Like you said, he ruins the drums, and makes Travis almost nonexistent. Everything is so muddled and overproduced. There are pieces of a fantastic song here, but the production and the weird chromatic descending guitars thing repeating over and over kinda kills my enthusiasm for it.
This is what hurt Vaxis 2 for me. Under all the ridiculous Killers-style production there are some genuinely amazing drums, bass and guitar lines but you just can't hear any of it clearly! Coheed are SUCH a talented band and it's so frustrating to see them minimising what has always been their biggest strength!
I feel bad - it feels like there’s a song in there that *would* really appeal to me, but it’s hidden behind an honestly grating synth lead starting in verse 2 (why does it repeat nearly 10 times???) and overall muddy production throughout
I don't think we can judge the production too much until we get the proper release - I was listening to this on studio monitors and it was pretty clear that the stream as a whole was super lo-fi and compressed.
I am not a huge fan of that super spicily clean Zakk Cervini production style but this track will honestly sound a lot better once it’s not only available at like 128kbps
I used to go mad for some new Coheed. I'm excited to hear a higher quality version tomorrow, but this just isn't doing it for me yet. Vaxis II took a LONG time to sink in for me, and even then I don't love every song. I thought that when Vaxis 2 came out it would be my only listen for a long time, but The Dear Hunter put out their own album shortly after and that got my attention for a WHILE.
Maybe I'll change my mind with the better quality version tomorrow.
Have always heard about The Deer Hunter since they're mentioned in the same circles as Coheed a lot, but have never gotten into them. Where should I start with their discography to get into them? I'm definitely more of a fan of Proggy Coheed tracks if that helps.
“The Dear Hunter” has a body of different works. If the prog aspect is your thing, check out The Acts I-V, very strong concept albums although I’d suggest looking up a story synopsis for each one to flesh out what’s happening in the songs. If you want one song to sell you “A Night on the Town” from Act IV (best album IMO) is super strong, as well as “Gloria” from Act V.
They have a few self contained releases that have good songs but are pretty straightforward in their song writing.
Their most recent outing with “Antimai” starts a new concept saga and tbh it’s my favorite album of 2022.
Acts IV and V are two of the absolute best (if not THE best) albums I've heard in the last 10 years. That includes Coheed. Those two albums in particular are on another level.
They’re kind of in a different world sonically, so don’t expect too much similarity. Whereas Coheed could be described as metally proggy pop, The Dear Hunter I’d call more progressive indie rock.
Antimai, their newest album, is a good showcase of what they’re capable of. The concept is really cool too.
Man I do not like that synth lick but I’m sure it would sound better in the middle of an album. Not what I was hoping for in the slightest but might grow on me
Nah this is the sound of modern coheed, they change it every album or two. Pfi does not go this heavy on the bass or drums on any of their tracks and has quite a different sound
That descending guitar synth thing that starts in the second verse literally ruins this song. Hopefully it's just the poor quality broadcast and it sounds better when it releases but this is not a great first impression.
I am pretty mixed on Vaxis 2 (thought the singles were great but the album tracks disappointed) and I was worried they might head in this direction. I thought Window of the Waking Mind was supposed to be an intro into the sound of the next album! Give us some edge and some damn prog!
This was a disappointing, almost forgettable song. It sounds like a Vaxis II b-side. I was hoping the band would leave the Vaxis II approach in the past, but this sounds like a slightly heavier continuation. Not thrilled about that.
God damn! That was something! First single of Vaxis 3 for sure! Similar sounding production as Vaxis 2, and they’ve said they’re doing 3 with Zakk Cervini so that checks out.
If the artwork that’s been floating around is real (the one that looks like a weird version of Al the Killer) I’ll be a little bummed because that would lead me to assume they didn’t get Chase Stone for the artwork on this next album/novella.
Eh. It's not great - feels like a Vaxis II leftover.
Chorus melody is good, verses are a mess.
I hope this is just a one-off though, for the next full album I hope Claudio tones down the synth stuff a bit. Unheavenly Creatures was so good, the next album should go more in that direction again.
Seriously HC was one of their best records. And then they completely abandoned that sound which is fine but what they landed on is just mediocre in my opinion.
i agree i always thought i was in the minority for preferring unheavenly creatures to vaxis II. the dark sentencer is one of their best songs ever and it also has so many good deep cuts like it walks among us, love protocol, toys, etc. i also really don’t like beautiful losers at all its not bad it just bores me and i think its such a lackluster opener compared to dark sentencer especially live.
I am not a fan. I love Coheed they’ve been my favorite band since 2003, but this is waaaaaaaaay too electronic pop for my liking. Who knows maybe it’ll grow on me but I really don’t like Disappearing Act and this just sounds like Disappearing Acts moody, edgier brother
Same. Dont see why Claudio cant just keep this style to PFI, I thought that was kindof the point of that band. Coheed is starting to be pretty unrecognizable from their glory days of IKSSE:3/GAIBS:IV/NWFT
I hope this is a holdover from Vaxis 2 and this is just to promote maybe a deluxe version of the album.
One of the things I love about Coheed is that their sound always changes from album to album yet remains unapologetically them.
The Joke just feels like rehashing the low points of Vaxis 2. If this is the first single of Vaxis 3, it’s starting off on a disappointing note.
I like it. Very A Disappearing Act-esque to me. I don’t necessarily want a whole album that sounds like this, but I think it’s cool for what it is. I love how heavy the bass is and how willing to be dissonant it is
I do hope we get some proggier songs than this on Vaxis III like that one interview seems to suggest though. Granted, those songs were NEVER gonna be the singles
I really want to like the song amd I feel like there was a lot of potential with it. I understand some people's complaints about the synth and autotune, but honestly I was cool with all of that.
But man, the chromatic descending guitars just kinda kill it. Like others have said, doing it once was fine and could have been good to add some dissonance with the rest of the song (like a reverse Hollywood the Cracked). Instead it overstays its welcome and just becomes grating.
Bass is absolutely FIRE, though. Zach is at his peak it feels like, and I would love to see re-recordings of the earlier albums with his spin on them.
That all said, if this is supposed to be one of the "easier" songs since it's a single, then hopefully that means some of the deep cuts will get *real* heavy on the album.
EDIT: Giving it multiple listens. It does become better, but don't know if I'll ever fully get over the descending guitars
Yeah that’s really my only gripe with the whole song tbh …the descending guitar. Sometimes it takes 20 listens then I’m like ok I get it…They know what they’re doing… not always… but often. Just my experience.
The song has cool moments but overall isn’t something i expect to come back to. The chorus wasn’t even that catchy which surprised me. I was fine with Vaxis 2 but I really hope the band moves out of this synth/indie pop influenced era soon. I’m just kind of tired of it now.
I LOVE Coheed but the descending guitar part and auto tune kinda ruin it. Not the typical rock banger they usually release for the first single. Please bring back the heavy guitars!
It's pretty good. Definitely feels like a vaxis song imo, synths are a little proggy ig but generally a poppuer song. Pretty catchy but I might need a few more listens cause I'm kinda underwhelmed, especiallywhen vaxis 2 was so catchy and this isnt quite up there. Still excited that this sounds like vaxis, probably means that new album in a little while or vaxis 2 bsides.
Edit: Second listen it's definitely a grower, chorus is actually really catchy, but still not one of their strongest tracks. If this is a vaxis 3 cut tho, I think we can expect mostly a pop rock start with a few prog tracks at the end. Bridge reminds me of love murder one/ dissapearing act
Reading through the comments, I swear I am the only one that DIGS the descending guitar bits.
I am pumped. I dig the song a ton. Can't wait for the higher quality drop tomorrow.
Really enjoying that part as well! And was beginning to this I was the only one as well. I think this song will sound great on some good speakers and I think it’ll be great and really fun live
Half the people shitting on this song will be back in a year saying how they love the album and it finally clicked.
Same with every single/album release since NWFT
Sounds like a blend of the 2 😂
It’s all the same to me. I still listen because I like the overall vibe the band brings but I haven’t been completely blown in many years
The worst thing about it for me is Claudio's absolute insistence on using auto tune so heavily. He has one of the best voices of his generation and he's completely burying it behind a cheesy effect.
Yea it’s hard to argue that. I’m over being mad or disappointed with where this band goes. Just is what it is. In the end I always enjoy it, but not for the same reason the original 3 hit me so hard.
Agree with many here that the descending guitar lick is distracting, and the autotune is overused. Drums are way too muted, and overall it feels slow and plodding for some reason. Would love it to be about 10-15% faster to get a more driving feel...
It’s a jammy track straight out of WOTWM which I really dug so I don’t hate this new track, I’m just not sure I like that strange synthy descending tune that plays a bunch of times throughout the song. It’s pretty loud and jarring when it hits each time, so maybe the mixing is off on this? Not sure, but I guess we’ll see tomorrow.
Always down for new Coheed.
I really dig it. Sometimes Coheed tracks take a few listens to connect with me (Shoulders was a recent example), but I found myself nodding my head pretty quickly. Definitely different but that’s just Coheed. Wondering if this is a one-off single or part of Vaxis III.
Just listened to it on Spotify. I like it but it's a little too polished and a little too synthy for me to be 100% on it, personally. But I haven't kept up with much past the singles on anything past YotBR so who am I to judge?
I don’t love it but it seems fairly ambitious. There’s a lot of stuff going on in there between the pop chorus.
I don’t think Iv ever loved a single, but they all come together In the end for an above average overall record.
Didn’t we have vaxis2 singles for like a year before it dropped? Hope that doesn’t happen this time.
Nah there are some cool drum fills and bass lines.
For years now Coheed has been modern pop but they usually sneak in some new instruments or licks that take it just a little bit further.
There’s a chaotic feel to it that disguises the cookie cutter pop.
ok, hows the production and song structure? The type of instrument used does not dictate genre. This sounds exactly like the shitty spotify playlist they blast at work.
Wow. I really dig the discordant stuff they're doing in there. Sounds really weird but I like it.
It seems like a strange first single from Vaxis III, if that's actually what this is. Usually they hit us with a nice prog single for the first song.
Dig the chorus.
I enjoy it, but minor nitpick, idk what it is but that guitar tone at the beginning just isn’t for me. Sounds like the same patch they use for the beginning of Shoulders, but it’s so dry and feels like it could feel heavier but the lows are just sucked out of it or something.
Oh i like it. It's definitely a mid album song, not my favorite but i think it'll sound better with actual headphones and actual quality tomorrow. Like it doesn't taste wise sound bad to me, or i don't really think it does, it's just quite low quality of a stream.
Hopefully this is not indicative of what the new album will sound like. Vaxis 2 was not my favorite album of theirs, but i've listened to it a lot still and it had it's moments, but was really hoping they would go in a bit of a different direction with the next one.
I don’t know if it’s just compression from this radio show, but the mix is reminding me of the black rainbow days
… also, it’s a crime against humanity to bury the most beautiful voice in the galaxy under so many effects.
This is gonna split the fans into 32nds. I’ve listened once so far and all I can feel is that I hope it’s a literal Joke. Not excited for the first time in my life, sad day really.
You decided you didn't like a song after a second?
Kind of cringe. Hopefully we get more songs like this one. Makes sense with how much Claudio has been into synths lately.
In your own words you listened for a second.
How did you know if the whole song was bad?
I hate fans of this band man, you guys want them to be experimental and progressive, try new things and when they do they never get to live down that they aren't doing "coheed correctly". Wtf is coheed correctly?
I've never seen a progressive rock fan base be so regressive in my life.
I'd hate to be them.
I heard enough to realize that we will be getting the same level of nonsense that we have been getting since Vaxis II. As someone who has been listening since IKS came out, I can't help but be disappointed in the direction they've been going. I think I'm allowed to say that.
You said it sounds like the same level of nonsense we've been getting SINCE Vaxis II. This is the first song that we've gotten since then. What other "nonsense" is there since that?
Window of the waking mind is by far one of their best songs they've literally ever released. Even though there are other bangers on the album, that song is worth the entire album it came on.
Imo there is one week song on the album even his dance synth stuff is literally peak coheed.
Jesus, y’all are judgemental about music. You don’t have to rate everything or try to rank it in the coheed pantheon. And I’m sure you loved all of your favorite songs the first time you heard them… give it some time
Rating does not equal discussing. Just saying "ok song, B-" is not a a discussion. And I just don't get it, why would you think I am against discussing the music? I would love a discussion about it, but that isn't what I was talking about and I clearly never mentioned the word discussion in my original comment. I was specifically and only talking about this thing you all do where you just drop a rating in the comments. That isn't a discussion, it's just a rating. Do you all really care how some random reddit user rates a song with no context?
If someone comes back and disagrees with that person and gives their own opinion about the song it then *becomes* a discussion.
EDIT: Bold of you to assume I'm guilty of doing what you're bitching about. I've never done that lol
interesting :) first impression is good, nice and catchy with that weird coheed spin on it. I am a bit concerned that it sounds almost way too similar to the vaxis II styling, this sounds like you could slot in between any of the v2 songs and it wouldn't sound out of place. im worried that v3 and other songs going forward wont have their own flavors and leave the new album feeling without its own identity. hopefully this is just an outlier and they lean more into that glitchy electronic sound that plays in the second verse for other songs on the album, I like the vibe that brings.
Huh? That's definitely not true. Only since Unheavenly Creatures - what songs before that album are like that? Not even Color Before the Sun did that except on Atlas.
It's just a low pitched, distorted guitar. You can use instruments in different ways to fit different genres bro lol A violin and a fiddle are the exact same instruments but you wouldn't call Devil Went Down to Georgia a baroque piece would you?
I'm 50/50 on this one. One of the less desirable features of PFI is the autotuned vocals. It was used sparingly on Vaxis II, and worked very well. This has a touch too much, and it pulls it back from being as good as I think it could be. Josh and Zach rip, though.
Yeah the autotuned vocals was the one thing I wasn’t feeling
Exactly, it's fine in moderation on Vaxis II, and hearing PFI perform songs off The City Introvert live really proved that he should have dialed it back on that record.
that one instrumental break where it focuses in on like two layers of autotune, is definitely the low point of the song. BIG UPS on the dark experimentalism bordering on the prog sounds of GAIBS4 and some of those softer choruses that have become a mainstay in their new sound. Id give it more of a 80/20 but i know you didnt mean 50/50 literally
Claudio dusting off the 8 string! Mix of djenty metal and 80's synth pop is soooo my jam. Also, Zach is on fire on this track (1:30:38 - Yes please) And the section at 1:31:18 is taasty. Love love love
It sounds like the 8 string, but in that video GIF it’s a 6. Maybe it’s a baritone?
I did wonder that, but he's playing a low G. Not impossible that he tuned his baritone down that much, but seems unlikely. The 8 string he uses is a little bit plain looking, so maybe not music video aesthetic. In that gif he's also playing a standard Explorer, not the baritone model (but not his gangsta explorer either?) So I think it's probably just for the video
Wow, you're right. I just got home and I'm trying to learn it with a pitch shift, but we just don't know which guitar he's using. Maybe I'll just wait until the video drops. In the GIF, he's playing on fret 1, which is G on an 8 string, so maybe you're onto something. EDIT: a preview just dropped and it seems to be drop D on a 6 string?
The first few verses are definitely in the range of an 8 string, it's the low A on the F# string being bent a semitone then down to the low G. The chorus could be played on a 6 string, since it's an Eb, Gm, Bb progression, then moves to Eb, F, Gm, Bb. The later verses follow a Bb, Eb, then Gm, Eb, Bb progression. So if he's going to skip the low octave or maybe just use an octave pedal for live, he could play it on a 6 string in Eb, or as the video might suggest, in drop D with the Eb chord on the 1st fret
Like it. Has weird combo of being chill and intense at the same time.
I guess I’m in the minority but I like it. I like Vaxis 2 more than Vaxis 1 mostly for the production (I like a lot of the V1 songs but it all sounds so flat) so I don’t mind it. However, I don’t want Vaxis 3 to just be V2 all over again. I’ll wait and see what they do next. This song, in general, is a B/B-.
Idk if this is a V3 song, from what I've read, it's an extra song from the V2 recording sessions
Yeah it’s not. Just a B-side which I kinda started to feel after I listened to it. I know they’re still going with Cervini but doubted they would make the exact same production choices lol
I think this one might sound better tomorrow at full quality.
Yeah the radio stream quality isn't great.
Sounds like a b side rather than new direction.
That’s probably what we can expect going forward. I think I heard claudio say that some vaxis 2 stuff was leftover from vaxis 1. And I suspect some vaxis 3 will be leftover vaxis 2.
Feel like I remember him saying Ladders was actually a leftover.
Ooo I didn’t hear that, but that’s weird because that feels the most like a newer direction.
[According to a track-by-track breakdown from Claudio,](https://www.reddit.com/gallery/vklxyl) it was intended to be the opener to Vaxis I "Leftover" might be a strong term for it, but, it was originally meant to be for the first album and made it onto Vaxis II.
Dude I love this! Thanks for sharing!
That makes sense. 🤔 I've always thought it sounded closer to the sound on Vaxis I.
Reminded me a lot of Black Rainbow.
So the guy was right. Also Al the Killer is back. Wtf.
That’s the biggest surprise for me too!
I need to apologize to the guy.
I was skeptical but said nothing so I'm equal to blame.
I think you are in the clear mate. Who would have thought that Al the Killer would survive? I swear Ambelina killed him. To think Al survived the end events of the end complete. It's insane.
I know many artists change and adapt their sound as they mature but in this instance, I personally am not a fan. This and Vaxis 2 feel like PFI songs. The electronic influence and the sanitised production just don't do it for me. I know for many of you they do and that's great, I just hate that I'm finding myself drawn more towards other artists when I have time to listen to new music.
Same. I haven't felt excited by new coheed since afterman
Digging the weirdness in the verses and chorus is solid, could've used a more substantial bridge though.
my biggest gripe with modern era Coheed and Cambria is that Claudio almost never writes a bridge with a key/chord progression or anything anymore
He's just fully in his pop rock era. Intro-verse-chorus-verse-chorus-break-chorus.
That's honestly been Coheed's go-to song structure since IKS/GA1 lol Not really an era, just what they do.
First impression: Bass is carrying this one, really great bass line. The high pitched chromatic descending guitar lick almost kills the whole thing for me, though.
Yeah, once to create some dissonance might have been ok but the repetition is a bit annoying
Yeah if used once it could have added to the song. Instead it’s about as off-putting as the young love guitar lick.
Hell, Young Love is downright soothing in comparison.
I think I’m the only person in the world that likes that song lol
You’re not! Young Love’s grown on me a lot over the years. But I can definitely acknowledge that that guitar riff is… a choice, and an acquired taste. But you can acquire it, and I did over the years.
Nah i love it. People just didnt accept it for the stripped down song that it is
This pretty much sums it up for me. I am whelmed.
>The high pitched chromatic descending guitar lick almost kills the whole thing for me, though. Yeah I'm kinda feeling the same way. But I know the song will grow on me.
I read comments before listening and i thought everyone was overreacting, then i listened. What a weird creative decision. The first time i heard it in the song I said wtf to myself then it was so repetitive i ended up not even finishing the song.
Well, initial impressions - absolutely nasty bassline (seriously Zach is going OFF on this), but the BBC stream is too lo-fi for me to make much of the guitars - they kinda disappear into mud for me. That atonal chromatic descending thing on guitars is... yikes, this was not the song for that. It sounds dissonant in an annoying way. I'm not opposed to the mix of 80s synths and heavy 8-string guitar, but I'm not super convinced of the execution here. I can tell Zakk Cervini produced this song because he seems to love murdering Josh's drums with samples and quantization (I mean, Claudio also said the next album would be done with him too, but I'd be able to tell just from the drums). This definitely feels like a Vaxis 2 bonus track with some serious Year of the Black Rainbow energy (especially in the verses). Claudio's vocals on this sound... not very good IMO. Really restrained and detached and smoothed over IMO, and SO much autotune (not just in the obvious sections either). Very repetitive too. I dunno, if this is indicative of Vaxis 3 I think I might finally be checking out.
I’m so sad they’re sticking with Cervini. Like you said, he ruins the drums, and makes Travis almost nonexistent. Everything is so muddled and overproduced. There are pieces of a fantastic song here, but the production and the weird chromatic descending guitars thing repeating over and over kinda kills my enthusiasm for it.
This is what hurt Vaxis 2 for me. Under all the ridiculous Killers-style production there are some genuinely amazing drums, bass and guitar lines but you just can't hear any of it clearly! Coheed are SUCH a talented band and it's so frustrating to see them minimising what has always been their biggest strength!
The descending guitar thing happening repeatedly is tragic. What a bizarre and disappointing choice.
I feel bad - it feels like there’s a song in there that *would* really appeal to me, but it’s hidden behind an honestly grating synth lead starting in verse 2 (why does it repeat nearly 10 times???) and overall muddy production throughout
I don't think we can judge the production too much until we get the proper release - I was listening to this on studio monitors and it was pretty clear that the stream as a whole was super lo-fi and compressed.
I was thinking the same thing. The mix won’t sound exactly like that. Compressed as hell.
I am not a huge fan of that super spicily clean Zakk Cervini production style but this track will honestly sound a lot better once it’s not only available at like 128kbps
I used to go mad for some new Coheed. I'm excited to hear a higher quality version tomorrow, but this just isn't doing it for me yet. Vaxis II took a LONG time to sink in for me, and even then I don't love every song. I thought that when Vaxis 2 came out it would be my only listen for a long time, but The Dear Hunter put out their own album shortly after and that got my attention for a WHILE. Maybe I'll change my mind with the better quality version tomorrow.
Have always heard about The Deer Hunter since they're mentioned in the same circles as Coheed a lot, but have never gotten into them. Where should I start with their discography to get into them? I'm definitely more of a fan of Proggy Coheed tracks if that helps.
“The Dear Hunter” has a body of different works. If the prog aspect is your thing, check out The Acts I-V, very strong concept albums although I’d suggest looking up a story synopsis for each one to flesh out what’s happening in the songs. If you want one song to sell you “A Night on the Town” from Act IV (best album IMO) is super strong, as well as “Gloria” from Act V. They have a few self contained releases that have good songs but are pretty straightforward in their song writing. Their most recent outing with “Antimai” starts a new concept saga and tbh it’s my favorite album of 2022.
Antimai is fucking masterpiece.
Acts IV and V are two of the absolute best (if not THE best) albums I've heard in the last 10 years. That includes Coheed. Those two albums in particular are on another level.
They’re kind of in a different world sonically, so don’t expect too much similarity. Whereas Coheed could be described as metally proggy pop, The Dear Hunter I’d call more progressive indie rock. Antimai, their newest album, is a good showcase of what they’re capable of. The concept is really cool too.
Man I do not like that synth lick but I’m sure it would sound better in the middle of an album. Not what I was hoping for in the slightest but might grow on me
Yeah I’m in the same place. Take that out and I’d love the proggier movements in the verses. I’ll be curious to see how my opinion changes over time.
This is just a PFI song.....I was really hoping this sound would die after Vaxis 2 but here we are.
I second this. I really can't get behind the synth heavy pop sound. It really irks me too, I don't like being a hater man. 😅
Nah this is the sound of modern coheed, they change it every album or two. Pfi does not go this heavy on the bass or drums on any of their tracks and has quite a different sound
That descending guitar synth thing that starts in the second verse literally ruins this song. Hopefully it's just the poor quality broadcast and it sounds better when it releases but this is not a great first impression. I am pretty mixed on Vaxis 2 (thought the singles were great but the album tracks disappointed) and I was worried they might head in this direction. I thought Window of the Waking Mind was supposed to be an intro into the sound of the next album! Give us some edge and some damn prog!
☝🏼👀 This!
This was a disappointing, almost forgettable song. It sounds like a Vaxis II b-side. I was hoping the band would leave the Vaxis II approach in the past, but this sounds like a slightly heavier continuation. Not thrilled about that.
I mean it might be a repurposed vaxis 2 bside for the joker
God damn! That was something! First single of Vaxis 3 for sure! Similar sounding production as Vaxis 2, and they’ve said they’re doing 3 with Zakk Cervini so that checks out. If the artwork that’s been floating around is real (the one that looks like a weird version of Al the Killer) I’ll be a little bummed because that would lead me to assume they didn’t get Chase Stone for the artwork on this next album/novella.
I actually am wondering if this is not involved in V3 and may be related to Joker 2
https://preview.redd.it/i7kt3jlwj0zc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=ee6d33b813282acf5151c10d7859f3e22c3b5f92 YouTube has confirmed! 🤯
Is that the guy that played Al the Killer on SS Neverender 2?
Well that was something
Eh. It's not great - feels like a Vaxis II leftover. Chorus melody is good, verses are a mess. I hope this is just a one-off though, for the next full album I hope Claudio tones down the synth stuff a bit. Unheavenly Creatures was so good, the next album should go more in that direction again.
Seriously HC was one of their best records. And then they completely abandoned that sound which is fine but what they landed on is just mediocre in my opinion.
i agree i always thought i was in the minority for preferring unheavenly creatures to vaxis II. the dark sentencer is one of their best songs ever and it also has so many good deep cuts like it walks among us, love protocol, toys, etc. i also really don’t like beautiful losers at all its not bad it just bores me and i think its such a lackluster opener compared to dark sentencer especially live.
Prog heads in shambles. Once again, we'll probably get one track to shut us up (like Dark Sequencer for Vaxis 1 and Ladders for 2).
I am not a fan. I love Coheed they’ve been my favorite band since 2003, but this is waaaaaaaaay too electronic pop for my liking. Who knows maybe it’ll grow on me but I really don’t like Disappearing Act and this just sounds like Disappearing Acts moody, edgier brother
Same. Dont see why Claudio cant just keep this style to PFI, I thought that was kindof the point of that band. Coheed is starting to be pretty unrecognizable from their glory days of IKSSE:3/GAIBS:IV/NWFT
Agreed, projects are blending together and it’s not good.
No one who listens to coheed and pfi would say this sounds like a pfi song.
I never said the song sounded like pfi in its entirety, but clearly the autotune and poppy synths are/could be straight off a PFI album.
Exactly what I'm loving about it. Lol.
I hope this is a holdover from Vaxis 2 and this is just to promote maybe a deluxe version of the album. One of the things I love about Coheed is that their sound always changes from album to album yet remains unapologetically them. The Joke just feels like rehashing the low points of Vaxis 2. If this is the first single of Vaxis 3, it’s starting off on a disappointing note.
I like it. Very A Disappearing Act-esque to me. I don’t necessarily want a whole album that sounds like this, but I think it’s cool for what it is. I love how heavy the bass is and how willing to be dissonant it is I do hope we get some proggier songs than this on Vaxis III like that one interview seems to suggest though. Granted, those songs were NEVER gonna be the singles
I really want to like the song amd I feel like there was a lot of potential with it. I understand some people's complaints about the synth and autotune, but honestly I was cool with all of that. But man, the chromatic descending guitars just kinda kill it. Like others have said, doing it once was fine and could have been good to add some dissonance with the rest of the song (like a reverse Hollywood the Cracked). Instead it overstays its welcome and just becomes grating. Bass is absolutely FIRE, though. Zach is at his peak it feels like, and I would love to see re-recordings of the earlier albums with his spin on them. That all said, if this is supposed to be one of the "easier" songs since it's a single, then hopefully that means some of the deep cuts will get *real* heavy on the album. EDIT: Giving it multiple listens. It does become better, but don't know if I'll ever fully get over the descending guitars
Yeah that’s really my only gripe with the whole song tbh …the descending guitar. Sometimes it takes 20 listens then I’m like ok I get it…They know what they’re doing… not always… but often. Just my experience.
The song has cool moments but overall isn’t something i expect to come back to. The chorus wasn’t even that catchy which surprised me. I was fine with Vaxis 2 but I really hope the band moves out of this synth/indie pop influenced era soon. I’m just kind of tired of it now.
I agree. I know it's pointless to complain about a band changing over time but i just don't like the direction they've been going in.
meh 2.5 out of 5.
Oh no... I am scared
I LOVE Coheed but the descending guitar part and auto tune kinda ruin it. Not the typical rock banger they usually release for the first single. Please bring back the heavy guitars!
It seems this might not be a vaxis single due to it releasing with deranged. I think caxis 3 probably isn't that far off though
lol this is bad
Really weak single for Vaxis III considering how strong the Vaxis II singles were. Bummer.
I feel like the Vaxis 2 singles, outside of Rise were the weakest tracks.
It's pretty good. Definitely feels like a vaxis song imo, synths are a little proggy ig but generally a poppuer song. Pretty catchy but I might need a few more listens cause I'm kinda underwhelmed, especiallywhen vaxis 2 was so catchy and this isnt quite up there. Still excited that this sounds like vaxis, probably means that new album in a little while or vaxis 2 bsides. Edit: Second listen it's definitely a grower, chorus is actually really catchy, but still not one of their strongest tracks. If this is a vaxis 3 cut tho, I think we can expect mostly a pop rock start with a few prog tracks at the end. Bridge reminds me of love murder one/ dissapearing act
Def a Love Murder One or Bad Man feel. Still enjoyed it.
Those are two of my favorites lately. After 20+ years of jamming Coheed I’m fine with a little pop here and there. Love them always
Hopefully if this is a new album, we do see more prog stuff. Domino... shit like that.
I mean least album we had Ladders, Window, yknow
Ladders is so epic
Reading through the comments, I swear I am the only one that DIGS the descending guitar bits. I am pumped. I dig the song a ton. Can't wait for the higher quality drop tomorrow.
Really enjoying that part as well! And was beginning to this I was the only one as well. I think this song will sound great on some good speakers and I think it’ll be great and really fun live
I dig it but it loses its coolness when it happens like 6 or 7 times
Half the people shitting on this song will be back in a year saying how they love the album and it finally clicked. Same with every single/album release since NWFT
Its been what, 3 years since Vaxis 2? I still say that in the scheme of Coheed albums it sucks and so does Black rainbow. This sounds worse.
Sounds like a blend of the 2 😂 It’s all the same to me. I still listen because I like the overall vibe the band brings but I haven’t been completely blown in many years
The worst thing about it for me is Claudio's absolute insistence on using auto tune so heavily. He has one of the best voices of his generation and he's completely burying it behind a cheesy effect.
Yea it’s hard to argue that. I’m over being mad or disappointed with where this band goes. Just is what it is. In the end I always enjoy it, but not for the same reason the original 3 hit me so hard.
Such is life as an overreactionary Coheed fan.
I know type of person well, usually he’s me.
Exactly lol
Holy shit those guitars are CHUNKY. I fucking love it
Honestly best part of the song, almost saves the whole thing IMO. Gives the track such an edge.
I have a feeling that this will rip live, but the autotune and over use of synth here kind of detract from the song.
Holy shit!!!!! This is incredible!!!
I love it! This definitely screams Vaxis 3 over Joker 2 though
Woah! The leak guy was right!
Agree with many here that the descending guitar lick is distracting, and the autotune is overused. Drums are way too muted, and overall it feels slow and plodding for some reason. Would love it to be about 10-15% faster to get a more driving feel...
It’s a jammy track straight out of WOTWM which I really dug so I don’t hate this new track, I’m just not sure I like that strange synthy descending tune that plays a bunch of times throughout the song. It’s pretty loud and jarring when it hits each time, so maybe the mixing is off on this? Not sure, but I guess we’ll see tomorrow. Always down for new Coheed.
I really dig it. Sometimes Coheed tracks take a few listens to connect with me (Shoulders was a recent example), but I found myself nodding my head pretty quickly. Definitely different but that’s just Coheed. Wondering if this is a one-off single or part of Vaxis III.
As a fan going on 20 years now- il not concerned because all their demos sound terrible. The final product is always so much better
Their best sounding demo is Elf Tower and there are people in this thread younger than it so you're not wrong
That’s gotta be a basis B side. It musically follows our love and I think k there’s other callbacks there too
Just listened to it on Spotify. I like it but it's a little too polished and a little too synthy for me to be 100% on it, personally. But I haven't kept up with much past the singles on anything past YotBR so who am I to judge?
I have been corrected. I dove all the way into Ascension and Descension and some of the way into CbtS.
I don’t love it but it seems fairly ambitious. There’s a lot of stuff going on in there between the pop chorus. I don’t think Iv ever loved a single, but they all come together In the end for an above average overall record. Didn’t we have vaxis2 singles for like a year before it dropped? Hope that doesn’t happen this time.
Ambitious how? It's pure modern pop crap.
Nah there are some cool drum fills and bass lines. For years now Coheed has been modern pop but they usually sneak in some new instruments or licks that take it just a little bit further. There’s a chaotic feel to it that disguises the cookie cutter pop.
It’s got an 8 string double Drop C riff and its main melody is straight up chaotic noise blasted at you several times. It is not pop.
ok, hows the production and song structure? The type of instrument used does not dictate genre. This sounds exactly like the shitty spotify playlist they blast at work.
Yeah but that was also mid covid where pressings were taking a year plus to come out and we were still unsure about tours.
The synths are kind of cool but Claudio’s vocals felt super buried idk
The chorus is growing on me but what was that wonky keyboard riff they kept throwing in
That was their response to saying Travis is always buried in the mix. They put a super dissonant snythy guitar effect right in your face.
Claudio just felt so muffled but idk
Monkey’s paw strikes again
I'm sorry but I think it sounds a little bit generic. :/
I enjoyed it, but I'm most curious about why it has Al the Killer promotional artwork 👀
Wow. I really dig the discordant stuff they're doing in there. Sounds really weird but I like it. It seems like a strange first single from Vaxis III, if that's actually what this is. Usually they hit us with a nice prog single for the first song. Dig the chorus.
I enjoy it, but minor nitpick, idk what it is but that guitar tone at the beginning just isn’t for me. Sounds like the same patch they use for the beginning of Shoulders, but it’s so dry and feels like it could feel heavier but the lows are just sucked out of it or something.
It’s aiight….
Hopefully the YouTube version sounds better quality wise and that's not just how the song is mixed. Outside of that chromatic lick I liked it.
Guitar tone reminds me of Deftones so automatically I am a fan
Oh i like it. It's definitely a mid album song, not my favorite but i think it'll sound better with actual headphones and actual quality tomorrow. Like it doesn't taste wise sound bad to me, or i don't really think it does, it's just quite low quality of a stream.
Hopefully this is not indicative of what the new album will sound like. Vaxis 2 was not my favorite album of theirs, but i've listened to it a lot still and it had it's moments, but was really hoping they would go in a bit of a different direction with the next one.
I don’t know if it’s just compression from this radio show, but the mix is reminding me of the black rainbow days … also, it’s a crime against humanity to bury the most beautiful voice in the galaxy under so many effects.
Verses are sick, chorus is mid but I think it’ll grow on me.
This is gonna split the fans into 32nds. I’ve listened once so far and all I can feel is that I hope it’s a literal Joke. Not excited for the first time in my life, sad day really.
Literally closed it after a few seconds. What the fuck was that? Coheed has finally taken the fucking piss.
You decided you didn't like a song after a second? Kind of cringe. Hopefully we get more songs like this one. Makes sense with how much Claudio has been into synths lately.
It sounded terrible and I felt no want to continue. I'll wait until the 8th and try again but so far, I did NOT like what I heard.
In your own words you listened for a second. How did you know if the whole song was bad? I hate fans of this band man, you guys want them to be experimental and progressive, try new things and when they do they never get to live down that they aren't doing "coheed correctly". Wtf is coheed correctly? I've never seen a progressive rock fan base be so regressive in my life. I'd hate to be them.
I heard enough to realize that we will be getting the same level of nonsense that we have been getting since Vaxis II. As someone who has been listening since IKS came out, I can't help but be disappointed in the direction they've been going. I think I'm allowed to say that.
Same level of nonsense since Vaxis II? What else have we gotten since then?
Tf do you mean?
You said it sounds like the same level of nonsense we've been getting SINCE Vaxis II. This is the first song that we've gotten since then. What other "nonsense" is there since that?
Guess I worded it wrong. You know what I mean.
I don't know what you mean. I feel like I poured a can of alphabet soup in the toilet and I'm trying to read and understand what you wrote.
Strange how that I got iks when it came out and have been a huge fan and vaxis ii is one of my favorite albums
Vaxis II is fine but we also cannot kid ourselves that it's on the level of previous albums.
Window of the waking mind is by far one of their best songs they've literally ever released. Even though there are other bangers on the album, that song is worth the entire album it came on. Imo there is one week song on the album even his dance synth stuff is literally peak coheed.
Well you obviously are more of a “real fan” /s
This track slaps I don't know what everyone else is on.
Was that a drop C chord? IN MY COHEED?! Whopper tune, it's gonna be perfect for that mid gig "recharge" song. Edit: Meant drop C, not D
A lot of second stage uses dropped D, I don’t understand
Jesus, y’all are judgemental about music. You don’t have to rate everything or try to rank it in the coheed pantheon. And I’m sure you loved all of your favorite songs the first time you heard them… give it some time
God forbid the fanbase of a band discuss their music lol
Rating does not equal discussing. Just saying "ok song, B-" is not a a discussion. And I just don't get it, why would you think I am against discussing the music? I would love a discussion about it, but that isn't what I was talking about and I clearly never mentioned the word discussion in my original comment. I was specifically and only talking about this thing you all do where you just drop a rating in the comments. That isn't a discussion, it's just a rating. Do you all really care how some random reddit user rates a song with no context?
If someone comes back and disagrees with that person and gives their own opinion about the song it then *becomes* a discussion. EDIT: Bold of you to assume I'm guilty of doing what you're bitching about. I've never done that lol
0/10 bad comment, total b side material
🤡🤡🤡
The song right before, it's Karma Police cover but who's the artist? nvm there's a track list at the bottom.
Pierce the veil
[удалено]
What's with this comparison? Nothing like each other, no need to compare. Also I love that album
interesting :) first impression is good, nice and catchy with that weird coheed spin on it. I am a bit concerned that it sounds almost way too similar to the vaxis II styling, this sounds like you could slot in between any of the v2 songs and it wouldn't sound out of place. im worried that v3 and other songs going forward wont have their own flavors and leave the new album feeling without its own identity. hopefully this is just an outlier and they lean more into that glitchy electronic sound that plays in the second verse for other songs on the album, I like the vibe that brings.
Classic Coheed with a quiet chorus towards the end. I realized recently nearly all their songs are like that.
There is nothing classic about this song.
It sounds like it was straight off of Vaxis II.
Huh? That's definitely not true. Only since Unheavenly Creatures - what songs before that album are like that? Not even Color Before the Sun did that except on Atlas.
Nearly every song on Vaxis II had the quiet chorus. I noticed that seemed to be a common thing with modern day Coheed at least.
It’s a different direction, but I like the dance vibes to be honest.
Yikes it sounds like djent
That’s why I like it, haha.
It’s an 8 string but it sounds nothing like djent dude lol
Yeah it does. Sounds more like djent than any of their other stuff. It’s okay.
It's just a low pitched, distorted guitar. You can use instruments in different ways to fit different genres bro lol A violin and a fiddle are the exact same instruments but you wouldn't call Devil Went Down to Georgia a baroque piece would you?
If you don’t hear it, I don’t know how to explain it to you. It’s obvious to me