This style of song goes until "Three Evils (Embodied In Love And Shadow)," which drops back into the pop/punk style that was frequently heard on their first album. It is complete with bouncy time switches and that fret raking sound that looks much cooler onstage than it ever sounded in the studio.

The other highlight to this album is the three-song trilogy, "The Velorium Camper Parts 1-3." I am not sure I am in support of naming three songs as pieces that belong together because it seems a bit pretentious, but I haven't seen anyone do it in a while so I will give them some leeway. Part 1 is called "Faint of Hearts." Part 2 is called "Backend of Forever." Part 3 is called "Al the Killer." I won't even venture to guess what it is all about, but it is interesting and relatively fresh in a genre that is known for being a little short on subject matter sometimes.

The album finishes with "The Light and the Glass" which is a complete departure from everything else on the album. It sounds mostly acoustic, but even when the electric guitars come in, they take a back seat to leave room for the atmospherics, and various keyboards and vocals which complete the melody. It is really a beautiful song that ties up one of the more adventurous albums I have heard in a while.

Coheed and Cambria don't conform to all the rules and regulations that are pretty strictly laid out for their "scene." It is nice to see a band willing to write beautiful melodies, rock out when required, put the screaming on the back burner and push forward the trends in subject matter. I don't like every song on the album, but I would recommend it to anyone who already likes this type of music.