Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness

Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
Studio album by Coheed and Cambria
Released	September 20, 2005
Recorded	2005
Genre	Progressive rock, new prog, alternative rock
Length	71:38
Label	Columbia
Producer	Michael Birnbaum and Chris Bittner
Coheed and Cambria chronology
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003) Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol.1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (2005) Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow (2007)

Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness is the third studio album by prog quartet Coheed and Cambria. It was released on September 20, 2005. It is the first disc of the fourth section of a projected tetralogy, as well as the final studio album to feature long-time drummer Josh Eppard, who left the band for personal reasons and has since been replaced by Chris Pennie. On the album In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, the phrase "My Dearest Apollo I'll Be Burning Star 4" is written after the lyrics for the song "The Light & the Glass."

The album begins to resolve the issues of Claudio's quest to protect the Keywork, and sheds more light on the demise of Coheed and his wife Cambria. Also, it expands on the issues of the Monstar virus and Jesse's involvement in the saga. A graphic novel based upon the entire story of the album was released on the same day. This album, unlike the others, tells the story through the eyes of the writer.

The official site once hosted the third track and first single from the album, entitled "Welcome Home". This song is featured in the music video game Rock Band, and television spots for the CGI animated movie 9. The band's MySpace and Purevolume had the second single from the album, entitled "The Suffering". The third single was "Ten Speed (of God's Blood and Burial)", released only as a video and never to radio.

Personnel

• Claudio Sanchez - Lead/Backing Vocals; Lead/Rhythm Guitars
• Travis Stever - Lead/Rhythm Guitars; Lap Steel; Backing Vocals
• Michael Todd - Bass Guitars; Backing Vocals
• Josh Eppard - Drums; Keyboards; Percussion; Backing Vocals

With:

• Produced by Michael Birnbaum and Chris Bittner
• Mixed by David Bottrill
• Also track 9 "The Suffering" mixed by Andy Wallace

• Danny Louis - Keyboards (Tracks 5,6,7,8,9,10 & 15)
• Kara Bullock and Nick Gardner^{[citation needed]} - Ukulele
• Chester Brockwell - Didgeridoo
• Daniel Sadownick - Percussion (6 & 8)
• Sarah Kathryn Jacobs - Backing Vocals (9 &15)
• Janiris Sanchez (Claudio Sanchez's niece) - Child's Voice (2 & 15)
• Kurtis Jungersen - Sound Effects

Track listing

All lyrics written by Claudio Sanchez, all music composed by Coheed and Cambria.

Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Keeping the Blade"	2:08
2.	"Always and Never"	2:23
3.	"Welcome Home"	6:14
4.	"Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)"	3:46
5.	"Crossing the Frame"	3:26
6.	"Apollo I: The Writing Writer"	5:15
7.	"Once Upon Your Dead Body"	3:19
8.	"Wake Up"	3:35
9.	"The Suffering"	3:43
10.	"The Lying Lies & Dirty Secrets of Miss Erica Court"	3:17
11.	"Mother May I"	4:31
12.	"The Willing Well I: Fuel for the Feeding End"	7:17
13.	"The Willing Well II: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness"	7:28
14.	"The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth"	7:18
15.	"The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut"	7:40
Total length:		71:38

^ a "Wake Up" is not to be confused with the Shabutie song "Wake Up" from Plan to Take Over the World EP.
^ b "The Telling Truth" contains at approximately 4:46, a reprise of "Blood Red Summer" from the previous Coheed and Cambria album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. After that, the line "Jesse, bad boy, just come look at what your brother did" is a reference to "Everything Evil" from the band's first album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade.
^ c "The Final Cut" includes the hidden track "Bron-Y-Aur", at approximately 6:20 in, which is a tribute to Led Zeppelin.^{[citation needed]} It is not a cover of the Led Zeppelin song "Bron-Yr-Aur".

The Japanese pressing of the album contained a bonus track, A Favor House Atlantic from Live at the Starland Ballroom. "Keeping the Blade" is the only track on the album to feature the time skip motif found on the previous two albums. It is played by string instruments.

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Aversion	[2]
Okayplayer	[3]
Rolling Stone	[4]
Q	[5]
This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information.

The album was ranked number 69 in the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's list of the greatest 100 guitar albums of all time. An acoustic version of "Wake Up" was featured on the Snakes on a Plane soundtrack.

This album is also Coheed and Cambria's first album to have a Parental Advisory sticker. The edited version is known for being heavily censored, including cutting out words such as 'crush,' 'die,' 'hell,' and 'kill.'

The CD is Coheed & Cambria's greatest success to date selling over a million copies worldwide.^[6] It has also received mostly positive reviews, getting a Metacritic score of 73%.^[5]

The album peaked at #7 on the Billboard 200, selling over 500,000 copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan.

Bonus edition DVD

A special edition of the CD was released, with an alternate cover, and a bonus DVD consisting of "The Suffering" and "Welcome Home" videos, short animated vignettes which describe part of the story of the Amory Wars, Coheed and Cambria in the studio, The Favor House Atlantic movie, and Favor House Atlantic bloopers.

The special edition version

1. "The Suffering" music video
2. "Welcome Home" music video
3. A Favor House Atlantic movie
4. A Favor House Atlantic bloopers
5. In The Studio Footage
6. 6 short vignettes

Graphic novel

Main article: Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (graphic novel)

A graphic novel entitled Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, illustrated by Christopher Shy, was released in September 2005 along with the album of the same name. The story of Good Apollo takes a step outside the science fiction narrative of the first three chapters and examines the life of The Writer, a character who is crafting the lives of the protagonist Claudio and his companions in the form of a fictional story. Through a series of delusional conversations with his ten speed bicycle about an unfaithful former lover, The Writer decides he must kill the Prise Ambellina to properly end his story. The events in the narrative itself build up to a final confrontation between Jesse's rebel forces and the Red Army of Supreme Tri-Mage Wilhelm Ryan under the command of General Mayo Deftinwolf, as well as a literal meeting of the Writer and Claudio culminating in the death of Ambellina and Claudio's emergence as the Crowing.

The new Amory Wars series, illustrated by Gus Vasquez, will re-tell the story of Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume One. Claudio stated that a lot was lost from the graphic novel because of financial constraints. He further explained that although Christopher Shy's art is beautiful, it was not the best medium for Good Apollo's story-telling. Claudio looks forward to releasing a new version in chronological order so that the story will make more sense.

References

1. ^ Theakston, Rob (2005-09-20). "((( Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness > Overview )))". allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r792107. Retrieved 2010-04-24. 
2. ^ "Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume I: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness". Aversion.com. http://www.aversion.com/bands/reviews.cfm?f_id=2266. Retrieved 2010-04-24. 
3. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
4. ^ "Artist Landing Page". Rollingstone.com. http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/coheedandcambria/albums/album/7665188/review/7674559/good_apollo_im_burning_star_iv_volume_one_from_fear_through_t. Retrieved 2010-04-24. 
5. ^ ^{a b} "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. http://www.metacritic.com/music/artists/coheedandcambria/goodapolloimburningstarivvolumeone?q=coheed. Retrieved 25 February 2010. 
6. ^ http://www.starpulse.com/Contests/Coheed_&_Cambria_New_CD_and_2_gb_Sony_Walkman/1470/^{[dead link]}

External links

• Official site