Viva La Vida or Death And All His Friends

In the year 1999, four relatively unknown young men would play at low key gigs as support acts.But then came 'yellow' and their first album 'Parachutes' which showcased their talent for the first time.Their second album "A Rush Of Blood To The Head" catapulted them towards super stardom.It won a few Grammy Awards, lured millions of people to their concerts singing along to their 'stadium rock' tunes and turned Coldplay into one of the biggest rock acts on the planet.Since singer Chris Martins life has never been the same.Not to mention the marriage to Oscar winning actress Gwenyth Paltrow and 'paparazzi' a word Chris had never heard of before.
In the year 2005 they released 'X & Y' which in spite of becoming the best selling album of the year worldwide was panned by some critics.And honestly there were some tracks which i couldnt relate to being a Coldplay fan.But all that has been forgotten.
Coldplay is back.In style too.
Frontman Chris Martin had said they possibly couldnt get any bigger as a band so they wanted to get better.Hence the new album where they turn experimental.They hired Brian Eno(as producer) a man who helped make U2 what they are today,a man who worked with 'Rock God' David Bowie and the man who invented the startup sound for Microsoft Windows.He is known as the Father of Ambient Music.

The most awaited album of the year starts with a glorious instrumental 'Life in Technicolour" which was made by infusing many different sounds ,even the Indian tabla too.Initially it was a song with lyrics but when they were told that it was an obvious hit, they just removed them!Martin jokes that he wanted to make an 'amazing ringtone'.Well its my current ringtone anyway.
Then comes 'Cemeteries of London' a rock-folk song that tells the story of ghost..The next track "lost!" is my current bathroom tune..Its the closest coldplay will ever come to gospel music with bellowing church organs driven by hand clapping..It does produce some powerful moments and i cant wait to hear this live.
Things start to get serious with the haunting 42 .Its a three part epic composition with swirling pianos, a radiohead-like middle and old school guitars in the end.Remember 'paranoid android'?
"lovers in japan/Reign of Love"-is the song where the influence of U2 is evident and it makes great listen.Its a potential single.Well thats the problem in this album-every song could be released as a single.
After that theres the catchy Yes' which is influenced by eastern sounds and martin sings in his lower register something we havnt heard before.It contains a hidden track named Chinese Sleep Chant where Martins falsetto is drowned in a pool of juggernaut guitars making the lyrics incomprehensible.This is probably the most interesting song on the album.You can call it 'art-rock'.
Then comes the current(and hugely successful) single 'Viva la Vida' (which means 'long live life') -an instantly melodious song which tells the story of kings,battles and missionaries. 'Violet Hill' another single is the song which probably is least similar to the others on the album.It contains more crunch than any other single coldplay has released.
The Afro-pop influenced 'Strawberry Swing' is another winner which is not difficult to get immersed into.There are signature Coldplay moments that come with this song.
The album closes with 'Death And All his Friends'.A piano rock track which is sure to become a stadium staple.It contains another hidden track called "the escapist".Another melodic soft track track that makes sure that album finishes just the way it had started.

rating:- 4/5.A must buy.And considering the current sales it is gonna be the best selling album worldwide this year.