The songs throughout all of SSTB were mostly electric; distorted guitars, screeching riffs, and loud, aggressive percussion. The one instance where this formula would be broken would be in a song that wasn't even listed on the official track listing for the album -- the hidden "IRO-Bot," which listeners would discover if they let "God Send Conspirator" continue playing a couple or so minutes after its last note (on the 2005 special edition re-release, this song would be found at the end of a demo bonus rendition of "Everything Evil").

When I say the electric formula found in all other songs off the album was broken, I mean to say that this song is performed completely with acoustic instruments. In fact, not a single moment of the song features drums or even bass. Instead, it's a total acoustic guitar performance all the way through. This type of acoustic playing would foreshadow the style Coheed and Cambria would showcase in their later work; a style that uses elements of both electric hard rock and softer acoustic ballads. I've heard two versions of this song; the album version and the live version that was played at Neverender. The live version features electric instruments and the inclusion of drums and bass into the mix. Truth be told, I can't decide which version I prefer more. It's a bit of a welcome change to hear the soft tune playing on the album after the post-hardcore musicianship of the first ten tracks. At the same time, it's absolutely mind-blowing hearing the chorus being belted out so loudly by the full band live.

Vocally, Claudio's singing is multi-layered in the song. Take a listen to the album version of the song, preferably with headphones, and you'll likely notice two tones to Claudio's voice -- one coming through the left, and the other protruding from the right. This layering of the vocals helps to establish the overall eerie atmosphere of the track. Though I'm not sure what the song's place in the story is, if it really has any, there's something beautifully subtle and yet creepy about how Claudio sings "IRO-Bot will never die."

Part of me thinks this song isn't directly involved with the plot of the story. Instead, it feels more like something that would be played in the ending credits if this were a feature film. Given the deaths of Coheed and Cambria, Jesse's struggle for survival, and Claudio's self-imposed exile, I think this fits well from that perspective. First, let me explain briefly what the term "IRO-Bot" means and how it came about.

Years before the events of the album, Wilhelm Ryan made his first attempt at seizing power. Countless lives were lost in a brutal conflict known as the Mage Wars. A scientist by the name of Leonard Hohenberger, determined to strike back against Ryan, created three powerful beings -- IRO-Bots, short for Interceptive Recon Operative Bots -- named Coheed, Cambria, and Inferno (who would later adopt the name Jesse). Artificially created humans, these three possessed superhuman powers and abilities that enabled them to be more than a match for Ryan's armies. That is, until Ryan seemingly disappeared and Coheed and Cambria's memories were wiped by Jesse in order to lead normal lives. Thus, setting up the stage for The Second Stage Turbine Blade years later.

In knowing what the term means and how it applies to the story and to its characters, the repeated chorus line of "IRO-Bot will never die" now means a great deal. Though Coheed and Cambria have been killed, the IRO-Bot line lives on, not just in Jesse -- who remains the last of the original three IRO-Bots -- but through their son, Claudio, who will very much play an important role in the destiny of Heaven's Fence.

With that, I end the song reviews for The Second Stage Turbine Blade. I've been having a lot of fun with this project so far, and I'm looking forward to starting on the next album soon.