After a slight case of feeling down and out this morning, I'm feeling much better. So much better, in fact, it's time for another review! Tonight, a song that even many non Coheed fans know.

Ah yes, "Welcome Home." If you've ever played the first Rock Band, or even saw the early commercials for it, then you've heard this song at least once. The only sad part is that the game used the crappy edited version (admittedly, this song contains quite a bit of vulgarity, but that's almost nothing compared to other songs). Still, "Welcome Home" introduces a much heavier side to Coheed and Cambria than has been seen in their previous work. The use of synthesizers and piano mix playing in the background alongside the four band members helps to add to the sort of "horror" genre.

Like their first two records, the band shows that it likes to be mostly guitar driven. The song opens with Claudio playing a quick series of notes that seem to be straight out of a video game -- namely Tetris -- before Josh kicks in with drums. Suddenly Travis and Mic join in, and the rest of the song passes in a heavy, almost dark and morbid fashion. Claudio chugs to mostly the same riff throughout the song as Travis performs lead. The two also use, for the first time, new techniques in their playing by adding pinch harmonics. Yet, the song is not complete without Mic and Josh. Mic's bass lines are kept mostly around the low E string to match the verse riff that Claudio plays, as Josh adds a snare drum to every fourth beat.

One of the best parts of the song is undoubtedly the solo, where Travis and Claudio "duel" with their guitars and play back and forth between solos and rhythm work. Over the top? Not at all. It's one of the most headbanging moments in any live show. Also of note is how much Claudio has progressed in vocal work. While still singing as high as ever, Claudio's role as singer has allowed him to become even better at singing and more controlled over his voice. Next to "Always and Never," this song is his best vocal performance thus far in their records.

Moving into the concept, the Writer's grief over losing his lover Erica Court has become anger and resentment. His anger becomes hatred, and soon enough he experiences a vision of him dragging Erica toward a grave, planning to bury her alive as she pleads for her life. Taking into consideration the lines "You could've been all I wanted/But you weren't honest," it would appear that Erica was an unfaithful lover toward the Writer. Further, the Writer simply wants her to figure things out and "make up [her] mind" before he gets to the point that he wants her dead.

Tonight's review ends with a video of the guys playing an acoustic version of this song on MTV, shortly after the album release. While this song was meant to be loud and heavy, I must admit that the acoustic rendition is a beauty.