One day in late January, 2010 a countdown appeared on the Coheed and Cambria homepage. It was easy enough to figure out what the prize at the end of it would be. The new album was already set for an April release, and Coheed was more than likely to pre-release some new material to hold us over until the rest of the music appeared. When the timer reached zero on midnight of February 9, "The Broken" was listened to for the first time. And when I heard that song for the first time, it's an understatement to say it blew me away.

I'm a guy who prefers hard, edgy rock music. Acoustics and softer tones are amazing when my mood prefers them, but I can't resist something loud and heavy that just makes me want to headbang and rock out. Luckily, Coheed is the type of band with a variety of music to suit any of those moods and needs. After the hauntingly beautiful instrumental we're treated to a track that's right up there with such concert openers as "No World for Tomorrow" or "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3."

"The Broken" is another example of how the band took their producers words into consideration. The song uses a heavy dose of electric overtones that give it a sort of "dirty" feel. The guitars are hard and heavy, and are clearly some of the most intricate riffs Claudio and Travis have dished out. One of the best moments of this song is that "The Ring in Return" makes a comeback during the song's solo, albeit it's layered over with noise. Mic proves his worth with a sickly bass groove that demonstrates he's not just there for rhythm. The best part is his chugging "horse gallop" playing style during he bridge -- it reminds me a lot of Steve Harris.

What really helps to drive this song home is Chris Pennie. His skills were barely seen if not at all on No World for Tomorrow (he wrote the drum parts, but they were practically watered down). This album gives Chris a chance to show off his skills. Pardon me for the lack of professionalism when I say this, but the only way to really describe Chris on this album, and in this song, is "beastly."

I completely love the vocals on this track. They're powerful and dynamic. As I've said, Claudio has come a long way as a vocalist. His style remains slightly high pitched but it is also more controlled.

As far as the story, the only connection I can put this song to is the first chapter of the novel. Parts of this album are out of sequence chronologically, but I feel safe in saying that this song takes place in the middle of the story (middle chronologically that is). As the album explores the origins of Coheed and Cambria and why they were built, it also details some of their missions and adventures during their time together with Inferno as the K.B.I. In this song, Coheed and Cambria are on a secret mission on Howling Earth, trying to discover what operations are going on here. It's hard to explain, but maybe later I'll go into more detail.

According to Claudio, "The Broken" is mainly about accepting your flaws and embracing them. In doing so, you become more empowered. Not only is this message applicable to the story, it's a theme I agree very much with.

The only complaint I have about the song is that it's too short. It's shorter than any other opener (again excluding "Always & Never" from FFTEM). Still, that's a minor thing. Overall, I don't understand those who complain about overproduction on this album. With a good pair of headphones, every instrument can be heard clearly, and the layering is simply superb. "The Broken" might be more saturated with effects than previous records, but the result was good.

According to Claudio, "The Broken" is an example of where Coheed and Cambria are right now in terms of their style. To that, I can only say that I can't wait to see where the future takes them.

Today I'd like to end this with a music video for "The Broken."