r/coheed's Songs of the Day #59: The Hollow and Key Entity Extraction I: Domino The Destitute

So excited for today!

The Hollow:

This one is a great opener. I personally don't care much for the dialogue throughout The Afterman, but the piano is so gorgeous. I remember first hearing it on that countdown clock that guy made that got upvoted heavily in r/music. The reprise of the Keywork Theme as we've been calling it is amazing. It fits with the story, as this is about the guy who discovered the Keywork. Plus, it's a nice gesture to all the fans of old.

The Fiction- Sirius Amory embarks on his quest to discover the true nature of the Keywork, the network of energy beams connecting the planets of Heaven's Fence. As he walks toward the shuttle doors, he thinks of his wife, Meri, the love of his life, who he invited to join him on this grand adventure but who, well aware of the danger, declined. Worried that Meri will not wait for him, he asks his ship's AI, the All Mother, if she will ever abandon him; but of course she will not. She is programmed to help him finish his task. Encouraged by her response -- artificial as it may be -- he ventures forward into the mysterious blue haze of the Keywork. (songmeanings)

The Real- Not much to this. Strictly story.

The Part- The piano. Josh really knows his way around a piano, and it makes perfect sense why the two albums without Josh are less interesting opener-wise.

Key Entity Extraction I: Domino The Destitute:

Oh baby. Ohhhh baby. This song shot up quickly to the top of my favorites list and never went back down. I'll never forget the day before the video premiered. I had watched the live video of it, but it was poor quality and you couldn't get a good sense of the song. They released a trailer for the video that was like 45 seconds long, and it was incredible. The first time I heard the main riff, I wanted to cry out of sheer excitement. The riff was so crisp, so clean and so nasty. Then they show Domino's opponent holding the belt and play the last chorus's beginning. Fuck. One of my favorite trailers ever. Then the real video came out the next day. My girlfriend, u/notthecoyote and I crowded around the monitor to watch. We both stared at the screen, mouths agape, occasionally glancing to each other and nodding in awe/agreement. This video was incredible, the song even better. There is so much amazing about this song, I don't know where to go with this. The structure is flawless; it flows so well from part to part. The Willing Well II throwback is nuts. The ending of the song is literally the most intense thing of all time. I was running one day on the treadmill, this song came on, and I was ready to quit; then the main riff started. I kept pushing on getting a full body tingling sensation every time a new part started, lasting all the way through to the end, in which after I stopped, became light headed, and almost passed out. Damn you, Coheed.

The Fiction- Watch the video, it's basically half the story.

Sirius is amazed at what he finds in the Keywork as he steps from his shuttle: a moving, waving mass of shifting shapes and colors. The beauty of it is staggering, and the realization that he is the first person in the entire system to make this trek into such unknown territory fills him with pride. His joy is short lived, however, as he begins see humanoid shapes -- vague at first, then gaining definition -- writhing within the energy cloud. One, in particular, has the strength to overpower the others, charging towards Sirius and jumping into his body, possessing him and forcing him to relive the mysterious entity's tragic end.

Domino was, in life, an up-and-coming star in the boxing world, but he was not truly happy. Though his professional life was great, his personal life was not -- and these feelings were augmented as he watched his brother, Chess, live a happy life with his beautiful wife. He needed something to fill the void, and in that quest he found Kriptor Noncruss, a local crime boss, who told Domino he would go on to accomplish great things.

Kriptor's influence proved fatal; Domino began taking drugs to enhance his fighting abilities, and as he got addicted, he became more and more willing to do Kriptor's bidding. After losing against the reigning champion, Domino lost it all. He was homeless, broke, and desperate, opening him up to participate Kriptor's biggest scheme yet: an armored car heist that would pay Domino a small fortune. Realizing that his brother could also use the money, he convinced Chess to come along and help, but when the robbery went wrong, Chess was shot by the police as an injured Domino looked on. This was his breaking point; seeing no other option, he turned his gun on himself and ended his life in a moment of complete and utter devastation, leaving him to languish for eternity as a lost soul in the Keywork. (songmeanings)

The Real- This is a heartbreaker. Mic Todd. Claudio has significant trouble talking about this song as the pain of his brother's fall is too much.

The Part- I get incredible frisson each time: "Oh, we've got you, by the throooooat HA HA HA". The music in synchronization with the HA HA HA is what I live for. Extremely Honorable Mention to "One by one, we are together, we fall together" and subsequent guitar heaviness. The first time I watched the music video, I felt frantic at the part and was absolutely leveled by the dark, destructive guitar on top of the imagery of, well, destitution.

Thanks, Coheed.