r/coheed's Song of the Day #68: Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry The Defiant

This song has power. I can write a bunch about this song. Sentry has an almost anthemic quality to it. It's easy on the ears, it's got slow parts, it's got fast parts, it's got the best Coheed chorus there is, and it's incredibly fun to sing along with. The solo isn't heavy or complicated, but it is raw and full of feeling. I am amazed they didn't put this out as a single, because I'm personally confident anyone could get on board with this one. I remember when Claudio posted this video. I enjoyed it, but not being one for acoustics, I kinda dismissed it. Then, seeing them in Champaign last year, they played it full band style. I liked it, but my gf and I were in a fight at that exact moment about some lame stuff so I didn't fully appreciate it. I hoped it would earn a spot on a new album. On Descension's leak date, we got the album, jammed all of Ascension, and prepared ourselves. Pretelethal was great, and lead amazingly into the opening guitar. Neither of us knew what hit us as the electric guitar kicked in. Then, my gods, the chorus... We were in actual shock. Both of us almost cried on the lead in to the solo, and we had to pause the CD after Sentry. We could only muster one word the entire time during the song, and even after: "Fuck". What an experience.

Oh, and the "believer" Good Apollo throwback is crazy. I love it so hard.

The Fiction- Sentry joins Evagria in attempting to protect Sirius from the first three entities, but Sirius is still forced to relive his life as he had with the other spirits in the Keywork.

In life, Sentry was in the army under Vic's command. When he became aware of the horrible war crimes Vic committed, he confided in one other sergeant and swore to bring Vic to justice for his crimes. Before he could tell anyone else, however, Vic murdered Sentry, staging the scene as a suicide. Terrified into silence, the remaining sergeant did not shine light on the true nature of Sentry's death until years later when evidence of Vic's crimes finally surfaced and the guilt of his silence became too much to bear. Vic was eventually charged for his crimes, and in death, Sentry became a hero of the war, celebrated for his sacrifice in his pursuit of justice.

But Vic did not truly get his justice; he took his own life before he could stand trial, and so the two entities continue fighting in death, Vic seeking to punish Sentry's betrayal, and Sentry attempting to finally bring Vic down for good. Sirius, unfortunately finds himself in the middle of this struggle, and in this he realizes what he must do. Remembering Evagria's contentment at her situation, he sees that these warring entities remain in limbo because they continue holding on to the horrible events that occurred in their lives, and so he attempts to convince Sentry to simply let his conflict with Vic go.

He is successful. Sentry moves on to a state of complete enlightenment, and along with Evagria, he takes Sirius to the higher plane, just for a moment, before transporting him back to his ship and out of harm's way, where he is finally free to return home.

The Real- This, according to Claudio, is regarding a conversation he had with band manager Blaze James about making music that would appeal to a larger audience. It's safe to say that I'm glad Blaze decided to "play devil's advocate". This song is special, and I feel like 20 years from now, it'll be one of the Coheed songs that people look back on and smile about.

The Part- The whole chorus, but specifically, the drums during "give them a fight that will open their eyes". Check that shit OUT.