Composition and Themes
Musically, Viva la Vida contrasts with their previous albums. The title track uses an orchestra, while "Lovers in Japan" features a honky-tonk piano. "Lost!" is influenced by tribal music, whereas "Strawberry Swing" incorporates Afropop music. Martin described Viva la Vida as a new direction for Coldplay: a change from their past three albums, which they have referred to as a "trilogy". He said the album featured less falsetto as he allowed his voice's lower register to take precedence. Some songs, such as "Violet Hill", contain distorted guitar riffs and bluesy undertones.
The album contains an array of different themes such as love, war, and revolutions. Unlike their previous releases it has a more universal approach, it deals less with personal problems and more with problems of humanity. Songs like an instrumental version of "Life in Technicolor II" (which didn't make it to the final tracklist) "Violet Hill" and "Death and All His Friends" talk about war and politics. Martin stated the lyrics of "Violet Hill" were a commentary on Fox News. "Violet Hill" also is considered the first anti-war protest song from the band. Other songs, such as the double track "Lovers in Japan/Reign of Love" and "Yes" are about love and desire.
Revolutionary themes are also an important part of the album and its promotion. Coldplay used customized French revolutionary costumes through the Viva La Vida Tour and on the videos produced for the album's singles. Chris Martin said on an interview for The Sun "some say this album is brave - I just see us as being very lucky".
Martin stated that a big inspiration for Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends was the book Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.
Read more about this topic: Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends
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