Viva La Vida or Death and All of His Friends- Coldplay

Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends

is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Coldplay, released on 11 June 2008 on Parlophone. The album was named after a Spanish phrase that translates in English as "long live life". Recording sessions for the album took place during June 2007 to April 2008 and featured production by Jon Hopkins, Rik Simpson, Markus Dravs and Brian Eno.



Viva la Vida was released to critical and commercial success. Five singles have been released in promotion of the album; "Violet Hill" and "Viva la Vida" in May 2008, "Lovers in Japan" and "Lost!" in November 2008, and "Strawberry Swing" in September 2009. "Viva la Vida" became the band's first song to reach number one in both the United States and the United Kingdom. "Strawberry Swing" became the fifth single from the album and was released on 14 September 2009. The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, based on an aggregate score of 72% from Metacritic.[1] It won Best Rock Album at the 2009 Grammy Awards and was the best selling album of 2008.[2] Viva la Vida was re-released on 25 November 2008 in a deluxe edition containing the original album and the Prospekt's March EP.



As of December 2009, the album has sold over 8.1 million copies worldwide, and has become the most paid-for downloaded album of all time.

Viva la Vida has received generally positive reviews from critics. It received a metacritic score of 72 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.[31] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic stated, "They demonstrate a focused concentration throughout this tight album -- it's only 47 minutes yet covers more ground than X&Y and arguably A Rush of Blood to the Head -- that turns Viva la Vida into something quietly satisfying."[32] Chris Willman of Entertainment Weekly magazine gave the album an A- calling it "their fourth and best album."[33] While Alexis Petridis of The Guardian gave a lukewarm review explaining that "Viva la Vida's mild tinkering with the formula represents a failure of imagination: perhaps it's hard to think outside the box when the box is the size of the Las Vegas MGM Grand Garden Arena.[34] Equally, however, there's a genuine conviction about its contents, a huge advance both on its predecessor and their legion of imitators."[35] Will Hermes of Rolling Stone magazine gave it a somewhat positive review "Coldplay's desire to unite fans around the world with an entertainment they can all relate to is the band's strength, and a worthy goal. But on Viva la Vida, a record that wants to make strong statements, it's also a weakness. Sometimes, to say what needs to be said, you need to risk pissing people off."[36] Spin magazine's critic Mikael Wood gave a positive review stating that "For all of Coldplay’s experimentation, though, there’s no doubting that Viva la Vida, with its sturdy melodies and universal themes -- think love, war and peace -- is an album meant to connect with the masses (arenas have been built for less than the climax of "Death and All His Friends"). The band’s triumph lies in how exciting they make that prospect seem".[37]