# Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends
**Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends** is the fourth studio album by the British rock band Coldplay, released on 12 June 2008 and often shortened to *Viva la Vida*.[1](https://timeline.coldplay.com/era/viva-la-vida/) Produced with [Brian Eno](https://www.edgepedia.org/brian-eno), Markus Dravs, Jon Hopkins, and Rik Simpson, it marked a deliberate break from the piano-and-guitar-driven anthems of the band's first three records, topped the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom, and won three [Grammy Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/grammy-awards) in 2009.[2](https://eustore.coldplay.com/en-fr/products/viva-la-vida-or-death-and-all-his-friends-ecorecord-lp) • [3](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/coldplay-news/in-the-studio-coldplay/) • [4](https://repository.radenintan.ac.id/35144/1/SKRIPSI%20NUR_ANDINI_MUNAWAROH%20bab%201%202%203.pdf)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | Fourth studio album, 12 June 2008, Parlophone[1](https://timeline.coldplay.com/era/viva-la-vida/) |
| Production | Brian Eno, Markus Dravs, Jon Hopkins, and Rik Simpson[2](https://eustore.coldplay.com/en-fr/products/viva-la-vida-or-death-and-all-his-friends-ecorecord-lp) |
| Length | About 47 minutes, decided at the start of recording to be the band's shortest album[5](https://www.metacritic.com/music/viva-la-vida/coldplay/critic-reviews) • [6](https://www.coldplay.com/viva-la-vida-biography/) |
| Singles | "Viva La Vida", "Violet Hill", "Lovers in Japan", "Strawberry Swing", and "Lost!"[2](https://eustore.coldplay.com/en-fr/products/viva-la-vida-or-death-and-all-his-friends-ecorecord-lp) |
| Chart result | Topped the album charts in the United States and the United Kingdom; the title track reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic[4](https://repository.radenintan.ac.id/35144/1/SKRIPSI%20NUR_ANDINI_MUNAWAROH%20bab%201%202%203.pdf) |
| Awards | Three Grammy Awards at the 2009 ceremony: Song of the Year, Best Rock Album, and Best Pop Performance by a Group[4](https://repository.radenintan.ac.id/35144/1/SKRIPSI%20NUR_ANDINI_MUNAWAROH%20bab%201%202%203.pdf) |
| Critical reception | Metacritic weighted average of 72 out of 100 from 32 reviews, "generally favorable"[7](https://www.metacritic.com/music/viva-la-vida) |
## Background and recording
The album followed 2005's *X&Y*, a record whose stadium ballads had brought vast commercial success but, in the view of reviewers, a creative funk. Frontman [Chris Martin](https://www.edgepedia.org/chris-martin) traced the starting point to hearing an old Blur song while on tour: "The starting point for this album was listening to an amazing old Blur song called 'Sing (To Me)' while we were on the road with 'X&Y'. I remember hearing it and thinking, 'OK, we need to get better as a band'." The first song for the new album was written the very next day.[8](https://timeline.coldplay.com/article/viva-la-vida-biography/)
By March 2008, after months of writing and recording with producer Brian Eno, the band was wrapping up the fourth album, and trade coverage described the project as a sharp break from the piano-and-guitar-driven anthems that had been their biggest hits.[3](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/coldplay-news/in-the-studio-coldplay/) The material was recorded across 2007 and 2008.[9](https://interface-referencement.com/userfiles/file/c9452310-80e6-4378-9c40-e8ea6e6c76a2.pdf) Keyboardist and producer [Jon Hopkins](https://www.edgepedia.org/jon-hopkins), invited into the studio for one day in early 2007 to see if he could contribute, ended up staying until the album was finished a year later.[10](https://www.coldplay.com/jon-hopkins-interview/)
**A shorter, slimmer record.** From the very beginning of the recording process the band decided that *Viva la Vida* would be their shortest album.[6](https://www.coldplay.com/viva-la-vida-biography/) Pitchfork's review credited Eno, a self-described "sculptor" with a tendency to chip away rather than augment, with helping Coldplay reverse their bloat in favor of a slimmer sound; the anthems remained but were no longer bogged down by incessant refrains and overdubs.[11](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11621-viva-la-vida-or-death-and-all-his-friends/) Martin described the intent as a move "from black and white into colour", and bassist [Guy Berryman](https://www.edgepedia.org/guy-berryman) called it the band's boldest and most confident record, made with more openness to new ideas and less fear of experimentation.[8](https://timeline.coldplay.com/article/viva-la-vida-biography/)
## Music and artwork
The album departs from verse-chorus song structures in favor of more episodic arrangements, a change one mixed review credited with fixing most of the glaring problems of *X&Y*.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/music/viva-la-vida/coldplay/critic-reviews?dist=neutral) The band's official biography describes programmed beats jostling with grand swells of church organ on "Lost!", North African-styled strings and tablas filling the space between verse and chorus on "Yes", flamenco handclaps driving "Cemeteries of London", and four-to-the-floor rhythms melding with weeping strings on the title track.[8](https://timeline.coldplay.com/article/viva-la-vida-biography/) Time magazine later characterized the result as "an eclectic, relatively succinct collection of pop songs complete with digressions into shoegaze, Afro-pop, and crunching rock".[13](https://time.com/99458/coldplay-ghost-stories-album-review/)
The title comes from a painting by the surrealist [Frida Kahlo](https://www.edgepedia.org/frida-kahlo), and the cover uses [Eugène Delacroix](https://www.edgepedia.org/eugene-delacroix)'s romantic depiction of revolution, *Liberty Leading the People*, with the album name splashed across it in white.[14](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jun/06/popandrock.shopping) • [15](https://usstore.coldplay.com/collections/vinyl) The standard tracklist runs, on two sides: "Life in Technicolor", "Cemeteries of London", "Lost!", "42", "Lovers in Japan / Reign of Love", "Yes", "Viva La Vida", "Violet Hill", "Strawberry Swing", and "Death and All His Friends".[2](https://eustore.coldplay.com/en-fr/products/viva-la-vida-or-death-and-all-his-friends-ecorecord-lp)
## Singles and chart performance
"Violet Hill" preceded the album, and the title track followed as a single released 25 May 2008 with the B-side "Death Will Never Conquer".[16](https://www.coldplay.com/release/viva-la-vida/) • [9](https://interface-referencement.com/userfiles/file/c9452310-80e6-4378-9c40-e8ea6e6c76a2.pdf) The album topped the charts in the United States and the United Kingdom, and "Viva La Vida" reached number one on both sides of the Atlantic.[4](https://repository.radenintan.ac.id/35144/1/SKRIPSI%20NUR_ANDINI_MUNAWAROH%20bab%201%202%203.pdf) At the 2009 Grammy Awards the band collected three honors: Song of the Year for "Viva La Vida", Best Rock Album, and Best Pop Performance by a Group.[4](https://repository.radenintan.ac.id/35144/1/SKRIPSI%20NUR_ANDINI_MUNAWAROH%20bab%201%202%203.pdf)
## Critical reception
On Metacritic the album holds a weighted average of 72 out of 100 based on 32 critic reviews, with 22 positive, 10 mixed, and none negative, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[7](https://www.metacritic.com/music/viva-la-vida) [Entertainment Weekly](https://www.edgepedia.org/entertainment-weekly) gave it a 91, praising "the confident majesty of the music"; Spin scored it 90, noting that despite the experimentation the album's sturdy melodies and universal themes of love, war, and peace were meant to connect with the masses.[7](https://www.metacritic.com/music/viva-la-vida) AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine highlighted the band's focused concentration on a tight 47-minute album that "covers more ground than *X&Y* and arguably *A Rush of Blood to the Head*".[5](https://www.metacritic.com/music/viva-la-vida/coldplay/critic-reviews) The Guardian was more skeptical, arguing that "there's more to reinventing your sound than calling Brian Eno".[14](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jun/06/popandrock.shopping)
## Legacy and disputes
The title track attracted a plagiarism claim: guitarist [Joe Satriani](https://www.edgepedia.org/joe-satriani) said its verse melody closely resembled the guitar hook of his 2004 track "If I Could Fly" and took Coldplay to court in a high-profile legal tangle that lasted almost a year.[17](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/when-joe-satriani-took-coldplay-to-court)
The Viva La Vida era, dated 2008 to 2011 on the band's own timeline, also included the *Prospekt's March* EP, released 21 November 2008, and a tour of roughly 170 concerts, which the band later described as their largest tour by show count before their subsequent stadium runs.[18](https://timeline.coldplay.com/) • [19](https://www.coldplay.com/music/) • [20](https://los40.com/2024/10/02/solo-produciremos-12-el-numero-definitivo-de-discos-de-coldplay-y-mucho-mas-en-la-entrevista-con-zane-lowe-en-apple-music/) In retrospective assessments the album's standing has held up: [Le Monde](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-monde) noted in 2024 that it remained the band's last guitar-oriented record.[21](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2024/10/05/with-moon-music-coldplay-s-interplanetary-pop-goes-round-in-circles_6728244_30.html) On Metacritic it shares a 72 score with *Parachutes* and *X&Y*, while every subsequent studio album has scored lower, from *Mylo Xyloto* (65) down to *Moon Music* (58).[22](https://elpais.com/icon/2025-01-18/de-grupo-alternativo-a-manipular-emociones-a-gran-escala-los-extranos-y-lucrativos-25-primeros-anos-de-coldplay.html)
## References
1. [Viva La Vida – Coldplay Timeline](https://timeline.coldplay.com/era/viva-la-vida/)
2. [Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends (Clear Ecorecord LP) – Coldplay EU Store](https://eustore.coldplay.com/en-fr/products/viva-la-vida-or-death-and-all-his-friends-ecorecord-lp)
3. [In the Studio: Coldplay – Coldplaying News](https://coldplaying.com/newsarchive/coldplay-news/in-the-studio-coldplay/)
4. [Coldplay overview excerpt, Raden Intan repository](https://repository.radenintan.ac.id/35144/1/SKRIPSI%20NUR_ANDINI_MUNAWAROH%20bab%201%202%203.pdf)
5. [Critic Reviews for Viva La Vida – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/viva-la-vida/coldplay/critic-reviews)
6. [Viva La Vida biography – Coldplay](https://www.coldplay.com/viva-la-vida-biography/)
7. [Viva La Vida by Coldplay – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/viva-la-vida)
8. [Viva La Vida biography – Coldplay Timeline](https://timeline.coldplay.com/article/viva-la-vida-biography/)
9. [Viva la Vida song structure (single details)](https://interface-referencement.com/userfiles/file/c9452310-80e6-4378-9c40-e8ea6e6c76a2.pdf)
10. [Jon Hopkins interview – Coldplay](https://www.coldplay.com/jon-hopkins-interview/)
11. [Coldplay: Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends Album Review – Pitchfork](https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/11621-viva-la-vida-or-death-and-all-his-friends/)
12. [Mixed Critic Reviews for Viva La Vida – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/music/viva-la-vida/coldplay/critic-reviews?dist=neutral)
13. [REVIEW: Coldplay Makes Tragic Magic on New Album Ghost Stories – Time](https://time.com/99458/coldplay-ghost-stories-album-review/)
14. [Coldplay, Viva la Vida or Death and All His Friends – The Guardian](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2008/jun/06/popandrock.shopping)
15. [LP – Coldplay US Store](https://usstore.coldplay.com/collections/vinyl)
16. [Viva La Vida – Coldplay](https://www.coldplay.com/release/viva-la-vida/)
17. [When Joe Satriani took Coldplay to court – Guitar World](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/when-joe-satriani-took-coldplay-to-court)
18. [Coldplay Timeline](https://timeline.coldplay.com/)
19. [Music – Coldplay](https://www.coldplay.com/music/)
20. [Coldplay interview with Zane Lowe – LOS40](https://los40.com/2024/10/02/solo-produciremos-12-el-numero-definitivo-de-discos-de-coldplay-y-mucho-mas-en-la-entrevista-con-zane-lowe-en-apple-music/)
21. [With 'Moon Music,' Coldplay's interplanetary pop goes round in circles – Le Monde](https://www.lemonde.fr/en/culture/article/2024/10/05/with-moon-music-coldplay-s-interplanetary-pop-goes-round-in-circles_6728244_30.html)
22. [De grupo alternativo a "manipular emociones a gran escala" – El País](https://elpais.com/icon/2025-01-18/de-grupo-alternativo-a-manipular-emociones-a-gran-escala-los-extranos-y-lucrativos-25-primeros-anos-de-coldplay.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Albums and recorded releases › Studio albums › Indie and alternative albums › Studio albums of the 2000s*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license