Coheed and Cambria Albums (4)
'Neverender: Children of the Fence'
Release Date 3/24/2009
Tracks 109
Label Columbia
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Say what you want about Coheed and Cambria, but they can never be accused of not finishing what they start. This band's scope of ambition has been enormous from the very beginning, and it has remained focused, driven, and single-pointed since their debut album, 2002's The Second Stage Turbine Blade. The grand sci-fi/fantasy concept of The Amory Wars (aka "The Story") grew from the graphic novel and comic book series that vocalist/guitarist Claudio Sanchez authored, and has pushed this group toward the ultimate realization of its vision in Neverender: Children of the Fence in 2009. Sanchez, guitarist Travis Stever, bassist Michael Todd, and drummer Chris Pennie have come up with the ultimate rock fetish package to celebrate the completion of their conceptual quartet. Over four nights in 2008, the band took the stage at New York City's Terminal 5 and played one album each evening, with audio bootlegs and visual footage serving to document the full performances. In this lavishly designed box are four CDs, each one devoted to one of the four albums in the series -- The Second Stage Turbine Blade; In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3; Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness; Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No World for Tomorrow -- with accompanying DVDs of each night. The entire festival is captured for posterity. Needless to say, this is not for the casual fan. Musically, these shows are not perfect, but they are also better than good. Coheed are musically sophisticated and well rehearsed -- so much so that one of their middling nights is better than ten lesser bands on the best nights of their careers. The hardcore fan who is willing to shell out the big money for this set will not be disappointed by the performances here -- especially given the great degree of spontaneity on display in guitar solos, vocal acrobatics, dynamic shifts and changes, and sheer inspiration. All the albums are played in their entirety with some beautiful encores on the DVDs that accompany them -- including a cover of Bob Dylan's "I Shall Be Released" on the final evening. In addition to the eight discs is an additional DVD documentary included only in the box called The Fiction Will See the Real. The book is hardbound, and shot in full color on heavy stock with photos from each night and full credits. Finally, the box includes a cast metal golden dragonfly contained in molded foam rubber. The box is limited to 15,000 copies. Simply put, this is one of the more beautiful box sets ever issued, and it helps that the music -- as wide-ranging, full-on rockist as it is -- makes it more than a mere fetish object. Presented in this way, with live performances on successive evenings, "The Story" takes on an entirely new dimension, and becomes even more cohesive. Again, this is not for everyone, and not even for every Coheed and Cambria fan, but if you are part of that small contingent who will deem this worthy of laying down a pile of hard-earned dollars, this is as much a tribute to you as it is a celebration of the music itself. Mission accomplished. [For the more casual -- or economically challenged -- fan, this set also comes in a far less expensive edition that simply contains all four shows on a pair of DVDs]. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No World for Tomorrow'
Release Date 1/1/2007
Tracks 13
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What The Critics Say
With guitar bombast and shrill vocals, No World for Tomorrow concludes Coheed and Cambria's long-running prog-opera about family, homicide, and the apocalypse. There's enough genuine melody here to attract newcomers, but tuning in to Coheed's sci-narrative during its final installment (Tomorrow is the finale of a multi-chaptered story) is similar to watching Return of the Jedi without seeing any of the preceding Star Wars flicks -- there's still fun to be had, but one can't help but feel a tad uninformed. Accordingly, the album is simple ear candy for those who haven't studied the band's previous releases, and sweet resolution for those who can spot the references to older songs (specifically "Blood Red Summer") and former riffs ("The Crowing"). Claudio Sanchez continues to steer his bandmates through progressive rock territory, using Queensrÿche's Operation: Mindcrime and Rush's conceptual catalog to help light the way. Like the singer's shockingly huge mound of hair, Sanchez's vocals are campy, ludicrous, but nevertheless appealing, with high notes and vibrato-heavy lines drawing the usual comparisons to Geddy Lee. Still, the whole package may be difficult to stomach for some listeners. This is full-blown rock influenced by Tolkien novels, Marvel comics, and the Sci-Fi Channel; those who don't prefer their music with a side of Dungeons and Dragons should turn away at the first burst of synthesized thunder. But listeners who venture onward will find a number of enjoyable would-be singles: "Feathers," "Running Free," and "The End Complete IV: The Road and the Damned" (quite possibly the most high-brow power ballad this side of "Silent Lucidity"). ~ Andrew Leahey, All Music Guide
'In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3'
Release Date 10/7/2003
Tracks 24
Label Equal Vision
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What The Critics Say
Coheed and Cambria continue to combine metal, pop, and sometimes punk influences on In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. The high-register vocals of Claudio Sanchez are reminiscent of Shudder to Think's Nathan Larson. The vocals combined with the glam metal-pop music of such tracks as "The Velourium Camper I: Faint of Hearts" and "Blood Red Summer" can at times bring out the influences of Queen, T. Rex, or the Cars, and the recent influences of Cap'n Jazz or Jets to Brazil. Coheed and Cambria could look a bit more to these influential bands that they take from and cut down on song length and tedious poetry. The production of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 keeps the passionate emotion at bay. The double-tracking of guitars can give an interesting metal-influenced sound, as on "Cuts Marked in the March of Men" and "The Crowing," but production choices hold back the distortion and push up the reverb, keeping the whole record a bit too safe. Coheed & Cambria are at their best when they combine the half-time chumpdowns of Braid-like emo with late-'70s/early-'80s-influenced glam pop stylings. "Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)" and "The Velourium Camper III: Al the Killer" are Coheed and Cambria's best examples of their uses of angular, driving metal and passionately sung/screamed double-tracked vocals. In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 furthers Coheed and Cambria's efforts to make an epic record, but that may only be in length and a grand vision of the final outcome that falls a bit short. ~ David Serra, All Music Guide
'The Second Stage Turbine Blade'
Release Date 3/12/2002
Tracks 10
Label Equal Vision
See Album Tracklist and Review
What The Critics Say
Emotional band Coheed and Cambria's e-mail address uses the term "soft core," and that's not really accurate. The term molten core works better, as debut The Second Stage Turbine Blade lacks fluff and accentuates the same positives that made emo pioneers Fugazi great, not the least of which is a willingness to experiment. In this New York crew's case, this deviation comes from adding a prog rock feel to the proceedings, a facet highlighted by vocalist Claudio Sanchez's impossibly high vocal range at least as much as the technical riffing and fearless approach to soloing and other expressive playing techniques, hardcore politics be damned. Like most progressive fare, the C and C music factory occasionally sins in the name of its art, often doing in five minutes what could have been accomplished in three, but the mere fact that the group takes pride in knowing more than three chords is impressive. ~ Brian O'Neill, All Music Guide
