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COHEED AND CAMBRIA

Crossover Prog • United States


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Coheed And Cambria picture
Coheed And Cambria biography
Founded in New York, USA in 2001

Hailing from Kingston, New York, progressive rock quartet COHEED AND CAMBRIA are known for being the first and only "concept band." That is, all of their albums' lyrics and music are intertwined with a story written by frontman Claudio Sanchez known as "The Amory Wars." The first album released, "The Second Stage Turbine Blade," is the second part [although the first CD] of their five-part saga. It was released in 2002, and after extensive touring, Sanchez released a graphic novel describing in further detail the plot of the story.

Post-Second Stage, COHEED AND CAMBRIA began recording in Japan between tours. The result came out that fall, and was their next album "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3." This continued to garner this rising band's popularity with the singles "Blood Red Summer" and "A Favor House Atlantic," which at the time gained much airplay. Afterwards, COHEED AND CAMBRIA departed from Equal Vision records and signed to Columbia, putting out the newest studio disc "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness." The long pretentious title indefinitely rings prog, as does the music. The singles "Welcome Home" and "The Suffering," although far less progressively inclined than the rest of the album, strongly supported the album in it's sales, shifting it to #7 on the Billboard's Top 200 Albums. "Good Apollo" is the first of the two-part conclusion to The Amory Wars.

Most recently, Josh Eppard and Michael Todd, COHEED's drummer and bassist respectively, left the band for personal reasons. Although Todd returned to his bass just in time for the next release, drumming duties were then assigned to THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's impressive and skilled Chris Pennie, who added a pleasant new flavor to the band's repertoire. This upcoming release's recording process took place in early spring of 2007 and was finalized that May. The band then toured every date with Van's Warped Tour that summer. The album, titled "Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No World For Tomorrow" is scheduled for October 28th 2007.

Why this artist must be listed in www.progarchives.com : Although a simplistic, shallow analysis could be made, claiming that COHEED AND CAMBRIA are merely a modern-emo-rock group, the deeper meaning can be found by looking more closely. COHEED AND CAMBRIA are a band who have differentiated themselves from their peers by writing more complex songs, m...
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COHEED AND CAMBRIA discography


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COHEED AND CAMBRIA top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

3.30 | 131 ratings
The Second Stage Turbine Blade
2002
3.78 | 180 ratings
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth - 3
2003
3.69 | 210 ratings
Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One - From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness
2005
3.72 | 184 ratings
Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two - No World for Tomorrow
2007
3.09 | 123 ratings
Year of the Black Rainbow
2010
3.85 | 110 ratings
The Afterman - Ascension
2012
3.78 | 111 ratings
The Afterman - Descension
2013
2.90 | 43 ratings
The Color Before the Sun
2015
3.98 | 44 ratings
The Unheavenly Creatures
2018
3.94 | 30 ratings
A Window of the Waking Mind
2022

COHEED AND CAMBRIA Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.22 | 9 ratings
The Afterman: Live
2013

COHEED AND CAMBRIA Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)

3.77 | 13 ratings
Live at the Starland Ballroom
2005
4.00 | 10 ratings
The Last Supper
2006
4.60 | 26 ratings
Neverender: Children of the Fence Edition
2009

COHEED AND CAMBRIA Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)

4.50 | 19 ratings
Neverender: Children Of The Fence Edition
2009
2.00 | 1 ratings
Playlist: The Very Best of Coheed and Cambria
2011
4.00 | 1 ratings
The Color Before the Sun - Limited Edition Deluxe Boxset
2015
2.50 | 2 ratings
The Essential Coheed and Cambria
2015

COHEED AND CAMBRIA Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)

3.13 | 8 ratings
Live at La Zona Rosa
2004
0.00 | 0 ratings
Blood Red Summer
2005
0.00 | 0 ratings
Kerrang! / XFM UK Acoustic Sessions
2006
3.08 | 6 ratings
Neverender 12%
2009
0.00 | 0 ratings
World of Lines
2010
0.00 | 0 ratings
Here We Are Juggernaut
2010
0.00 | 0 ratings
The Broken
2010
0.00 | 0 ratings
Guns of Summer / Pearl of the Stars
2010
4.00 | 1 ratings
Elf Tower
2011
0.00 | 0 ratings
Hello
2015
4.00 | 9 ratings
The Dark Sentencer
2018
3.00 | 1 ratings
Jessie's Girl 2
2020
4.00 | 1 ratings
Shoulders
2021
4.00 | 1 ratings
Rise, Naianasha
2021
4.00 | 1 ratings
The Liars Club
2022
3.00 | 1 ratings
The Liars Club (Acoustic)
2022

COHEED AND CAMBRIA Reviews


Showing last 10 reviews only
 A Window of the Waking Mind by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2022
3.94 | 30 ratings

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A Window of the Waking Mind
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by Dapper~Blueberries
Prog Reviewer

4 stars In the early 2000s, there has been an increase of new and exciting Prog bands, however they were not following a traditional form of the genre that was introduced back in the classic days. These bands were a lot more punkish in their form, bridging the gap between almost classical harmonies and structure with loud and punkish demeanors. These bands, such as The Mars Volta, Protest The Hero, and The Dear Hunter contributed and evolved this style into new heights. I like to call this style of Prog rock as Prog Punk. However there is a band that is looked upon pretty favorably in this Prog punk style. This band explores a ton of nuanced themes and concepts to the point where most of the band's discography is essentially one big rock opera, that only a few bands like Magma or (maybe) King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard can hold a candle too. I am of course talking about Coheed and Cambria. With a steady track record of consistently great albums, Coheed and Cambria has managed to become one of my favorite bands in recent months ever since I first heard their first album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade. When I heard they were making a new album, safe to say I was pretty hyped, and now that it's out I thought to see what awaits the band on these special occasions.

As for a concept band, Vaxis II is a sequel or a second part to their last album, The Unheavenly Creatures. I felt that release was great but had a few lacking aspects to it in retrospect to other albums, so I was intrigued with how they could possibly improve upon that album, however the opening track "The Embers of Fire" definitely delivers on a strong hook for the album. It is a beautiful piano melody with singing from a child with a few echoes and reverbs here and there, until it explodes into this epic orchestrated harmony. It not only sets an example on the album's big epic nature, but also sets an example on how far the band has come from a smaller indie band, to this highly influential group that can make a profound concept album. They set the bar high immediately, hoping they will remain.

Right after that we get Beautiful Losers. If The Embers of Fire was the Big Bang of an opener then this song is like the asteroid that caused the ice age on earth because my god is this such a banger. How the song just builds and builds to some amazing choruses and melodic changes is just super good. I do think the song is a little too short for comfort, if it was a tiny bit longer and it had a bit more added onto it then it would be nearly perfect, but I do think there is so much to appreciate this song with, especially the singing. Claudio Sanchez's voice ages like a fine wine and here, he may just be at his peak. Super crisp and tight but still with that hardcore punk tone in his voice you see in some bands like MCR or Green Day, which hugely fits with this awesome song. This album is just brimming with quality already which is highly appreciated.

If you thought that was good, then Comatose takes things in a new but highly appreciated direction, going for a less big symphonic hard rock sound, stripping back a bit and letting the more proggy elements of their sound take a backseat for a more punk-like sound. Now the Prog fan in me is rather disappointed, but the stronger Coheed and Cambria fan in me knows that this ain't new for the band to pull, and as it stands they sound better than ever in this style. I gotta appreciate the guitars here on this album. They always had an art in their guitar that might just rival even some of the best guitarists. Mixed with the great production qualities of Zakk Cervini and the band never sounded better. But I do have to say again, this album definitely is a tad more pop-like than most of their other works, which I don't mind, but I do wish there is a tiny bit more to these songs. Nonetheless, still super great.

Keeping the track of hard rocking songs, Shoulders takes a more rhythmic hard rock approach with a seriously awesome leading riff. This is definitely the most hard hitting song on the album that combines Coheed and Cambria's usual sound with something a lot more in tune with technical djent sounds. It's super loud, super bassy, and just super technically sound that it's slowly becoming one of my favorite song from the band, especially with that distorted guitar solo near the end. I have to say this again, the band seriously has a distinct art form with their guitar playing that is seriously impressive. I cannot get enough of this song if I am being real here, it's just that good.

So we've had big hard rock epics that showcased the more punkish side of the band, more orchestral sounding songs that shows the proggy side of the same coin, but there is one song that goes into a completely new direction. A Disappearing Act explores a combination of their usual style with spacey synthwave music, and to be honest?it works. It works really well surprisingly. I am honestly surprised the band hasn't pulled this type of style yet but hey better late than never cause I really like it. The synths mesh so well with the drums and singing that it feels like an adventure in itself. It's just a really fun song that makes me think of space and because of that I think this is one of the strongest songs on the album as a whole, and even despite its more poppy nature, I still cannot help but adore it.

We have been moving a bit away from the more Prog elements the band has, and I think the band knew this so they made up for it for a pretty interesting piece called Love Murder One. The main riff is arguably the oddest the band has done, plus the drumming is also pretty odd in the grand scheme of things. Now I will say it is a fun song, really, but it is also the weakest since it kinda broke the flow for me. I expected another great hard rocking jam, but I got something a tad too different from the flow this album is already known for. I do have to say that I do not hate this song, by any means it's still really good, the flow is incredible and the chorus beat is just magnificent, but if you do listen to this album just understand that this song might slightly put you off the album's line and sinker a tad bit.

That slight detour later and we get to Blood. Think A Disappearing Act but with the band's more punkish sound. A lot of spacey synths mixed with some highly talented guitar work to create something truly immaculate. It's almost Pink Floyd in a way, but if they were inspired by power punk and metal bands from the 2000s. Not only is it a master class of a song but it truly creates a sense of wonder and adventure that the band always strives for. Super solid and well made.

Next up is The Liars Club. Coheed and Cambria are very known for their more progressive punk nature, that is obvious, so them keeping that consistency of sound up for several years and improving it throughout is truly a testament to their craft. The Liars Club definitely still delivers on that sort of sound and style that we're so familiar with, but very much know first hand that things will be a little different each song. However looking at it critically, I cannot find much in the wake of anything new. By now I feel as though the band is creating a sort of same song and dance routine with this album. I would say this would be a huge issue if the songs weren't good, they still are, however it does get boring to have a three minute hard rock song play throughout a whole album with some sprinkling in variation. It feels not a step down but more like a step in a puddle, somewhere that can be easily avoided and not at all a major inconvenience, but it will ruin your new pair of shoes, and that's what's important.

That tangent aside, the next song Bad Man is actually pretty different. A lot more use on the drums and synths rather than guitars, going for a more sci-fi feel once more. This is something I truly gained a soft spot for. Not only does it utilizes more introspective talents the band can use but it also allows them to take a breather from their harder hitting songs. It's just really fun to hear a galactic sounding song, and this song is really fun.

Now after that we get Our Love. This strips pretty much every hard rock element and is mostly an atmospheric song with lyrics and barely any beats. You know those musical numbers from most modern children films where the main character is expressing their love to their partner? That is basically this, and I still have to say I really like this change of pace. It allows the band to explore new sounds that might make them appreciate the quieter moments. Experimentation and exploring new ideas and sounds is always a good thing I say, and while this song may be a tiny bit lacking, I cannot deny it does feel very sweet, even in a somewhat cheesy way.

If you thought Love Murder One was proggy than you've nothing yet cause Ladders of Supremacy cranks that switch and revs it up to the point where it's now straight up Prog Metal, but while Lover Murder One was a tiny bump in the road, this song delivers strong melodies, riffs, hooks, and pure epicness that truly revels in the flavors Coheed and Cambria was provided. I get strong Between The Buried and Me vibes from the first half of the song and some great Mars Volta vibes on the second half. It's a melodic powerhouse and straight up brilliance, and I hope to see more of this in the future.

Rise, Naianasha (Cut The Cord) is a back from their usual punk nature, but it combines the proggy aspects of the last song and just blends it together, truly creating a progressive punk jam. A ton of impressive melodies mixed with a ton of epic power chords and some impressively good playing skills and you got yourself a one way ticket to one of the band's best and most consistent song to be made. It's quite impressive how this band can consistently find a way to bridge the gap between punk and Prog so well, but they manage to do it, and I gotta respect them for that.

Speaking of which, the title track is no joke. This is an 8 minute banger of a song. It's an explosion of epic harmonies with some nice soft moments here and there to really add so much more to the song. As an album closer, this is by far one of the band's best works, with not only a grand start but a grand finisher. Even if the road that leads to this amazing grand spectacle of a song was a tad rocky, the journey was worth it and I cannot say I was all too disappointed with this release, and this song makes me highly hopeful to see what awaits this band in the future.

While its consistency is both its detriment and its upside, I feel like the good outweighs the bad in this album in a ton of departments. It's one of the band's strongest albums in a long time and I say that every song can be considered a smash hit, even the ones that might seem highly unlikely to be ones. It's a fun, epic, and all around grand album that you should definitely check out.

 Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two - No World for Tomorrow by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.72 | 184 ratings

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Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two - No World for Tomorrow
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by Hector Enrique
Prog Reviewer

4 stars Coheed & Cambria's fourth album, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow, is part of the "The Amory Wars" comic saga created by its leader Claudio Sanchez. It is a combination of rock at times forceful, at times sublime, at times spatial, and decidedly direct. There is no room for excessively intricate developments, but not for that reason exempt from progressive elements that are incisive and powerful, with an aroma of the more aggressive side of Pink Floyd and also the Rush of the early eighties. The firm guitar riffs stand out clearly, very well supported by some keyboards that help to generate the atmosphere that the story requires.

From the clean acoustic intro The Reaping, the tracks follow one another swiftly, passing through moments of stupendous inspiration such as the intense No World for Tomorrow, the super rockers and festive Feathers and The Running Free, the passionate and sentimental Mother Superior, to the impeccable The End Complete III: The End Complete, which is probably the best achieved song and by the way the longest on the album (almost 8 minutes), with constant changes in the rhythm section and a dramatic final part.

The rest of the songs maintain the tension and do not lower their guard until the epilogue with The End Complete V: On the Brink, rounding out a very good album by New Yorkers. To enjoy from start to finish.

 The Afterman - Ascension by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2012
3.85 | 110 ratings

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The Afterman - Ascension
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by Kempokid
Collaborator Prog Metal Team

4 stars After a couple of unremarkable albums, including the truly awful Year of the Black Rainbow, which simultaneously was too ambitious and aso had very little in the way of actual execution of any ideas, all complete with the terrible production, Coheed and Cambria managed to redeem themselves with The Afterman. What happened here is that much of the songwriting was cleaned up and made more consice, integrating the catchy hooks and riffs into the songs without compromising any impact or complexity. While the songs here may be more simplistic compared to those on the larger scale albums, especially the Good Apollo duology, these are undoubtedly some of the best songs that the band has ever put out, and this is definitely one of my favourites by Coheed and Cambria.

While The Hollow starts things off in an atmospheric, pleasant way that ultimately sets the tone for the album, it's on the band's greatest song Key Entity Extraction I: Domino The Destitute that things kick into high gear. As is customary with any C&C album, the frst true track is both one of the best on the album, and is an anthemic epic that will both cause you to pump your fists in the air and then have the majority of it staying in your head for ages. Domino the Destitute takes both of these aspects, and then amps everything up, telling an entire story, containing some truly epic riffs, and managing to be both incredibly emotional and downright awesome. It's also clear that this is one of the band's proggiest songs, having a distinct chorus, but the rest of the song moving along through countless verses and melodies, each one incredibly memorable, which makes it an absolute blast to repeatedly listen to, as the song is unpredictable, yet easy to listen to. Other songs take on a more conventional approach, such as the pleasant, subdued title track that encompasses a lot of the pop elements present in the band's discography, but still sounding really unique in the sense of the soft riffs with a really lovely guitar tone, all brought together by the symphonic instruments adding another layer of beauty. Mothers Of Men is another song that provides interest, with harder hitting riffs that would often signify an upbeat, energetic song, instead being another one that's fairly slow in pace, both working well, with the signature C&C sound, mixing pop punk and pop with proggy elements and a bombastic storyline. My second favourite section of the album is the 2 next songs in the Key Entity Extraction suite, both being some of their most heavy and energetic material. Hollywood the Cracked is a heavy, abrasive song filled with distortion and screaming, that then is elevated to whole new heights once Claudio Sanchez begins singing cleanly, unleashing some of the best high notes in his career and just in general being at some of his absolute best in terms of vocal work. While the song is over quickly, the noise in the last 30 seconds or so acts as a brilliant precursor to Vic the Butcher, which is incredibly energetic and is one of those songs that I find incredibly hard to not sing along to. I love the certain demented quality it has to it with the creepy backing vocals and the lyrics describing one of my favourite pieces of lore by the band.

Overall, despite there being a couple of moments that interest me less than others, the album as a whole is easily one of Coheed and Cambria's best, with tight songwriting and incredible hooks and instrumentation in general, being varied, yet never to the point where it becomes cumbersome. I prefer The Afterman: Ascension to Descension, despite both being very good, and this one being more rock oriented, while Descension was far more eclectic. I'd recommend that a newcomer to the band would still either start with their second or thrid album, due to being more indicative of the band's overall sound, but this is an excellent album for sure.

Best songs: Domino The Destitute, Hollywood the Cracked, Vic the Butcher

Weakest songs: Goodnight, Fair Lady

Verdict: Less proggy than some of their past works, but definitely for the better, putting some sort of restraint on their ambitions, causing the album to not get out of hand in the same way that year of the Black Rainbow did. While this is part 1 of a 2 album series, you can honestly listen to this by itself if you want to, as Subtraction ends the album in a way that does provide closure, although I'd still recommend to listening to both in a row.

 Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two - No World for Tomorrow by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2007
3.72 | 184 ratings

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Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two - No World for Tomorrow
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by Kempokid
Collaborator Prog Metal Team

3 stars I don't quite understand why people keep saying that this album completely shed their emo sound and became more pure prog rock, as this album is one of the more pop oriented in their discography. After their more ambitious, proggy previous album, Coheed and Cambria seem to have gone more towards a sound focusing even more on their hooks and catchy melodies than before, not that that's a bad thing. The sound is definitely more refined all around however, without any songs which I would consider major filler in the same way of previus albums, and definitely some moments of a heavier sort of sound, which is very welcome in balancing the accessibility of other tracks.,.

Just as with any other C&C album, the first two tracks are easy enough to predict, the first being a brief intro, and the second being an anthemic epic that's consistently one of the best songs on the entire album. In this case, I'd say that No World For Tomorrow is one of my favourite of these sorts of songs, starting off with a cool riff that before unleashing one of the most epic, dramatic songs they've written, strong basslines undereath incredible vocal melodies, and a downright incredible chorus, as well as a cool reprise of the chorus of Blood Red Summer. The Hound (Of Blood and Rank) is a more fun song, once again with a cool chorus, as well as some cool string arrangements, with cool vocal harmonies, although it does drag on a bit. Feathers is definitely one of the most underrated songs by the band, sure, it's without a doubt one of the most commercial, poppy songs they've written, but I love the catchy hook and Claudio's extremely pleasant vocals, along with the guitar solo near the end. One issue that I do have with some of the heavier songs here, in particular The Running Free and Gravemakers and Gunslingers is that they do sound qiute goofy in general, mostly because it's cleat that a harder edge to the music is being pursued, but Claudio's voice is just too high and melodious to make it sound the way I feel like they tried to make. The other song on this first half that I really like is Mother Superior, which is just brimming with emotion all the way through, being powerful when it works, and subdued otherwise, making for one of their better crafted songs.

There is one problem I definitely have with this album is the fact that The End Complete suite is undoubtedly the worst of them that the band has made, with Radio Bye Bye and The Road and the Damned both being serviceable songs all around, but not as special as the songs on all the other suites are, feeling quite disjointed overall. The Fall Of House Atlantic is a cool minute long, complex and overlayed guitar piece that is quite nice, starting off the suite well, but it's really The End Complete and On The Brink that make this worthwhile at all. The latter is highly climactic, serving as an excellent closer to the entire plot of this part of the Amory Wars, and The End Complete stand out as another of their best songs, starting off in fairly standard fashion, being catchy and well played, but then it goes completely insane, showng the band at their most intense. This section distorts Claudio's vocals and then provides a very chaotic instrumental backing while the vocas are absolutely belted out, even bringing back his screaming that he didn't end up using last album at all (for the better mind you, it just works well here).

Overall, this is one of the weaker albums by the band, not having any major points of filler, but almost never reaching the heights that even Second Stage Turbine Blade reached, although this album is more varied and consistent. That said, when this album is good, it's really good, I just don't think that it has the same magic as their previous two albums at all. I'd recommend their previous two albums if you want to check out this band, and think that people who can enjoy more pop oriented elements of music at points will find those highly enjoyable.

Best songs: No World For Tomorrow, Mother Superior, III - The End Complete

Weakest songs: The Running Free, Gravemakers and Gunslingers

Verdict: A more refined, pop oriented album by Coheed and Cambria, but also a less interesting one than their previous two albums, which I'd recommend you listen to first before giving this one a shot.

 Year of the Black Rainbow by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2010
3.09 | 123 ratings

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Year of the Black Rainbow
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by Kempokid
Collaborator Prog Metal Team

1 stars After a string of great albums, particularly the excellent Good Apollo duology, it's honestly slightly amazing how much worse this album is compared to anything Coheed and Cambria has made before or since. The vocals aren't anywhere as good as normal, with Claudio sounding somewhat strained whenever trying to be dramatic, and the instrumentation is considerably weaker, with no moments that stand out to me, which is a hugs letdown after previous albums, even the fairly average 'Second Stage Turbine Blade' had many parts which sounded simply excellent. By far the biggest issue with this album is the production, which is horribly muddy and washed out, further reducing any impact that the instrumental sections have, along with just sounding outright bad all around.

The songs are also quite weak for the most part, with many of them sounding very similar to one another, with only a few songs that actually stand out in any way. The most notable example is an outlier in the band's entire career, the divisive 'Guns of Summer', which utilises a great deal of electronics sounding almost like breakcore in sections, being extremely energetic. While the instrumentation here is actually quite interesting, the vocals bring it down to some extent, making it a song I have quite mixed feelings about it, which is an issue since it's one of the better tracks here. Other than this, there are two songs on the album that are genuinely decent, 'Pearl of the Stars' and 'This Shattered Symphony'. 'Pearl of the Stars' is quite a nice, emotional ballad, that while not of the same quality as 'Mother Superior' or 'Once Upon Your Dead Body', is still fairly decent. 'This Shattered Symphony' is by far the best song here, with a dark, slightly oppressive atmosphere that actually sounds more suited to the muddier production, with the chorus being especially high quality, along with being the only song with some really great riffs.

The rest of the songs have very similar issues with them, with poor production and composing them in such a way to have them try and seem epic, but failing horribly. Along with this, I find myself often finding songs to drag slightly, despite only being around 5 minutes or less. The worst example of this is 'Far' which has the drums pushed forward in the mix, so you constantly get distracted by them, also bringing far too much attention to the simple beat. This causes the song to become dull very fast, as nothing else is of any interest either, making this 5 minutes feel more like 10.

Overall, this is the weakest Coheed and Cambria album by quite a large margin, with only two songs being of any major merit, with the majority being brought down by a combination of poor production and bad songwriting. I really can't recommend this album at all, as I can find very few good qualities in it besides the two high quality songs and the interesting experimentation in 'Guns of Summer'. Stay away from this album until you've heard some of Coheed's earlier work, or just stay away from it in general.

Best songs: This Shattered Symphony, Pearl of the Stars

Weakest Songs: Far, Made Out Of Nothing (All That I Am), In The Flame of Error, Here We Are Juggernaut, The Black Rainbow

Verdict: Really bad album by a generally high quality band. Listen to the best tracks, as they're quite good, but stay away from everything else or at least listen with low expectations.

 Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One - From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2005
3.69 | 210 ratings

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Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One - From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by Kempokid
Collaborator Prog Metal Team

4 stars Coheed and Cambria's third album is generally considered to be their best, I can definitely see why this is the case. Their sound has been further refined from previous efforts, maintaining a mix of pop and prog rock while also having refined both sides of this sound. Along with this major improvement, production is even better than before, with the sound once again being extremely clear, and the album containing some of the band's best work. However, despite the fact that some of the highest heights being found here, I can also say that it contains a couple of small missteps.

The first 4 songs on the album are incredibly promising, the first 2, 'Keeping the Blade' and 'Always and Never' essentially serving as short introductions to the rest of the album. 'Always and Never' in particular is notable out of these 2, as it is a great example of how the band puts some extremely happy sounding tunes together with some extremely dark lyrics, which is something the majority of the album does quite well. 'Welcome Home' is the first true standout of the album however, with one of my favourite intros in music, the first quiet guitar riff that then simply explodes into an epic, symphonic masterpiece of a song. Everything about this song is simply perfection, amazingly intense, with each instrument sounding great and the additional string orchestration further heightening this. The more upbeat, poppy bridge helps break up the song slightly before it goes back to going full throttle, but overall, I cannot fault this song at all, as it is undoubtedly incredible and well deserving of it being by far the most popular song Coheed have ever made. 'Ten Speed (Of God's Blood & Burial)', while not quite as great as 'Welcome Home', is another great song, being fast, catchy, and fun, with an especially great chorus. The first problem with the album actually surfaces here however, as the next song, 'Crossing the Frame' is one of my least favourite songs the band has put out, being incredibly boring and unimpressive, despite a decent bassline. This song would have disturbed the general flow of the album if not for the powerhouse that is the next song, 'Apollo I: The Writing Writer'. This is up there with 'Welcome Home' for me in terms of quality, with the unusual riff which when together with the equally strange bass and the great vocal melody, creates something both truly unique sounding, and a formidable song. In terms of composition, this song is also great, with the chorus and bridge near the end both being extremely catchy, both being worthy of being main hooks in a song, making this relatively structurally simple song end up sounding amazing.

The middle section is considerably weaker than the first, containing some more simplistic songs without anywhere near as much of the wow factor that the previous songs had, instead being much more pleasant. 'Wake Up' is a great ballad, combining some simply beautiful passages making full use of the string orchestrations, while also having the dark edge of the lyrics, with phrases such as "Kill anyone for you". 'The Suffering' is the other high point of this portion of the album, being the most straightforward song on the album, along with being by far the most catchy. This song also shows how the band have further developed the pop aspect of themselves, being extremely enjoyable, with some of the cheesiness toned down, likely a big part being how Claudio's vocals have further developed on this album. The other songs are inoffensive, but unimpressive, simply being quite dull.

The Willing Well suite makes up over a third of the album, and is worth every second of it, being easily the greatest part of the entire album. This is genuinely one of my favourite songs of all time, easily falling in my top 20, possibly top 10 (yes, I'm aware that each section sounds quite different, but if 'Karn Evil 9' is allowed to do this and still be considered one song, then so is this). Each section of this manages to impress me in a different way, with no section being weaker than any other, making a consistently amazing listening experience, despite being 30 minutes long. 'The Willing Well I: Fuel For The Feeding End' kicks things off with a wonderful ferocity, the technical ability of the band being on full display, with fast paced, frenetic riffing while the bass sounds like it's going insane. The heavily altered backing harmonies during the "run little maggot" bridge are nothing short of brilliant, then going through many other changes, not letting up for a moment, with even the slower moments being unsettling. This section showcases the peak of technical ability that the band has. 'The Willing Well II: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness' is probably my favourite part of the suite, being structurally great and focusing mostly on shifting through various emotions and tones. The first section is one of the most stupidly happy sounding songs I've heard, perhaps only rivalled by 'The Dear Hunter's' 'Smiling Swine'. What makes this song so impressive to me is how there is a constant gradual buildup throughout the entire run-time, starting of sounding so carefree, despite the overtly dark lyrics. Everything further builds as the song has a constant pace set up by the drumming and Claudio repeatedly sings "No one runs faster than you", which is wonderfully demented and I love it. This section displays how well the band can control the tone of their music, along with how perfectly they can build things up. 'The Willing Well III: Apollo II: The Telling Truth' is by far the part that I find most interesting, simply because the entire song is essentially reprises that are woven together expertly. I mentioned earlier how the closing bridge to 'Apollo I' could easily be used as the main hook of a song, which is proven here, as that's exactly what happens. After the first section, which is essentially just a reprise of 'Apollo I' but with minor changes such as a slightly increased tempo, the middle section then comes in, reprising both 'Everything Evil' and 'Blood Red Summer' from previous albums, right before picking up the pace once again. This to me shows the peak of the storytelling aspect of the band, along with their catchy side, as the songs that have been reprised each are integral to the events that are occurring in the lyrics. 'The Willing Well IV: The Final Cut' is a strange piece in the band's entire discography, merely consisting on two verses and then a massive guitar solo at the end. This is easily the darkest sounding song the band has ever put out, with Claudio singing with such raw emotion and the guitar having such a melancholic tone to it. The entire solo is simply amazing, sounding quite bluesy in parts, sounding extremely interesting and unique, as well as closing off the album in the utterly perfect way. This section show the peak of emotional impact that the band has achieved.

This is definitely the best thing that Coheed and Cambria has ever put out, and while not completely consistent, has enough simply incredible moments throughout that I simply cannot rate it anything less than a reasonably high score. I find every element of the band to be at its peak here. The songwriting, while occasionally faltering, is mostly of high quality, with many of my favourite songs by the band featured here. The album is packed full of catchy melodies, powerful emotion, and nicely complex pieces of music thrown in as well.

Best Songs: Welcome Home, The Suffering, The Willing Well Suite

Weakest Songs: Crossing the Frame, Mother May I

Verdict: Coheed and Cambria further refines their sound on their third album, allowing them to further develop both the prog and pop side of their sound, each aspect improving upon previous efforts. While the middle section is somewhat weaker than the rest, the high points are so incredibly high that the overall experience is an extremely positive one.

 In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth - 3 by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2003
3.78 | 180 ratings

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In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth - 3
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by Kempokid
Collaborator Prog Metal Team

4 stars After a somewhat shaky, yet overall competent debut album, Coheed and Cambria end up improving upon every aspect with their sophomore effort, 'In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth - 3'. The emo pop punk element of their debut has been toned down significantly, paving the way for a more mature, more progressive, and far more grandiose sound. This album in general is much more fitting to the description often given to the band, being far more powerful and epic.

The albums splits itself quite cleanly between the more progressive tracks such as the title track and '2113' and some more accessible, pop oriented ones such as 'Blood Red Summer' and 'A Favor House Atlantic'. These more progressive songs are where most of the best material on the album can be found, with the title track being amazing riff after amazing riff, changing tone at multiple point and displaying Claudio's great vocals. Another example is the 3 piece mini-epic 'The Camper Velorium' showing a gradual descent into darkness through adding dissonant riffs and creepy vocal harmonies, perfectly blending the two contrasting musical sensibilities of the band by also throwing in some extremely catchy elements that display some of the peak of the commercial sound achieved on the album. To contrast this, the pop oriented tracks are more of a mixed bag, with 'Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)' being wonderfully energetic and containing an incredible outro, while some songs, especially 'Blood Red Summer' being somewhat too saccharine for my tastes, 'Blood Red Summer' containing the cheesy "hey hey hey" vocalisations that make this song almost downright embarrassing .

'In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth - 3' also applies the technique that continues becoming more prominent on later albums of reprising sections from previous songs, usually to signify certain plot points. This technique is especially noticeable on '2113' with the reprise of the intro to the debut's 'Time Consumer', which definitely added quite a lot to the song overall. The production is also crystal clear here, with each instrument able to be heard with ease, displaying how well Coheed works as a single unit, each instrument being made prominent only when it needs to be, along with how well each person can play, the prime example being the great drum fills in 'The Crowing'.

This is definitely one of the most consistent Coheed albums, with almost all of the songs being of very high quality and with most of the low points still being serviceable. The growing maturity of the band can be seen here in the form of the longer, more powerful compositions and the overall improvement the band has made on every front, performance, emotion, production, everything. This is where I would recommend newcomers of the band to start from, being one of the best albums the band has made while also giving a great general impression of how the band sounds.

Best Songs: In Keeping Secrets With Silent Earth - 3, The Camper Velorium suite, 2113

Weakest Songs: Blood Red Summer, A Favor House Atlantic

Verdict: An improvement over the debut in every way, and the best entry point into the band's discography, walking the line between pop and prog in a way that can appeal to both crowds. Recommended to anyone who won't run away at the mention of pop-punk music.

 The Second Stage Turbine Blade by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2002
3.30 | 131 ratings

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The Second Stage Turbine Blade
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by Kempokid
Collaborator Prog Metal Team

3 stars When I originally decided to listen to Coheed and Cambria, I began with this album, and was extremely surprised. From what this band was described as, an incredibly ambitious, epic band with an overarching sci fi concept, I instead was somewhat disappointed to find out just how much of a pop and even occasionally emo edge they had to them. This disappointment was actually increased due to how amazing the band's intros tended to be, as I found 'Second Stage Turbine Blade' and the intro to 'Time Consumer' to sound absolutely incredible, only to be greeted by a fairly standard hard rock tune directly after. However, I must say that my initial opinion of them was heavily biased and led by my disappointment, rather than looking at it objectively, because it's actually a pretty decent album overall.

I've already started speaking about just how incredible I find the intro to 'Time Consumer' to be, having an excellent melody and atmosphere, which then transforms into the poppy, yet great main parts of it. I really love the vocals of Claudio Sanchez, as they manage to be extremely nice and pleasant in many cases, while also being able to have a lot of emotion put behind them when the song requires it. 'Delirium Trigger' is another song that has an incredible intro, and is my favourite song on the album other than possibly 'Time Consumer'. This song almost sounds like something from Deloused era 'Mars Volta', especially with the vocals. The melody is great, and the chorus is simply dripping with emotion. The rest of the album similarly follows this basic template.

This album is quite flawed in a number of ways however, the biggest reason being the aforementioned template used for many songs here, having an intro that's usually incredible, but different to the majority of the song, which then leads into a pop rock track, the issue here being how many of them sound very similar to one another past the halfway point, with the drumming being quite monotonous throughout. My one other large issue with this album is that while the vocals are usually incredible, Claudio was far from being able to scream well at this point, and so whenever he tries using harsh vocals, it ends up sounding quite terrible.

On the whole, the album is of fair quality, with the first half being great, with some of the band's best material, while the second half is somewhat dull and tiresome, overall making it one of the weaker releases by the band. Despite this, I cannot deny that the melodies are often great, and that many of the intros are good enough that it makes me wonder how different this band would end up being if they focused more on these aspects rather than further developing the pop element of their sound, but as it stands, this is a decent album, but not one that I will jump out and strongly recommend to people.

Best Tracks: Time Consumer, Everything Evil, Delirium Trigger

Weakest Tracks: Hearshot Kid Disaster, 33

Verdict: A decent album all around, but far from the best that Coheed has to offer. The sound is quite pop oriented in general, so be prepared for that, but at least give the first 4 main tracks a listen if you're interested, as they are quite strong

 Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One - From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2005
3.69 | 210 ratings

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Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One - From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by mlkpad14

5 stars Looking back at many reviews, it seems like this album is mostly getting an okay rep, but I think this album deserves 5 stars. I don't say that often at all, and I will explain just what led me to my decision.

Initially, actually, I didn't think much of the album. With each listen though, the album grew on me. While I'm sure that this album will disappear amongst my music list in the next month or so, every listen since I tried it 2 weeks ago has bounced this album to its essential ranking.

After my first listen, I was happy to give the album 3 stars as it really didn't do anything for me. However, by the 2nd listen and the 3rd listen, I was noticing epics such as the 4-part "The Willing Well" and the energy-filled "Welcome Home."

Then, by my 4th and 5th listen I was really digging more and more songs from the album. Particularly, "Always and Never" held high replay value for me. It reminded me of a short preview to Steven Wilson's song "Pariah." They both just felt like they should've been longer, but they weren't so I found myself replaying them over and over!

My 5th listen was mostly for the lyrics. The story seems exaggerated but valuable, though I'm partial as to whether I should buy the parallel graphic novels.

Finally, my next few 6th, 7th, and 8th listens were just really fun. The album isn't all that technical and it is very poppy. They move through concepts quickly, and all-in-all it makes the album very fun to listen to when looking for something to bounce around to. Very worth trying out!

 In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth - 3 by COHEED AND CAMBRIA album cover Studio Album, 2003
3.78 | 180 ratings

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In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth - 3
Coheed And Cambria Crossover Prog

Review by SteveG

3 stars I've tried to veer away from C&C until some consensus came about in regards to labeling their sound. The last I heard was punk meets prog. In Keeping Secrets from Silent Earth: 3, the group's second album, finds them, IMO, to be post metal core meets emo, with some pop and punk thrown in at times. There's still not much here that I would classify as progressive metal, save the band's penchant to keep producing themes based on singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez's "Armory Wars" graphic novels.

The group does up their game on this album with more complex and, at times, technical playing, as well as improving their already stellar sense of melodicism. This helps to break up the monochromatic stance found of the group's debut album Second Stage. Sanchez is more assured as a vocalist, and like his sound alike "mentor" Geddy Lee, sounds better in the lower registers found on this album, and on this album's quieter higher registers, especially during the backing and response vocals.

The group plays fantastically, but still never takes those fantastic flights of musical fancy and soloing that makes prog metal so adventurous. Perhaps their next effort will see them shoot for the moon, musically as well as conceptually. Now, that would be something.

Thanks to Shwang_Shwinga (via Admin team) for the artist addition. and to Quinino for the last updates

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