THE SECOND STAGE TURBINE BLADE

I'm going to dive right into the song by song analysis, and skip right over the debate of if Coheed belongs on this site (I think I'm for it by the way). Warning: This album is not too progressive, but I will be reviewing this album by the songs, not level of progressiveness. If you can't get into music that is lacking in the progressive portion, this album is probably not for you.

Things start off with the title track, which is just a prelude of sorts. It could have been thought out much better, and was on Good Apollo. It's just under a minute long, so it's not painful to sit through in any way. It just doesn't really add anything. 6/10

We get our first taste of the musicians on Time Consumer. It starts off relatively chill, until the lyrics kick in, then the energy is shown. It still feels like they're being lazy about it though. On later albums you could tell that the band must have been jumping around in the studio with energy. Unfortunately the feeling does not paticurally come across on this song. When Claudio sings in his higher register it sort of comes across, but not enough to cover how simple this track is. Overall is comes across as being too repetitive, and it doesn't really hold up. Especially for the first track on an album. 6/10

Devil in Jersey City is a bit of an improvement. The energy is there, the chorus is catchy, it's fun. Sure it's just a rock song, but what's wrong with a rock song now and again? This is Coheed's bread and butter, a good song to start on because it's better than a lot of their other "rock songs" but not as good as some of their "progressive songs" (which are few and far between unfortunately, because they're actually very good at being progressive when they want to be) 8/10 Everything Evil is more of the same, which is a growing trend in this album. This one does feature some good lyrics though. Unfortunately, the chorus does not really stand up to the cool feel of the verses which kind of annoys me. There is a progressiveish bridge that features some (a?) time shift(s) I'd have to listen again to be sure though. Claudio goes up vocally after the bridge in a good way. His voice becomes very singsongy, as heard on the later Always And Never. 6/10 Because I can't get over the incredibly emo chorus/outro.

Delirium Trigger is much more listenable. It has a lot of changes in it. It almost feels a little schizo with all of the stop and goes, but I like the effect it gives off. Dynamics really help move this song along, and out of the normal Coheed structure. 7/10

Hearshot Kid Disaster brings back the emo side. I'm not cool with that. The less emo the better. And this song is emo to the max. 5/10 33 is another song with the whole emo vein going on, but this time, there is less intro, and more energy, so it covers for itself fairly well. There are VERY emo moments, but it's not too painful. 7/10

Junesong Provision is the song when it really hit me how annoying Claudio's singing can be. I'm pretty tolerant of it overall, and even like it at times; but on this song it only brings down a fairly good song. This song has the feel of a rough demo recorded by some local teenage rock band. Not good for professionals. 6/10

Neverender only continues the bad streak the album has going on. By this point in the CD I'm really struggling to continue listening.5/10

God Send Conspirator ends the album on a higher note at least. Still not very high at all, but at least the album has a decent closer. 7/10

I really can't get that into this album, and would not recommend it to the average progger. A couple buddies of mine are always proclaiming how great they are, but with exception of possibly Apollo I'm Burning. I really don't listen to Coheed at all.

Coheed and Cambria plays a blend of progressive and alternative rock, 80s metal and pop. Fronting the band is Claudio Sanchez, who has awesome hair and an unmistakable voice. He has been compared to Geddy Lee, even that he is trying to be Geddy Lee as a vocalist, but that is far from the truth. Each of the two has different quirks in their voices that set them apart, and I can't hear any Coheed and Cambria vocal lines that sound like an imitation of Rush. Further criticism of the band includes that there is too much of an emo element in their music. I personally avoid the term emo as much as I can - it carries different meanings to everybody musically and I don't even want to get into the fashion side of it - because it doesn't do anything to really describe the music, not to mention that an automatic negative conotation is brought upon the described band when the term is thrown around (specifically in prog rock circles). This band should not be treated as one of those bands because they are quite beyond that. Even if they carry a sound that has traces of what some may refer to as emo, it is not one of their defining characteristics. The "emo" sound they carry is more of the Fugazi brand than anything, which isn't at all detestable mind you, and it was mostly shed by their second album anyway. I thought I might tag this onto my first Coheed review and get that over with. Moving on...

The band's debut album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade is actually the second chapter in their multi-album Sci-Fi concept, which also has a corresponding comic book series. Coheed and Cambria are main characters in this story (I wonder what they plan on doing when they're done with this concept series). This multi-album concept idea, as many of us know at this point, has been done before (immediately Magma comes to mind), but of course the MTV crowd is not used to this, so the band has been lauded for such a feat. However, the band was still pretty much an underground band when this thing came out, and didn't really see fame until after this album's successor.

The album opens with the title track, which is a 50-second intro that introduces a musical motif that the band would incorporate into their future albums. This flows into Time Consumer, which opens with a nice drum & bass groove accompanied by a very cool, clean dual guitar riff and then moves into an interesting poppy alternative rock song. I would have liked to hear more development of that awesome intro (underdevelopment would prove to be one of their problems in later albums), but the song is still very good nevertheless, and they do end up bringing the intro riff back along with a guitar solo by Dr. Know of Bad Brains (interesting choice). I suppose if any track on here sounds emo, it would be the bulk of this song. One thing you will notice about this band that further sets them aside from the bands they get compared to is their tight rhythm section; bassist Michael Todd plays funky lines and even plays slap bass occasionally, even in the pop songs, and drummer Joshua Eppard play simple but tasty beats that meld with the bass. Next we have "Devil in Jersey City," which makes a great single. It has great hooks, but also a very gritty edge. This moves into "Everything Evil," which is arguably the most proggy track on the album. Going from a dark and evil, if you will, first half to a powerful melodic second half, this is an excellent song. As the song fades out, we hear the next and most prominent musical motif they will use in the years to come, this time played on a piano with a very haunting atmosphere enveloping it. "Delirium Trigger" is the heaviest song on this album. "Hearshot Kid Disaster" starts out with a pretty funky riff and then moves into a good alternative rock song. "33" is a poppy track with some great hooks. Closing out the album is a series of dynamic, emotionally charged songs: "Junesong Provision," "Neverender" and "God Send Conspirator." Each track is fantastic. The bonus track "IRO-Bot" is an acoustic/piano based song. It's not entirely on par with the rest of the album, which is probably why they made it a bonus track, but the piece will reappear on the next album's bonus track as well.

All in all, this is a very good album. If you like well-written music, and don't mind a little alternative rock/pop sound, you should enjoy this. The production is a little rough, but it doesn't harm the music too much. They are not grandiloquent, despite the whole concept thing, and they won't blow you away when you first listen to them. You might even be inclined to write them off as pretentious yet run-of-the-mill (especially on the albums to come), but you would be mistaken. The hooks will catch up to you, and the emotion conveyed will impact you. Watching this band progress is quite interesting too. If this album was given the same production treatment as the higher budget albums they put out, then this thing would probably be perfect for me. I'll rate this at 4 ½ stars, but it is on a sliding scale. Not everyone is going to need this in their collection, but it has had quite a significant influence on me. I have always thought that the band had more in them than they gave, but what they gave is still delightful.

'The Second Stage Turbine' - Coheed & Cambria (7/10)

There's been great controversy over whether or not this band should even be on the site. While the answer should be a resounding 'yes' (listen to the song 'The Willing Well I: Fuel For The Feeding End' from the first 'Good Apollo' album, and you should see what I mean) this album is not very progressive. That doesn't mean however, that it's not good, or doesn't incorperate some progressive elements into the music.

Songs like 'Time Consumer' and 'Godsend Conspirator' are fantastic songs in their own right, and are Coheed classics. I really, really like this album, although it wasn't always like that. Unlike the other Coheed albums, which I enjoyed from first spin on, this release took quite a while to get into. At first, I thought it was mediocre, and very one-tracked indie music. But after taking it for what it is, and after hearing a friend's argument saying it was an amazing album for it's 'flow,' I gave it another chance, and I found myself really liking the music.

Even though this is the band's first record, the guitar work feels like it's the best out of any of the Coheed & Cambria albums. Songs like 'Everything Evil' really show the guitarist's skill.

While I may like this album, as can be said for 'In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth,' it can't be promised that prog fans will be first to enjoy this. But if you know what to expect, and are open to many styles of music, this should be worth checking out, for sure.

Yes, I am indeed sticking my neck out there and giving Coheed and Cambria's debut The Second Stage Turbine Blade a rating of essential.... the same rating I gave to prog classics like Close To The Edge and In The Court Of The Crimson King. It's sounds nothing like them, and is certainly not even close to being as musically progressive as the classics. Yet, this album marks perhaps the beginning of the next wave of progressive music. Yes, I am hailing this as one of the, if not THE first, album that clearly demonstrates what new prog is all about. As the classic 70s bands took 60s pop and psychedelia and transformed it into something new and exciting that came to be known as prog rock, Coheed and Cambria are one of those bands who started to take the alternative and punk scene from the late 90s and expand upon it to create something new and far more interesting and fresh.

Everything on this album is just great. It's raw, uncompromised, unique, and it's still very influenced by genres not usually (or ever) associated with progressive music. But that's not to say you can't see the progressive seeds bring sown in this album. It sounds a bit like metal, a bit like alternative, a bit like punk.... but at the same time doing things that define none of those genres. Complex, evolving song structures; long instrumental breaks; this Armory Wars story going through the songs; this is not the typical rock music of the day. What you end up with is a brilliant, unique album that ever prog fans should give a listen, to see where progressive music is going and where this new wave of prog came from. It's a fantasic listen.

Highlights include Time Consumer, Everything Evil, Delirium Trigger, Junesong Provision, Neverender, and God Send Conspirator.... not that the other 3 songs are any slouch... but these are the songs where you can see the progressive nature of Coheed break through and really give the album it's most resonant and greatest moments.

There is a strong bubblegum pop edge to this rock music, and as much as I would otherwise be ashamed to admit it, I really enjoy this music much in the way I like The Ataris (the two bands are quite similar in many ways). The trouble with this album is that while the compositions may be different from each other in many ways, the sound remains the same, and it does grow old about halfway through.

"Second Stage Turbine Blade" A short, atmospheric track opens the album.

"Time Consumer" The opening guitars are clean over a grooving bass and good drum line. It's a short while before the heavy guitars come in. The vocal melody is impressively strong and memorable (I was humming this after the first time I heard it). I also love the subtle synthesizer work. This is the best thing on the album.

"Devil in Jersey City" Further garage band music ensues, but this song has some solid guitar riffs and a lot of energy. The tight bass playing is also something to pay attention to. Again, the vocal melody is as catchy as one expects from good prog-punk. A soft, clean electric guitar solo brings the heavy growling end.

"Everything Evil" The rapid palm-muted guitar riff really makes this song stand out from the others. At the same time, it leaves the singer bare and exposes his weaknesses a bit.

"Delirium Trigger" The drumming stands out, even if it lacks inventiveness. The guitar work, as usual, moves from clean to distorted parts.

"Hearshot Kid Disaster" Heavy drumming, loud guitars, and screaming make up the introduction to this piece. Otherwise, it sounds like everything that came before. While the growling is irritating after only a short while, the chorus is yet another catchy aspect.

"33" This is a nice power pop track with some pleasing vocal harmonies, but nothing much else.

"Junesong Provision" Heavy guitar and impressive vocals and lyrics make up this noteworthy song.

"Neverender" Excellent bass work extends over the mix for a great hard rock series of riffs and a pretty good song.

"God Send Conspirator" Clean guitar music with solid drumming and outstanding bass tone carry the music for the first few seconds of this track. The acoustic section that follows (after some time of silence) is a pleasing change of pace, and what The Mars Volta sounds like on songs like "Televators" (if toned down even more).

SST is a disappointing album. C&C had not fully come into their Rush on emo-punk sound yet and the song writing is generally weak and too unremarkable for me.

The opener Time Consumer is a good example. C&C try something that is supposed to be energetic and catchy but it fails at both. The melodies are bland and the playing is flat and uninspired. In fact, an endless stream of songs follows that is hard to survive without ruining the skip button of your remote control (or Winamp yes).

Everything Evil would be the only track to rise a bit above the average. But it sounds completely nicked from Caress of Steel, even though it doesn't use any actual Rush riff. No, the talent to pull that off isn't present yet: the guitar playing is substandard nu-metal and the vocals are incapable to do anything else but the one trick they keep doing on each track. It's hard to describe what that trick really is though, but it sure never leads to a memorable vocal line that sounds anything different from any other vocal melodies on the album.

Generic, uninspiring and immature. And yet I can understand some of their appeal. Hard to rate. If this was C&C's only album I might opt for 2.5 stars. But given their somewhat grown maturity on later albums I'm somewhere around 1.5 stars. I think thats 2 stars if I can count a bit.

I have all 4 of the C and C albums so far, and I like them all but this is the one that I would put at the bottom of the list for how much I enjoy it. I think the problem is mostly that the tunes are not quite as "catchy" or "memorable" as on the other albums. Also, the songs just run together too much and by the end of the album I don't really remember any highlights of what I have heard. I think C and C seem to have gotten better with each of their releases, at least in my opinion, and I like the last 2 albums much better than the first 2 albums. Overall, I would rate this as barely a 3 star album. Is it prog? Well, their later efforts do seem to have a stronger prog styling then this album but if Metallica is prog than, dangnabbit, so is this!

Definitely not good album, at all honestly! I am a huge fan of Coheed but this early work is not up to snuff! I will admit that music is a process and it takes time to get to somewhere spectacular, so I can't diss too much. However, If your looking for Good Prog, or Good Coheed for that matter, this is NOT the album to listen too. This album is very punk-emo and lacks good inspiration. The best song is prolly Time Consumer or 33, no its Time consumer for sure. Definitely only for Fans of Coheed! Do not waste your money!

I dont think anyone needs to be reminded of how much i adore this band, so ill keep these reviews short and sweet. The Second Stage Turbine Blade is the debut (but the second part in the epic Amory Wars saga), and although it might be their weakest i still love every second..no wait..can that every split second of this album. And whats not to love about it? the musicmanship is steller (some of the best ive ever heard) and yet at the same time its an extreamly fun album, and each and every song is so much fun to listen to/sing along to and even play along with. More focusing on the emo-punk / post-hardcore side of things with this album i think that is where it draws its weakness, Claudio's voice hasnt really developed yet and show a lot of weakness in some parts, but then again you have to take into account that these guys were influenced by the post-hardcore of the 90's with bands such as At The Drive-In and even punk bands like Bad Brains and The Misfits. The real stand out tracks come from the epic opener TIME CONSUMER and the heart-wrenching NEVERENDER although i could just name every one of these songs as the best as each song is nothing short of a masterpiece;

The Second Stage Turbine Blade - 7/10 Time Consumer - 10/10 Devil in Jersey City - 9/10 Everything Evil - 10/10 Delirium Trigger - 9/10 Hearshot Kid Disaster - 9/10 33 - 8/10 Junesong Provision - 9/10 Neverender - 10/10 1God Send Conspirator - 10/10

My Conclusion? i just simply adore this album as i do every Coheed album, if you havent heard this band you really need to, but i would start with one of there more progressive albums first if your new to them.

Well, I'll admit of the bat that I am a very biased because I'm a pretty hardcore Coheed and Cambria fan and I like the way they approach their music. I think the reason why I'm so attracted to this album specifically is because this album really best defines their sound as a band, which develops even more in later albums. The use of dissonance and experimentation as well as appeal and traditional musical formulas and even (gasp) pop is a very seamless transition for this band in general. There is clearly a lot of thought put into the music. This is displayed in tracks like Time Consumer, Junesong Provision, and Godsend Conspirator. They also change up some of the more traditional patterns of organizing a song into something that isn't sporadic, but very clearly defined to fit the mood of the lyrical themes, which I think is elemental in giving this music a soul. The track Everything Evil, for example, has many repeating themes in the music, but slowly creeps up to a peak (kind of like sex), placing the most catchy and strong element of the song at the very end to create a powerful finish. This is done with a few other tracks off of different albums as well. It took me years to fully understand and appreciate this band, but the time was worth it. Don't turn away at the bubblegum wrapping and vocal tones that require a more acquired taste, there is a lot more to this band than what first comes to the ear. This album and From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness are essentials for me. The other three albums are fabulous too.

This is album doesn't seem like much, but when you look at it...it's alot: it's a debut; the start of a concept saga; a massive risk; an experiment that can explode at any time...and it all works. And thats the beauty of Coheed...everything they do...works!]

Being a big progression from their Shabutie days, Coheed decided to evolve thei career around...a concept. Yes, this will always be the bane of these guys existence! Concepts...and ones which are quite hard to follow and understand, mainly cause all the detail is in the comics that Claudio writes...oh yes, their's literature supporting these classic songs.

Now as a debut, this is incredibly impressive. This album is alot like Keeping Secrets I think, where its the consistency thoughout which enables you to listen further, and not really get bored of the same sound, because how they are able to keep it consistent, yet keep u fascinated at the same time.

The album maintains that post hardcore and emo (really hate to use that word, because I remember liking the earlier bands, before the style came into fashion and the word got changed...pejoration at its best really) sound, yet incorporating a maturer prog stance than what was heard from Shabutie.

The production also has a similar sound to Shabutie, and its what gives the album a very domestic charm. The songs are also a bit different, in that verse's and chorus' arent a big must do on the album, so stuff can happen that will suprise you...key changes, odd riffs, added vocal parts, contrapuntal vocal parts, its a whole artistic freedom really at the end of the day, yet they can still keep every thing contemporay (well contemporary for the Coheed fan)

Theirs more screaming vocals on this album, and I think Claudio's vocals really are amazing, even at times where he'll go off pitch, or he'll make a vocal squeek, I love. It's a very raw album, and it really adds to the concept as well (being the most action packed album really). As usual the songs are very catchy, but even at times, some songs have dark undertones, or are in themselves quite dark songs, and its interesting for Coheed to be dark now and then.

The Neverender version is also pretty cool too, cause the songs were messed around with and made more "modern".

1. Second Stage Turbine Blade - A decent enough intro, although, the whole intro is progressed to new heights, especially in their newer albums. 8/10

2. Time Consumer - The almost jazzy intro really is an amazing start to this album and song. After that its an amazing song, with some nice proggy moments, cool use of synths, an amazing guiatr solo from Dr. Know (Bad Brains), and an epic cathcy chorus. 10/10

3. Devil In Jersey City - It's funny, this song is so poppy and joyfull...yet its about murder and rape. Yea, didn't expect that did you. 10/10

4. Everything Evil - A very tense and atmopsheric intro. The song itself is just amazing, and back in my band days, I used to love playing this song...and singing it is a massive challenge. Great lyrics and the drama within the song itself is very exciting. And the ending is very epic too. 10/10

5. Delirum Trigger - One of my personal favourites from these guys. A quite dark turn for the band, but it's played off so well. Great chorus and great chaotic vocals from Claudio. The arrangement again is amazingly put together, with some nice dramatic moments. I love the lyrics too. 10/10

6. Hearshot Kid Disaster - Love the intro, and how its stopped by an ear shattering scream. A very poppy song, even though alot of it deals with murder. Although I think its one of the weakest songs on the album, still great though. 9/10

7. 33 - A very underlooked song from this album, and its odd, because I think it's the catchiest song on the album. Again, another very poppy song...that has alot of death and murder in it. 10/10

8. Junesong Provision - Another one of my personal favourites. I don't know what it is about this song, I think it's all the different parts and sections that it goes through, it's just a very interesting song, and on the special edition of the album, theirs an acoustic version of the song, which I prefer actually. 10/10

9. Neverender - Everyone adores this song, and to be honest, I've never really been much of a fan of it. It's a good song and all, but it doesn't compare to the rest of the songs on this album. It has a nice wee chorus though. 9/10

10. God Send Conspirator - Great ending to the album. I love the song's jazzy arrangement. Great chorus too, and the song plays out amazingly. 10/10

CONCLUSION: This really is a classic album, and it may be a bit too post hardcore for some people, but I think it's one of the best debut albums every made in my opinion.

Ugh. I can't say much that I like about this album. To me it simply sounds like a garage band version of the Mars Volta. I know this came before their debut album but I actually prefer their version of screamo emo. Every song on this album sounds the same. It's the same mono-drumming, the same riffing, the same awful vocals. There is some stuff from this band that is absolutely brilliant so when I saw this first album at a very discounted price I thought i'd pick it up and give it a spin. What can I say? I love so much music and there's really not much out there that I just can't stand but I hate to say it fans of this album that this is one of those albums that makes me cringe. The only thing I like about this album is some of the really cool spacey intros to the songs. Throughout the whole album I keep wishing that they would just explore that territory and make an awesome ambient album instead but then it turns into.... well, something that displeases me immensely :(

Big intentions, small delivery.

The first album by experimental/post rock/conceptualist/emocore band (!) Coheed and Cambria is quite pleasant and interesting at moments but it's lack of musical variety is it's downfall. Spacy intros and outros break up the monotony before the group falls back into a static, but always melodic guitar, bass and drums groove that is devoid of much technical playing. It is post rock after all, and like Tool's music, it has a repetitiveness that grates after 10 minutes of listening.

Claudio Sanchez's vocals are similar to Geddy Lee's, but a lot sweeter and easier to take. And that seems to be the trouble with this album. The music's too friendly and accessible. If the band had taken some chances, C&C's debut could have been a bomb, with it's concept to run the album's storyline through consistent albums. However, the result is just pleasant. And prog should always be more than just pleasant.

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