History of Coheed and Cambria
It would be hard to
find a band with grander artistic scope than Coheed and Cambria. Over
the course of six years and four groundbreaking albums, the New York
foursome has diligently developed a unique sound combining
forward-thinking classic rock with strong pop sensibilities and
intricate musicianship. Simultaneously, through his lyrics and comics,
Sanchez has created a celebrated epic alternate universe called The
Amory Wars, in which lies an ongoing conceptual tale that gains depth
and complexity with each and every record.
With the band's latest creation, the euphoric No World For Tomorrow, we
arrive at the final chapter in the saga of Claudio Kilgannon, the
story's main character, who is out to avenge the death of his parents (Coheed
and Cambria Kilgannon). While the story is set to reach its destructive
end with NWFT, the band reveals their next album will be a prequel to
the saga.
Concept aside, the latest offering is Sanchez's and the band's most
personal document yet, with various emotionally charged events of the
last year dictating the direction of the writing process. In addition,
the band recruited Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Stone Sour) to
produce the record while rock guru Rick Rubin played a role as the
bands A&R. The result is the most brilliant culmination of Coheed and
Cambria's musical and literary vision to date.
Formed in 2001, Coheed and Cambria came storming out of the indie-rock
gates with the release of their first album, The Second Stage Turbine
Blade, on Equal Vision Records. Endless touring and progressive,
hook-laden songs like "Delirium Trigger" and "Devil in Jersey City" led
to the rapid development of the band's early fan base.
The follow-up, 2003's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, was
certified RIAA gold on the strength of the group's ongoing intense
touring schedule and the hit singles "Blood Red Summer" and "A Favor
House Atlantic." The band emerged as a tour de force, embraced not only
by their now fanatical fans, but also by radio, press and MTV.
2005's Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through
The Eyes Of Madness, the band's first for Columbia Records, reached #7
on the Billboard Top 200. It was also a critical juggernaut, being named
one of the "Greatest Guitar Albums of All Time" by Guitar World, while
Rock Sound awarded it "Album of the Year." Coheed's knack for writing
indelible songs, such as "Welcome Home," and "The Suffering" combined
with monolithically powerful album tracks and the band's heavy follow
through, secured their status as a massive live draw and presence around
the world.
However, the wheels were falling off the wagon.
Fitting its title, No World For Tomorrow was born out of huge
uncertainty. June, 2006 saw the departure of half the band; drummer Josh
Eppard and bassist Michael Todd left under somewhat cloudy
circumstances. "A lot of what this record is about has to do with the
events of the past two years." quipped Sanchez. "It got to the point
where Travis and I thought there might not be a tomorrow for Coheed as a
band."
Deep in turmoil and unsure of the future, Sanchez and Stever decided to
keep the band together and make a new record. Fortunately, by the time
they were ready to go into the studio, bassist Todd rejoined and
Raskulinecz helped secure Foo Fighter Taylor Hawkins to play drums on
NWFT. "Taylor was a creative and powerful force in the studio," remarked
Sanchez. "His amazing personality was the positive reinforcement we
needed to see this vision through."
Nietzsche's line, "That which doesn't kill us, makes us stronger," seems
like it could have been coined for this situation.... After everything
Sanchez, Stever and Todd have been through, they could have packed it
in
instead, they delivered the album of their lives.
Musically, on NWFT, Sanchez's evolution as a songwriter is glowingly
apparent, with both him and Stever showing more confidence and
experimentation in terms of the writing process and opening up to a wide
range of instrumentation. For the first time, Sanchez found himself
composing songs -- "Mother Superior" and "On the Brink" -- on piano
instead of guitar, while tracks like "The Hound (of Blood and Rank)"
were written on a vintage Wurlitzer organ. "'The Hound' started with me
writing on a Wurlitzer, but ended up being really guitar heavy. I don't
think we would have been able to write some of these guitar riffs
without using the keyboard as a foundation," Sanchez explains. "We
wouldn't have done that in the past."
The first single, "The Running Free," twists and turns through breakneck
rhythmic changes and hooky melodic sections with heavy single-note
guitar-riffing under Sanchez's signature "Oh-oh-ohs." Another key track,
"Feathers," is prime example of the band's collaborative maturity (and
easily the band's catchiest song to date). This spirit runs even deeper
on the album's straight-ahead rockers like "Gravemakers & Gunslingers,"
the sonic mind-melt of "The End Complete," and the album's proggy,
jam-heavy finale, "On The Brink."
Lyrically, NWFT possesses a poetic vulnerability coming from Sanchez,
for the first time allowing his personal life to infiltrate the band's
creative process. A powerful example is "Justice in Murder," a song
inspired by Sanchez's Aunt Antonia, who last year passed away from the
tragic disease of Alzheimer's. Antonia Cristiano was a psychologist who
played an essential role early in the band's career- counseling them
when they were experiencing deep growing pains and literally keeping
them from breaking up in 2002. No World for Tomorrow is dedicated to her
memory.
Of course, for a band with such mythology, musical diversity and depth;
visuals are never taken lightly. The imagery for NWFT was hand painted
in oils by legendary fantasy artist Ken Kelly, the man most recognized
for creating the iconic KISS album covers Destroyer and Love Gun.
Since the completion of NWFT, ex-Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Chris
Pennie has become an official member of Coheed and Cambria and has
changed the outlook of a band that thought it was on the brink of a
break up a mere seven months earlier. Sanchez reveals, "Josh leaving the
band was quite a blow for us -- but having Taylor on the record, and now
having Chris in the band full-time, has allowed us to progress in a way
that is really exciting."
In line with this feeling of rejuvenation, and despite No World For
Tomorrow's seemingly bleak title, Sanchez insists that in the end, the
album is truly about hope and the ability to persevere in the face of
adversity. "The album is called No World For Tomorrow, but in a way it's
very uplifting
yes, it's the end of the story and everyone dies
but
with every ending is a new beginning, and for Coheed, as a band, it
hasn't felt this good in a long time."
Bio from
TotalAssault.com |
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