Coheed and Cambria
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| Coheed and Cambria | ||
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| Background information | ||
| Origin | Nyack, New York, USA | |
| Genre(s) | Progressive Rock Alternative Rock |
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| Years active | 1995–present | |
| Label(s) | Sony BMG Music Entertainment Columbia Records Equal Vision Records |
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| Members | ||
| Claudio Sanchez Travis Stever Matt Williams |
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| Former members | ||
| Michael Todd Josh Eppard |
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Coheed and Cambria (sometimes abbreviated to "Coheed", "The 'Heed", or "CO&CA" ("COCA")) is a progressive rock band from Nyack, New York; Woodstock, New York; and Kingston, New York.
Coheed and Cambria has released three studio albums, two live albums, and various special-edition re-releases. Their albums are concept albums, revealing in pieces the plot of an overarching storyline. So far, the band has planned five albums for The Amory Wars, the saga their albums tell the story of. To date, three studio albums have been released: The Second Stage Turbine Blade (2002), In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (2003), and Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (2005). These albums make up the second, third, and half of the fourth parts of the five-part saga of Coheed and Cambria, respectively. The albums are being released out of sequence; the second part was released first, and the first part will be released last.
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[edit] History
When a band called Toxic Parents, featuring Claudio Sanchez and Travis Stever, dissolved around the same time as Nate Kelley's project, Moe & The Boogie Cats (who disbanded after their lead singer left New York to join a UFO cult in Arizona), the members came together to form a new band in March 1995. The band was Beautiful Loser, and it featured Travis Stever on lead vocals and guitar, Claudio Sanchez on guitar, Nate Kelley on drums and Jon Carleo on bass. The group was short-lived, breaking up by June of the same year they started the band, due to an argument over gas money. Stever left the band, and Kelley was initially kicked out, but came back when asked by Sanchez. Without Stever, the band became a trio, and Sanchez took control of the lead vocals and guitar.
Renaming themselves Shabütie (a name taken from African tribe chants for "naked prey" in the film The Naked Prey), the band spent nearly a year experimenting with a multitude of different sounds: punk rock, indie rock, acoustic rock, funk and heavy metal—and reportedly wrote as many as 100 songs, few of which they kept. When Carleo left the band in August 1996, Kelley recruited Michael Todd, with whom he had worked on an acoustic side project called Esme 9, to take his place. Todd, primarily a guitarist, picked up the bass specifically for Shabütie.
With this near-final formation of the band, they entered their most productive and mature period. According to Kelley, the band sometimes wrote up to seven new songs in one five or six hour sitting. Also during this period, the band put out its first public release, the Penelope EP (in 1999) and Stever rejoined the band on second guitar, making them a four-piece once again.
Around 1999, the band members had developed a habit of drinking too heavily during shows, and the quality of their performances declined. During one such show, Sanchez allegedly screamed the lyrics of the song "Life Without You", a Cassiopeia-esque ballad, prompting Kelley to pack up his drum set in front of a packed audience and leave the stage. Thus, on February 19, 2000, Shabütie's original lineup, apart from Sanchez, was gone.
Following Kelley's departure, Sanchez and the others chose Josh Eppard, then of the band 3, to take his place. They finished out the year and performed halfway through 2001 before changing their name to Coheed and Cambria and releasing the Delirium Trigger EP, and the history of Shabütie was finished. The band then consisted of four members: Claudio Sanchez (vocals/guitar), Travis Stever (guitar), Michael Todd (bass/backing vocals), and Josh Eppard (drums). When playing live, Dave Parker (keyboards/guitar), joins the lineup. The group primarily uses these standard instruments, but occasionally their songs call for a lap steel or a mandolin. They also use a talk box in several of their songs.
Josh was unable to make their 9th June slot at the Download Festival in the UK due to illness. A few days later, Coheed issued a statement canceling the Barcelona and Essen legs of their European tour. In early November 2006, it was announced that both Josh and bassist Michael Todd had officially left Coheed and Cambria for personal reasons. Claudio and Travis have already begun rehearsals for the new album, with Matt Williams filling in on bass, and Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan taking over on drums. It is unknown if Chris Pennie will be permanent.
[edit] Influences and similarities
Sanchez has stated that he is influenced by bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, and Iron Maiden, and many people draw comparisons to Rush and Yes. Metal Hammer magazine dubbed the band the "new Led Zeppelin" on the front cover of issue 153.
[edit] Themes
There are underlying themes throughout the story of Coheed and Cambria. For example the songs "Time Consumer" and "21:13" (on Second Stage Turbine Blade and In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 respectively) both contain a distinctive guitar riff. As well, the songs "The Suffering" (off Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness) and "Three Evils Embodied in Love and Shadow" (off In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3) both contain the same melody in "The Suffering" chorus and in the section of "Three Evils..." where Claudio sings: "Pull the Trigger and the nightmare stops..." Also the song "The Willing Well 3: Apollo 2 - The Telling Truth" ( off of Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness)contains a riff that is also in the song "Blood Red Summer" (off of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3). In that same specific song, Claudio says a line very simular to a line in the song "Everything Evil" (off of Second Stage Turbine Blade):"Jesse, bad boy, just come look at what you brother did" compared to the same line just without the "Bad Boy" part in the "Everything Evil" version. Listening to the music would help support this idea.
Several other themes can be observed throughout the series. Many in lyrical respects and musical as well.
[edit] Interpretations
Coheed and Cambria's concept albums tell a story, but its details can be difficult to decipher, leading to a morass of speculation by fans spurred on by cryptic lyrics and hints from the band. For example, some fans have suggested that Sanchez's higher vocals reflect the teller of the story (a young boy). Those fans point out that now that the storyteller has grown up in the new album, Sanchez's vocals have become slightly lower in pitch. This theory has since been discredited by Claudio Sanchez in a radio interview found at http://www.cobaltandcalcium.com.
[edit] Other projects
- The Bag On Line Adventures — Claudio Sanchez is writing a graphic novel series to further illustrate this story. There are currently two Second Stage Turbine Blade comic books, illustrated by Wes Abbot, and a graphic novel entitled Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness, illustrated by Christopher Shy. (It is stated on the EvilInk website that Wes Abbot will illustrate Second Stage indefinitely while Chistopher Shy will illustrate graphic novels for the remaining albums.)
- The Amory Wars** — Claudio Sanchez's revision of the comic books. Gus Vazquez also worked on the books. The name The Armory Wars replaces the The Bag On Line Adventures. The novel is set to come out in 2007.
- The Prize Fighter Inferno — Side-project of Claudio Sanchez. The debut album "My Brother's Blood Machine" was released October 31, 2006. It's story acts as a prequel to Coheed and Cambria's Amory Wars saga. It follows Jesse (The Prize Fighter Inferno), who was killed during the events of Good Apollo Vol. 1 and was resurrected on present-day Earth.
- Fire Deuce — Travis Stever's side-project, that has released one EP, "Children of the Deuce".
- The English Panther — Travis Stever's solo side-project. An album of unknown title is planned to be released sometime in 2007.
[edit] Discography
Includes work done as Shabűtie.
[edit] Studio albums
The Coheed and Cambria albums are being released out of sequence; the last album to be released will be the first part of the series, and entitled either The Bag On Line Adventures of Coheed and Cambria or "The Amory Wars". The first CD released was The Second Stage Turbine Blade, the second part in the series, followed by In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. Their latest album was entitled "Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV: Volume 1: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness" and was released September 20, 2005. While Coheed has yet to release an official statement on the title of their next album many people expect it to be Volume 2 of the Good Apollo saga and Coheed will start recording their new album in early 2007. Volume 2 has been named "Most Anticipated Album of 2007" by the Alternative Press magazine.
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[edit] DVDs
[edit] Other Songs
A cover of Night Ranger's 'Sister Christian' was briefly released as a free MP3 download on the band's website as a Christmas present to their fans, as well as a cover of I Shall Be Released by The Band. The band also used to play a cover of Iron Maiden's "The Trooper" at concerts. A song called "Glass" was in the process of being written for the film Spiderman 2's soundtrack, however, the song was not finished in time for the films release. Also, an untitled song that will be used on their new album was played at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, Pennsylvania on September 21st. The song is believed to be called Mother Superior, as that is a phrase that the chorus mentions. However, that title is currently disputed.
[edit] EPs & Other Albums
| Year | Title | Label |
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| 1999 | Plan to Take Over the World | Wisteria Records |
| 1999 | The Penelope EP | Wisteria Records |
| 2000 | Delirium Trigger | Wisteria Records |
| 2001 | The Coheed and Cambria EP | Wisteria Records |
| 2004 | Live at the Starland Ballroom | EVR/Columbia |
| 2004 | Live at La Zona Rosa | EVR/Columbia |
| 2005 | Live at the Avalon | EVR/Columbia |
| 2006 | Kerrang! / XFM UK Acoustic Sessions | iTunes Exclusive ml |
| 2006 | The Last Supper: Live At Hammerstein Ballroom | EVR/Columbia |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Title | Label | Album |
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| 2003 | "Devil in Jersey City" | Equal Vision | The Second Stage Turbine Blade |
| 2004 | "A Favor House Atlantic" | Equal Vision/Columbia | In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 |
| 2004 | "Blood Red Summer" | Equal Vision/Columbia | In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 |
| 2005 | "The Suffering" | Equal Vision/Columbia | Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness |
| 2005 | "Welcome Home" | Equal Vision/Columbia | Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness |
| 2006 | "Ten Speed (of God's Blood & Burial)" | Equal Vision/Columbia | Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness |
[edit] Music videos
- Delirium Trigger from The Second Stage Turbine Blade (featured on the In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 bonus DVD)
- Devil in Jersey City from The Second Stage Turbine Blade
- Devil in Jersey City (alternative video) from The Second Stage Turbine Blade (featured on the In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 bonus DVD)
- A Favor House Atlantic from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
- Blood Red Summer from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
- Welcome Home from Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
- The Suffering from Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
- Ten Speed (of God's Blood & Burial) from Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness
- A series of six vignettes that showcase music from Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (featured on Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: Special Edition DVD)
- The Willing Well IV: the Final Cut (made by Sanchez and his girlfriend, and later released to www.cobaltandcalcium.com on 20th October, 2006)
[edit] External links
- Official website
- Cobalt And Calcium Coheed Fansite
- Severed Ties Another Coheed Fansite
- Equal Vision Records
- Coheed And Cambria Lyrics
- MTV.com Video page — Coheed and Cambria's music videos
- Last.fm profile page — User-Created Charts of the Band's more Popular Songs
