Coheed and Cambria

Coheed and Cambria are a New York rock band whose music incorporates elements of progressive rock, pop, heavy metal, and post-hardcore, rife with tight hooks, clever lyrics, and imaginative sounds. They are led by songwriter, guitarist, vocalist, chief conceptualist, and author/illustrator Claudio Sanchez. Since their 2002 debut, The Second Stage Turbine Blade, all but one recording has been conceptual in nature, parts of Sanchez’s vast science-fiction concept, the Amory Wars. The group’s lofty ambitions resulted in Top Ten albums including 2007′s Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, 2010′s Year of the Black Rainbow, 2013′s The Afterman: Descension. Following 2015′s non-conceptual Color of the Sun in 2015 and a world tour, Coheed and Cambria returned to the Amory Wars storyline with 2018′s Vaxis I: The Unheavenly Creatures — the first entry in a projected five-part saga. After a four-year recording hiatus, Coheed and Cambria returned in 2022 with the second installment in this Amory Wars narrative, Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind.
Formed in 1995, the band consists of Claudio Sanchez (lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitar, keyboards), Travis Stever (rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, keyboards, backing vocals), and Zach Cooper (bass, backing vocals). Most of Coheed and Cambria’s releases are concept albums based on a science fiction story line called The Amory Wars, a graphic story series conceived and written by Sanchez, which has been transcribed into a series of comic books and a full-length novel. Thanks to Sanchez’s grand vision, Coheed and Cambria have been a true fan’s delight in issuing recordings, comics, and videos in limited editions often compared to rock & roll fetish objects. While the band’s prog side helped to create its mystique and build a fanatical international fan base (they have headlined festivals and tours all over the world), it’s far from their only dimension: The decidedly indie rock flavor of 2015′s The Color Before the Sun — the band’s first non-conceptual album since their inception — reached number ten on the Top 200, as did all of its predecessors. Their recordings have also placed in the top five on charts ranging from Hard Rock Albums and Top Rock Albums to Alternative Albums, while their singles have graced seven more charts.
The band officially took root in 2001, shedding their former name of Shabutie and embracing a fusion of progressive rock, emocore, and highly conceptual album themes. Vocalist/guitarist Claudio Sanchez, guitarist Travis Stever, bassist Michael Todd, and drummer Joshua Eppard issued their group’s full-length debut, 2002′s The Second Stage Turbine Blade, on the Albany-based Equal Vision Records. They toured extensively for more than a year in support of the album, which was created as the second installment (although it was the band’s first release) of a five-part fictional saga about the doomed marriage of two characters, Coheed and Cambria, whose children may or may not be infected with a serum whose power can destroy the universe. The Amory Wars explains the band’s science fiction narratives.
In fall 2003, Coheed and Cambria issued In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. The vibrant sophomore effort (part three of the five-part saga) resulted in moderate success on the Billboard charts, with the singles “A Favor House Atlantic” and “Blood Red Summer” faring well on such media outlets as MTV. Coheed and Cambria subsequently toured North America with Thursday, Thrice, AFI, and Rainer Maria. They also joined the tenth annual Warped Tour in summer 2004 and embarked on their first headlining European tour, whose dates coincided with the success of the “Favor House Atlantic” single. The reinvigorated band then returned with Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness in September 2005; the album (part four) was also the first installment of a two-part conclusion to the band’s running sci-fi story line. Released by Columbia, it hit number seven on Billboard’s Top 200, partially due to the success of “The Suffering” and “Welcome Home.”
All was not well within the group, however, and both bassist Michael Todd and drummer Josh Eppard departed in 2006. While the band paused to sort out its future, Equal Vision released the debut from Sanchez’s indie electronic solo project, the Prize Fighter Inferno, that October. Entitled My Brother's Blood Machine, the album continued in the tradition of Sanchez’s primary group, spinning a tale of three families in a story that pre-dates the Coheed and Cambria saga and is narrated by “Inferno.” Meanwhile, Sanchez and Stever decided to carry on and, bolstered by the return of Todd and the temporary enlistment of Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, began recording their fourth album, Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No World for Tomorrow. The group’s lineup was soon cemented with the addition of ex-Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Chris Pennie, and the album — part two of the saga’s two-tiered conclusion — was released in October 2007, followed by the live recording Neverender: Children of the Fence in 2009. In 2010 the band returned with Year of the Black Rainbow, which served as a prequel to the Amory Wars story line. In the fall of 2012, Coheed and Cambria released the first of a two-part album, Afterman: Ascension. Its sequel, Afterman: Descension, appeared in February of 2013.
Uncharacteristically, the band’s next album was a left turn. The Color Before the Sun marked a first in that it was recorded live in a Nashville studio with producer Jay Joyce and included minimal overdubs. But perhaps its greatest surprise was that it was a first: a stand-alone album free of concepts explored on their seven previous full-lengths. That said, its bright, pop-punk first single “You Got Spirit, Kid,” was introduced with a video whose first frame humorously showcased a school billboard adorned with the words, “Rad Times at Amory High.” According to Sanchez, these new songs were meant to expose his “raw feelings.” It was released in October 2015. After a tour, the band re-entered the Amory Wars universe for 2018′s Vaxis, Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures, prefaced by two video singles, “Prologue” and “The Dark Sentencer.” Issued in October of 2018, a deluxe edition of the album included an 80-plus-page hardcover graphic novel, as well as an act one novella that Sanchez co-wrote with his wife, Chondra Echert. Throughout its 78 minutes, Coheed and Cambria incorporate elements, structures, approaches, and progressions from their entire two-decade lifespan, underscoring its narrative and making it the most self-referential title in the band’s discography.
Following U.S. and world tours as well as dozens of festival gigs, Coheed and Cambria took a well-deserved breather; it was extended by the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, Sanchez, under his electronic solo moniker Prize Fighter Inferno, issued The City Introvert. Coheed and Cambria returned to the Amory Wars in June 2022 with tenth album Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind. The second chapter in the five-release storyline from that universe, it concentrates on the hero couple on the run from tyrannical forces of control. The set’s 13 songs were co-produced by Zakk Cervini and Sanchez. ~ Andrew Leahey & Bradley Torreano