Progressive rock gods give the lowdown on the mythical story behind their latest album
By Logan Broyles | SDUN Reporter
Most bands have trouble putting together even a single successful album with a set of songs that tie in with each other, which is what makes a band like Coheed and Cambria so unique and special.
Since 2001 the band has been consistently keeping its fans entertained with more than just music. They’ve created their own fictional universe, where they are the heroes.
The group just released its seventh album, “The Afterman: Descension,” which was out Feb. 5. The release is “part two” of a double album; the first installment, “The Afterman: Ascension,” was released in October 2012.
What makes this double album so different from your standard rock fare that most bands push out, is it ties into their career-spanning Amory Wars saga, a mythical, science-fiction comic book written by lead singer Claudio Sanchez. In part, the story is about an energy force leading to wars between a collection of fictional planets.
Each album’s songs and lyrics tie in to this larger story, with “Descension” serving as a prequel of sorts that tells the back-story on this fictional war.
“It’s actually an introduction to the whole mythos of Coheed and Cambria. In a way it’s outside of it, but it’s almost a prequel to this whole world that we have created,” said guitarist and backup singer Travis Stever. “You don’t have to know the whole back story of our albums to enjoy the music. I find that most people, when they become a fan of the band, they get into the concept eventually.”
The band has undergone several name changes, and lost and added a few members along the way, but the constant remains with founding members Sanchez and Stever. Both take on guitar duties, and Sanchez serves as lead singer and songwriter. Josh Eppard on drums and Zach Cooper on bass round out the band.
“Claudio writes songs about actual real life experiences, so it goes beyond the concept to something that anyone can relate to, whether they know our music or not,” Stever said. “This album deals with a lot of things that we deal with day to day, questioning religion, questioning the unknown.”
The creation of Coheed and Cambria was a long and winding road. Stever and Sanchez played in a variety of bands during the 1990s, and formed the group that would become Coheed in 1995.
“We grew up around people that really appreciated music. It’s very diverse living in the New York area, so being around so many different types of music, and also all of us having parents that were musicians and music enthusiasts, gave us a great blend of styles and a real hunger for music,” Stever said.
It was during a 1998 trip to Paris that they decided to rename themselves Coheed and Cambria, after two of the main characters in Sanchez’s side project.
“We’re a multi-dimensional rock band,” Stever said. “I know that people want to make it simple and try to describe it as one thing, but we’re really a big mix.”
“The Afterman: Descension” is available in stores, including a special deluxe addition with a 64-page storybook that features lyrics and art from both “Ascension” and “Descension,” and a deluxe addition available on iTunes that features three unreleased tracks.
“There are a lot of elements from our prior albums that are still there, but it’s kind of like a brand new Coheed in the sense that we got to move in a different direction,” Stever said. “I feel like the band’s been a rolling ball, collecting all these sounds over the years, and ‘Afterman’ is the sum of all those parts.”
See Coheed and Cambria live at the House of Blues on Feb. 25, with opening sets by Russian Circles and Between the Buried and Me. The show is sponsored by the Casbah, House of Blues and 91X. Doors open at 6 p.m., and the House of Blues is located at 1055 Fifth Ave., Downtown. Tickets start at $29.50. For more information visit coheedandcambria.com or call 619-299-2583.
