Posted on: July 9, 2009 Posted by: anfnewsacct Comments: 0

I liked Shabutie, I liked Second Stage Turbine Blade, but all the times I listened to Coheed and Cambria are much in the past. It is almost as if they are a new band I am discovering for the very first time. While the opening track may seem a little pretentious and overblown, the entrance seems a little off – the gothic keyboards weave a tale that seems to be more proper for a band like Avenged Sevenfold or Bleeding Through. Perhaps we should just take it as Coheed and Cambria’s insatiable desire to continually do different things with their music, and take in all genres of music instead of just following the common dictums of what “Emo” or “Posicore” should be. Beginning the CD with the title track, Madonna Wayne Gacy-style guitar riffs gradually move into more traditional “emo” guitar lines, lines which have a timeliness to them that ensures that they were the perfect decision for that specific time. In this track, Claudio’s vocals reach that high-level plateau where they effectively move from anything resembling vocals to the electric buzz of a hair metal-solo (by a guitar).

You see, Coheed and Cambria’s music is much like a skateboarder’s vert run: while the journey between the lips of the bowl may be general and not prone to change, each trick that they do at the lip, whether it be a spin, lip hold, or ride, is completely different from the others. Coheed and Cambria move from lip grab to spin, or hardcore to metal to purely vocal pleas, and there are very few places on this disc where they can be said to wipe out. Each track, owing to its length, seem to be more like symphonies than typical pop tunes – individuals can notice three or four very distinct movements in each track. The perceived lack of ties between these movements can be in fact chalked up to the most extreme showcase of emotion that I’ve ever seen on a disc. For example, these lyrics come straight from the heart, not a production team: “In arms…we storm/ Slowly the streets begin to fill with new flesh bound to bone / Armed and ready it begins again…tonight we form (from “Cuts Marked in the March of Men).

While most of the music is of the most creative and heart-felt style, there are some points in which Coheed and Cambria buckle against the powers that be, specifically the weak “Three Evils”. Obviously, the track is just seen as a follow-up to their MTV2 single, but as a band with only album under their belt, they really didn’t have any other recourse besides making this song up. Overall, the disc is much more deep than people would have you believe – the emotion and musicianship shown on the disc will most likely be passed over for those poppy tracks, however few and farbetween they are on the disc, just due to the hype they are getting (such as given to them by their tour with Thursday and Thrice, both bands who have bowed to their corporate overlords.)

Rating: 7.6/10

Top Tracks: The Velourium Camper I+II, The Light and the Glass

Coheed and Cambria – In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 / 11 Tracks / 2003 Equal Vision Records / http://www.coheedandcambria.com / http://www.equalvision.com / Released 7 October 2003/ Reviewed 24 December 2003

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