Coheed and Cambria | |
Background Information | |
Origin | Kingston, New York |
Genre | Progressive Rock Emo New Prog |
Years active | 1995-present |
Label(s) | Sony BMG Columbia Equal Vision |
Associated Acts | 3 Weerd Science The Dillinger Escape Plan Foo Fighters The Prize Fighter Inferno Fire Deuce Davenport Cabinet |
Website | http://www.coheedandcambria.com |
Members | |
Claudio Sanchez Travis Stever Michael Todd Chris Pennie | |
Former Members | |
Josh Eppard Nate Kelley Jon Carleo |
Coheed and Cambria is an American rock band formed in Nyack, New York, in 1995.[1] The band was originally named "Shabűtie"; however, the name was changed to "Coheed and Cambria" when drummer Nate Kelley departed.
Coheed and Cambria's albums are concept albums that reveal a science fiction storyline called The Amory Wars, a series of comics written by lead singer Claudio Sanchez. The band has released four studio albums, two live albums, and several special-edition releases, with their latest release being Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow in 2007. In 2008, the band held a series of four-day shows, Neverender, in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and London, at which they played their studio albums in succession.
History[]
Shabűtie (1995–2001)[]
In March 1995 Claudio Sanchez and Travis Stever's band Toxic Parents split, and were joined by Nate Kelley to start a band called Beautiful Loser. The band featured Stever on vocals and guitar, Sanchez on guitar, Kelley on drums and Jon Carleo on bass. The group was short-lived, breaking up by June of that year. Stever left the band and without him, the band became a trio, renaming themselves Shabűtie,[2] taken from African tribe chants for "naked prey" in the film Naked Prey. Sanchez took the role of lead vocals and guitar.
The band spent nearly a year experimenting with a multitude of different musical styles, including punk rock, indie rock, acoustic rock, funk, and heavy metal. When Carleo left the band in August 1996, Kelley recruited Michael Todd to take his place. Todd, who was primarily a guitarist, picked up the bass specifically for Shabűtie.[3][2] As Shabűtie, the band was at their most productive: they wrote dozens of songs and released their first studio demo Plan to Take Over the World. In 1999 The Penelope EP was released, shortly after which Stever rejoined the band, making them a four-piece once again.
Kelley would leave the band during a performance in late 1999, and Josh Eppard, then of the band 3, was chosen to replace him,[2][3] with the band going on to release Delirium Trigger in 2000, still featuring Kelley on the drums, but listing Eppard in the liner notes.[4]
Starting Out (2001–2006)[]
Several songs that appeared on Delirium Trigger were part of a science fiction story written by Sanchez called The Bag.On.Line Adventures, which was later renamed to The Amory Wars. Sanchez's side project originally developed during a 1998 trip to Paris, where the band decided to rename themselves Coheed and Cambria after two of the story's protagonists, and adopted the concept as a theme that would unify their forthcoming albums.[5][6] This side project also created Coheed's official logo,[7] the Keywork, a symbol for the planetary alignment of the Amory Wars universe.
February 2002 saw the release of The Second Stage Turbine Blade, the band's first studio album, on Equal Vision Records. Influenced by the seminal post-hardcore group At The Drive In,[8] the band's first release also featured a credited guest appearance from Dr.Know of the Washington, D.C. hardcore-punk act Bad Brains) as well as the reworking of songs "Delirium Trigger", "33", and "Junesong Provision" from the Delirium Trigger EP as well as the band's first single and music video, "Devil in Jersey City".[8][9] The record also invited many comparisons to Canadian progressive rock group Rush due to Sanchez's characteristically high vocals and the distinctly technical nature of the music in comparison to their peers in the post-hardcore scene. The album brought the band underground notoriety. The band eventually played several tour dates in the United Kingdom and Japan, as well as a brief stint on the 2002 Vans Warped Tour. The band would go on to start working with manager Blaze James in August 2002, who would help propel the band to larger stages and a wider fan base.[6][10]
Following extensive touring with groups like Breaking Pangea and The Used, the band recorded and released their second studio album In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3 in October, 2003, once again on Equal Vision.[8][9] Featuring the singles "A Favor House Atlantic" and "Blood Red Summer" and corresponding videos which received airtime on MTV, the band supported the release by touring with artists such as [[Thursday], Thrice, AFI, and Rainer Maria, as well as their second appearance on the Warped Tour and an additional set of European shows.[9] The album peaked at #52 on the Billboard charts and was certified Gold by the RIAA.[11][12] An August 2004 show at New Jersey's Starland Ballroom in support of the album was filmed and became the band's first live DVD, Live at the Starland Ballroom, released in March 2005.
Coheed and Cambria once again started touring infrequently, when they could line up gigs in support of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3, finally stopping to record their third release and major-label debut Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness in the spring of 2005 for a September 2005 release on Columbia Records, with whom they had signed a multi-album contract.[13][14] Their most commercially successful album to date, Good Apollo Volume One has sold almost 1 million copies and peaked at #7 on the Billboard charts.[15][16] Featuring three singles, "Welcome Home", "The Suffering", and "Ten Speed (Of God's Blood and Burial)", the album represented a departure from their previous melodic post-hardcore influenced rock toward a progressive rock sound, such as longer tracks, some consisting mostly of extensive guitar solos. The band supported the album on American and European tours with The Blood Brothers, Circa Survive, Dredg, Head Automatica and Avenged Sevenfold, culminating in the release of the exclusive iTunes EP Kerrang!/XFM UK Acoustic Sessions and their second live DVD The Last Supper: Live at Hammerstein Ballroom.
Departures and No World for Tomorrow (2006–present)[]
In early November 2006, it was announced that both Josh Eppard and Michael Todd had officially left the band for personal reasons, and Matt Williams alongside the band's drum tech Michael Petrak briefly filled out the band's rhythm section for a handful of shows.[17] In April 2007, former bassist Michael Todd officially rejoined Coheed and Cambria just in time to enter the Los Angeles-based studio with new producer Nick Raskulinecz and appear on their next album, due to be released that fall. The following June it was announced that Chris Pennie, formerly of the Dillinger Escape Plan, had officially joined Coheed and Cambria as their drummer, but due to contractual restrictions with his previous record label, Pennie did not appear on the band's fourth release.[18] Instead, Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, recorded the drums making use of several ideas Pennie had previously written in correspondence with Sanchez.[18]
The band's most recent album and second release with Columbia Records, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow, was released in October 2007, debuting at #6 on the Billboard charts.[19] The album's first single, "The Running Free", was released to radio in August 2007. The second single released was "Feathers" with a video starring Rena Riffel.[20] The band has continued touring in support of the album, headlining select dates of the 2007 Warped Tour,[21] a fall tour supported by Clutch and The Fall of Troy, and opened for Linkin Park's 25-city US tour, and as a result, canceled their performances on Australia's Soundwave Festival.[22][23] In addition to the return of Todd on bass and new drummer Pennie, the band also recruited a touring keyboardist and backup vocalists for their live performances.[24]
In November 2007, their song "Welcome Home" was included as a playable track in the video game Rock Band, and a cover of their song Ten Speed (of God's Blood & Burial) is available as a download for the game.[25]
The band went on a four month long world tour beginning in January 2008.[26] They performed on Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 5, 2008. Claudio Sanchez states the next album is probably a year away, and will visit the origins of the characters Coheed & Cambria.[27] They headlined at the 2008 Bamboozle.[28]
In early July, the band's official website and MySpace featured a teaser poster with the dragonfly artwork for an event called Neverender, which will be a four night concert series that will be held in New York on October 22, 23, 24 and 25th; and Los Angeles on November 5, 6, 7 and 8th; consisting of one of the band's four studio albums being played in full each night, telling the story of Coheed and Cambria in sequence. Four days before all of the tickets went on sale there was a presale of special "VIP" tickets. These were 10% of the total amount of tickets for the concerts. They sold out within seconds of going on sale. In early August, the band's official website along with their MySpace featured two flags on the Neverender poster. Two days later it was announced that Neverender will also have shows in Chicago and London.
The band headlined the 2008 Kerrang! Tour in the United Kingdom and again for Kerrang! the band recorded a cover of "The Trooper" by Iron Maiden which is featured on Kerrang!'s Iron Maiden tribute album, Maiden Heaven, that came with the July 16 issue.[29]
Coheed and Cambria were nominated for Best International Band and Best Music Video (for "Feathers") in the 2008 Kerrang! Awards, they won the nomination for best music video.[30] In October and November of that year, the band played an event called Neverender, a four night concert series with each album being played each night. The event was held in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, and in London in early December.[31]
Through January-March of 2009, they toured with Slipknot and Trivium on the Slipknot-headlined All Hope Is Gone tour.
Neverender: Children of The Fence Edition, a CD/DVD box set of their Neverender performance, which was scheduled for a March 3, 2009 release, was rescheduled for release and subsequently released on March 24, 2009. This is due to additional content being added to the discs.[32]
Influences[]
Sanchez has several times stated he is envious of his father's era of music, and that the band is influenced by groups of that era, such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Police, Queen, and Thin Lizzy. Apart from these roots in classic rock, Sanchez also acknowledges an eclectic array of influences, including post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, and heavy metal pioneers Iron Maiden.[8][33][34] Contrary to rumors, bassist Michael Todd stated that the band was not influenced by Saga, and that indeed he had never heard of that group.[35] Many draw similarities between Rush and Coheed and Cambria,[36][37] but Josh Eppard stated in an interview that neither he or the other band members were Rush fans or influenced by Rush, although on "In The Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth" the final track is entitled "2113" an obvious reference to Rush's fourth album "2112". After which they began listening to Rush. [37]Influences of punk rock have been cited as well, especially The Misfits and Bad Brains. In fact, Dr. Know of Bad Brains actually has a solo on the track Time Consumer from Second Stage Turbine Blade. Sanchez has stated that The Amory Wars, the story on which Coheed and Cambria base their lyrics, has similarities to other stories, especially to the Star Wars trilogy. For example, when Coheed returns home to Cambria, she says, "Somehow I’ve always known," a line that Princess Leia spoke to Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi.[38][39]
Genre[]
The band's style is described as progressive rock by themselves,[18] Equal Vision[40] and other sources, but many often describe the band as emo.[41][42][43][44] The band themselves say they think being described as emo is "just a time and place thing"[45] and think progressive seems the most suitable. Despite arguments for or against either genre, the band displays elements of both musical styles. Songs such as "A Favor House Atlantic" and "Three Evils (Embodied In Love and Shadow)" have been described as "fairly straightforward slices of emo",[46] whilst the likes of "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3"[47] and "Cuts Marked In the March of Men"[48] display a more prog-style approach, with complex time signatures and lengthy guitar solos. Additionally, with songs like "Welcome Home",[49] "The Suffering", and "Gravemakers & Gunslingers",[49] the band has been showing roots of hard rock, heavy metal, and progressive metal.[50][51] Some sources cite the band as new prog.[52]
Members[]
- Current
- Claudio Sanchez - lead vocals, guitars, keyboards, synth (1995–present)
- Travis Stever - guitars, lap steel, vocals (1995, 1999–present)
- Michael Todd - bass, vocals (1996–2006, 2007–present)
- Chris Pennie - drums, percussion (2007 - present)[18]
- Touring
- Dave Parker - keyboards, guitar (2005–2006)
- Matt Williams - bass (2006)
- Michael Petrak - drums/backing vocals (2006)
- Kelly Fauth - backing vocals (2007–present)
- Halina Larsson - backing vocals (2007–present)
- Wes Styles - keyboards, backing vocals (2007–present)
- Former
- Josh Eppard - drums, percussion, vocals, keyboards (2001–2006)
- Nate Kelley - drums, percussion (1995–2001)
- Jon Carleo - bass (1995–1996)
- Session members
- Taylor Hawkins - drums, percussion (Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow)
- Danny Louis - keyboards (Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3)
Discography[]
- Main artcile: Coheed and Cambria discography
Coheed and Cambria have released four studio albums, two live albums, and various special-edition re-releases. Their albums are concept albums, revealing the plot of an overarching storyline, The Amory Wars. The band plans to release a total of five albums describing the saga The Amory Wars. To date, four studio albums have been released. Though there will be a fifth album, representing the untold first chapter, the band considers The Amory Wars to be a tetralogy; the third and fourth albums together form chapter four, Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV.
Studio Albums[]
- The Second Stage Turbine Blade (February 2002)
- In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 (October 2003)
- Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness (September 2005)
- Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow (October 2007)
Other projects[]
- The Amory Wars (previously The Bag.On.Line.Adventures) — Claudio Sanchez's comic book series detailing the story of Coheed and Cambria. Gus Vasquez also worked on the books. The series released its first volume on June 13, 2007. An Amory Wars sketchbook with character profiles and sample art has also been released.
- The Prize Fighter Inferno — Side-project of Claudio Sanchez. The debut album My Brother's Blood Machine was released October 31, 2006. Its story is only related to Coheed and Cambria in that it is narrated by Jesse, who is "The Prize Fighter Inferno", and is meant to be a prequel to the other Coheed albums.[41] Claudio claims "When we were called Shabűtie, the initial idea for Coheed and Cambria was to be an acoustic/electronic side project. So I guess The Prize Fighter Inferno is kind of the original idea for Coheed and Cambria."[53]
- Fire Deuce — Travis Stever's former side-project which released two EPs, Children of the Deuce and Deep Down and Dirty. It has recently been disbanded.
- Spencer Doll — Claudio Sanchez's second side project of which little is known.
- Davenport Cabinet — Travis Stever's Side Project as of 2008. Formerly The English Panther.
- Kill Audio - A comic by Claudio Sanchez featuring a fictional, immortal version of himself. There is also a vinyl doll to be released.
References[]
- ↑ About Coheed and Cambria
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Interview With Coheed and Cambria
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Interview with Claudio
- ↑ Home Page
- ↑ Coheed & Cambria : iSOUND.COM
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Pollstar -- HotStar Coheed And Cambria
- ↑ Coheed & Cambria @ ScifiSlacker.com
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 Betta wreckonize Album review
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Billboard biography
- ↑ CMJ 2007 Music Marathon & Film Festival: October 16-20 NYC
- ↑ IKSSE:3 Chart Position
- ↑ Singles Chart Positions
- ↑ Coheed returns
- ↑ Coheed signs to Columbia
- ↑ Almost 1 million
- ↑ GA1 Chart Position
- ↑ Temporary lineup change from Ultimate Guitar
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 18.2 18.3 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; no text was provided for refs namedallmusic
- ↑ No World For Tomorrow Chart Position
- ↑ Rena Riffel in "Feathers"
- ↑ Coheed and Cambria Set to Play Warped Tour
- ↑ Claudio on the new album
- ↑ Tour Announcements!
- ↑ Interviews: Coheed & Cambria
- ↑ Coheed in Rock Band
- ↑ Coheed going around the world
- ↑ The Story of Coheed and Cambria
- ↑ Coheed Plays Bamboozle
- ↑ Kerrang! Iron Maiden Tribute Album
- ↑ News - Best Video winner
- ↑ Coheed and Cambria take 'Neverender' one step at a time
- ↑ http://www.coheedandcambria.com/neverender
- ↑ di Perna, Alan. "Tomorrow Never Knows". Guitar World. Nov 8: 75-77.
- ↑ Claudio interview Rolling Stone
- ↑ Jeff Interviews Coheed & Cambria
- ↑ No World For Tomorrow CD
- ↑ 37.0 37.1 Interview with Coheed & Cambria's Joshua Eppard (4/14/05)
- ↑ Coheed And Cambria: Comic Book Geeks Get Their Revenge
- ↑ Coheed & Cambria interview
- ↑ Coheed and Cambria
- ↑ 41.0 41.1 Coheed and Cambria biography
- ↑ village voice > music > Coheed & Cambria's Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV: Volume II: No World for Tomorrow
- ↑ Rolling Stone : Coheed and Cambria's Fourth Album to Be as Nonsensical as First Three
- ↑ Coheed and Cambria Ready New Album, Tour
- ↑ Coheed & Cambria Interview on 92.3 K-Rock
- ↑ Coheed and Cambria 'In Keeping Secrets Of The Silent Earth: 3'
- ↑ Geekburger.com > Album Review
- ↑ Cobalt and Calcium -- Out Of Kilter
- ↑ 49.0 49.1 Coheed and Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV Vol. 1: FFTTEOM Cite error: Invalid
<ref>
tag; name "absolute" defined multiple times with different content - ↑ coheed and cambria - bio
- ↑ coheed and cambria - article
- ↑ Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV: Volume 1. From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness | Music Review | Entertainment Weekly
- ↑ The Prize Fighter Inferno
External links[]
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