You either ‘get’ Coheed or you don’t, it’s as simple as that. Those who do worship the ground they walk on, while those who don’t pass them off as Geddy Lee’s emo side project. And if you don’t know who Geddy is, ask your Dad. But yeah, there’s a uniqueness, a weirdness even, that sets Coheed out from the chasing pack. They deserve 5 stars just for being original, even if, at times, they probably go too far up pretentious avenue and come out of their own backsides. Still, whichever way you approach this album, it’s fucking great regardless – that cannot be denied.
From the opening atmospherics of ‘The Ring In Return’ to the closing bars of ‘The Light & The Glass’, you’ll be left spellbound, and sometimes confused, by the grandiose feel to the record. Claudio has an immensely likeable vocal which stretches beyond the reach of many of his peers, and for those who don’t know the story the record continues the adventures of young Coheed and Cambria – hence the band name. I won’t try and embarrass myself by explaining further because I’ll be shown up by the die-hards, but it’s this attention to detail which has led to the ‘prog-emo’ and Rush comparisons.
The album’s title track is an eight-minute masterpiece which never tires, while the pretensiously named ‘Cuts marked In The March Of Men’ is another stormer. It is a long record at well over an hour in length, so the more melodic efforts, such as ‘Three Evils (Embodied In Love and Shadow)’ are welcomed. But it’s the lyrics that really tantalise and delight. There’s so much going on and so many levels to take it – either Claudio is a genius or he has an extremely imaginitive mind. It’s difficult to list every single clever line, but the twisted and emotional ‘The Camper Velorium III: Al The Killer’ sticks out for me.
The innovation will at times make C&C a little difficult to get into and those not really into the post-hardcore genre will probably be put off, but there’s so much imagination and technical wizardry that you cannot help but stand back and admire. Many people will ultimately score this 5 out of 5, but I’m going to hold back on the 4. While it’s a more confident record than it’s predecessor, I feel the first album has better songs. It’s a tough call, but regardless of which is better, both are must have albums – it’s as simple as that.
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Paul