There’s a fine line between genius and madness. And by Jove, I think Claudio Sanchez is beginning to dance a little too close to the line. Away from his Coheed and Cambria day job, The Prizefighter Inferno is a half-electronic, half-folk side-project that takes in the story of the town of Margretville, taking in the ‘light’ topics of murder, rape and torture along the way. This is not a record you can put on for a little easy listening…
Now fans of CoCa will recognise the incredible vocal range and distinctive style that Claudio has, so if you’re a fan, chances are you will really enjoy this record sonically. But the package as a whole is just, well, disturbing. ‘Who Watches The Watchmen?’ – a song about the torture and murder of a young girl and her brother in a machine designed to rip bodies to shreds – features catchy dance beats, electric keyboards and hand claps in some kind of upbeat, giddy way. The electronica side perhaps stands out for me, with ‘The Margretville Dance’ one of the better songs here.
But it’s all a bit weird. And while I quite enjoyed the early CoCa material, I’ll admit the whole story and the scope the band have undertaken has simply passed me by. This is ambitious – and that has to be applauded – but I don’t quite feel the execution – pardon the pun – is as good as it should be.