A Welcome Return
Coheed and Cambria's latest single, "Welcome Home", is truly an epic song - it's little surprise, considering the song is just one chapter in the saga that's slowly cooking up in singer/guitarist Claudio Sanchez's afro'd head, featuring plenty of science fiction, fantasy and rock music.
Opening with the song's main riff played on acoustic guitar, the song quickly explodes into a defiant mash of pinch harmonics and palm-muting, propped up thanks to a thunderous violin riff. This rhythm continues into the verse, giving a really impressive sound to the song and Coheed's usual lyrical blend of religious imagery, love, betrayal, war and robots. Of course, let's not beat about the bush here - they've stolen the underlying rhythm and chord progression from Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir"; or at least did a damn fine job at replicating it.
"Welcome Home" is an excellent choice to be the first single from Coheed and Cambria's new album, wait for it: "Good Apollo I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness." Developing into what is known as gratuitous solo-ry, the song continues on its merry Rush-influenced way, slowly but powerfully thundering out into the distance known as 6 minutes, 16 seconds, leaving in its wake an amazingly powerful mark. Catchy as fuck, too.