GUITAR
Coheed & Cambria played one of the sets of the festival season at last year's Hevy Fest, a performance which triggered a run of form so electric it's pushed them back in to the forefront of the Heavy Rock scene where they have always belonged. Last year's The Colour Before The Sun exploded almost out of nowhere, with no one (foolishly) expecting it to be as good as it was. The band moved away from their usual style of writing lengthy concept records to an album filled with different styles and avenues not previously explored. Tonight at the sold out Kentish Town Forum, the anticipation in the air for their arrival, and to hear the new tracks live, was huge. It was a shame then that they didn't end up playing that many of them. This was especially considering the fact that when they did, the reaction was absolutely massive.
Either way, Claudio and co. have always excelled when it comes to their live shows and tonight was absolutely no exception. Despite battling the continually dreadful sound at The Forum, the band sounded tight, powerful and just BIG. The fact that they played less new tracks than was perhaps hoped for was a disappointing element short-lived in the mind as the band rattled through tracks from across their back catalogue. The atmosphere was electric all night, emphasised by the absolutely thunderous levels of singing along from across the floor and up on the balconies.
The real highlight of the show though came at the end as the band threw themselves in to the life affirming Welcome Home. No prizes as to why this is their stand out track - the commanding nature in which this heavy, mesmerising track reached into absolutely everyone across the venue was in itself staggering to watch. There were still pockets singing along of course, but looking around you it was incredible to watch that many people just become utterly transfixed by what was unfolding in front of them. Coheed & Cambria are a good band who become great when they hit the stage - tonight was no different.