Wondering about the inane name? Answers inside!
Coheed and Cambria - English county, or great band? The question isn't as difficult as it might appear. Obviously, there is no real argument that they are a county, or any other type of land, English or otherwise - but there's no denying that Coheed and Cambria rocked the stage tonight at the Garage in Glasgow. They're relatively unknown here in UK though, yet they're already headlining a gig, with only one video really available for viewing here - "A Favor House Atlantic".
Let's take a small moment to focus entirely on the singer and guitarist for Coheed and Cambria, Claudio Sanchez. Despite sounding like a thin, white redhead, Claudio is in fact a big, beefy Mexican [Editor - apparently Puerto Rican] with an afro that flies in the face of everything that is good and holy. No, seriously. By thin, white redhead, we're talking a high-pitched voice that oozes charm - like a more cartoony Matt Bellamy.
Coheed and Cambria then go on to combine this wonderful, if shocking, voice with the usual brand of post-hardcore that is sweeping the Western world today. Think of a band that are heavier than Hundred Reasons, yet not as heavy as Funeral for a Friend - no double bass pedalling here, thank you very much. This of course is the perfect mixture to go with Sanchez's voice, and the songs they produce are all littered with effects-driven riffs, pleasant clean guitar lines, and a fair share of guitar soloing. Sanchez is the lead guitarist as well, managing to pull off his interesting vocal parts whilst at the same time wringing a complicated melody out of his guitar. Coheed clearly have talent to spare. But of course, this spare talent is being siphoned into other projects that go along side the music of Coheed and Cambria.
All of Coheed's lyrics are laced with dark metaphors and interesting word choice, and they form the basis of is essentially a futuristic story being brewed up inside Sanchez's head. Each of their albums has a part in the story of the characters, named Coheed and Cambria, and so much more Coheed material is undoubtedly on the way, as they are only two albums through producing what is planned to be five albums. Sanchez is reportedly also drawing, or at least designing, a comic that will tell the story in much better detail than sparse lyrics ever could.
So intricate is the work of Coheed and Cambria, you'd be a fool not to at least give them a try: http://www.coheedandcambria.com