When I fall asleep, your face is all I see…
So all week all I've listened to at work and off work is Coheed & Cambria. I downloaded their discography before I left the states and never gave it much time but now that I'm spending large periods of time in my office working on various issues, I can give it a proper evaluation. But first, some poorly educated history. I know nothing of this band than what I've read from some Amazon CD reviews and a fansite http://www.cobaltandcalcium.com/. They're described as a progressive rock band with emo-punk tendancies whose records tell an elaborate dark sci-fi story. Sounds lame right? I think the story is kind of hokey and the lead singer wrote himself in as the MAIN CHARACTER which is even more hokey but whatever.
Their first CD "The Second Stage Turbine Blade" is actually the second chapter of the five-part epic and kind of lacking. It's not terrible but nothing really stands out. It makes good background noise and it doesn't offend my tastes. If I were to hear that CD and base my opinion solely on it, I'd say I wasn't a fan.
"In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3" however, is MUCH better. It's epic (the shortest song comes in at 3:54) and complex, with a couple of the longer songs changing timing and theme more than once within the song. And it's full of upbeat tempos set to rather dark lyrics. I like this kind of CD because you catch new subtle nuances in the songs everytime you listen to them. However I don't know what to think about my favorite song on the CD being the "hidden" track "21:13". "21:13" is the reason I listened to the CD over and over before moving on. I had to make sure I was listening to the same band.
"Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume 1: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness" has to be one of the longest CD titles EVER. I haven't really listened to this one "in detail". Like I have IKSSE:3. I mean I've had it playing while I was doing some work and nothing really stuck out but I've got hope. Once I'm tired of IKSSE:3 I'll probably play the hell out of "Good Apollo". I love how it starts though, a cleaner violin and piano rendition of "Second State Turbine Blade" that transitions into a rendition of the opening to "Time Consumer" called "Keeping the Blade". It's rather good.
So I guess what I'm saying is I like Coheed & Cambria.