Coheed And Cambria are a band that divide opinion, and defy classification.
Coheed And Cambria are a band that divide opinion, and defy classification. Fitting vaguely, and for purposes of convenience, somewhere close to the ‘progressive rock’ genre, yet the New York natives take their sound into stranger and more varied territory than that. Drawing influence from such classic rock/classic prog sources as Rush, Led Zeppelin and Queen, they also throw some punk, post-hardcore, pop, alternative rock and even emo-esque elements into their sound. Consequently they’re the type of band that you generally either absolutely love, and follow everything they do to the letter, or dislike intensely.
Lead singer, rhythm guitarist and main-man Claudio Sanchez attributes the diversity inherent in Coheed And Cambria’s stylistic palette to simply remaining open to multiple forms of musical expression; not being limited to one single, highly specialised style, as in the manner of many other bands. "I think it’s just from being open-minded when it comes to your creativity," he begins, "and just trying to incorporate everything that comes my way as a songwriter, into what we do as a band and in the music. Just always trying to find the good in everything, and incorporating into the process, as opposed to just shutting something out. Being very open-minded is what helps the creative part of what we do.
"In terms of influences growing up," he continues, regarding what he ingested in the past that led to the broad range of sounds that his band are capable of, "guitar-driven rock was my first thing, then I moved out of that and listened to blues and jazz, and just all sorts of contemporary music that was happening at the time. Even pop music."
And bits and pieces of all of these styles, plus more, are clearly audible in Coheed And Cambria’s sound. So much so that they have toured with artists as diverse as Slipknot, Linkin Park, Clutch, AFI and many more.
The band’s latest opus The Year Of The Black Rainbow is yet another middle finger extended to the concept of limiting genres and narrow minded attitudes. It also continues the conceptual nature of each of their five full length releases, and apparently gives hints as to what direction the band may be heading in on future releases.
Claudio is still very proud of the album a year on. "Yeah, it sits well," he enthuses, "it was certainly a lot of fun to write, and to work on, and even to go out and perform, on a lot of the tours that we’ve done. It’s another stepping stone into the next thing that we’re gonna do really. We’ve already got the creative wheels turning."
Coheed are one of the 60-odd rock, punk and metal bands on the overwhelmingly massive bill of this year’s Soundwave festival. This massive behemoth of a traveling rock n roll circus kicked into gear last week in Brisbane, and grinds its way around the country before finishing up in Perth next Monday. The bill is possibly even more diverse than Coheed And Cambria’s sound, and Claudio is extremely enthused to be a part of it, and to be returning to the country where he had quite an interesting brush with one of the natives.
"I am actually (looking forward to coming to Australia and taking the stage at Soundwave)" he gushes, "it’s been a while since we’ve been to Australia. I’ve got some friends there: a fellow by the name of Sheldon Vella, who worked on one of my comic books, is from Melbourne. So looking forward to hanging with him. I believe it’s our third trip to Australia. One of the trips, all of our wives came over, so that was more like a vacation… We saw some koalas at a koala sanctuary; that was one of the highlights. I remember one of the koalas was getting a little excited. I just thought he wanted to play, but it turns out he wanted to make love to me. It was pretty funny!" he laughs.
"(Our show) is a high energy rock performance," he describes, on why people should check out Coheed And Cambria amid all the other options at Soundwave, "something that is very exciting. It’s a lot of ass-kicking I guess!
"This has been the longest break we’ve actually had in like, years. Even doing this interview I feel so rusty! It’s like ‘Oh my God, I’ve gotta start dusting off the bones!’ But when it comes, I’m sure that when we hot that stage, we’re gonna light up ‘cos it’s been so long. But when we get up there, the switch is gonna go on, and we’re gonna go crazy!"
Beyond Australia, Coheed And Cambria have an extensive tour of the US planned, which actually forms a part of the band’s 10-year anniversary celebrations, taking them to mid-May. Come late September, the band make their first ever appearance at the massive and legendary Rock In Rio Festival, alongside the likes of Elton John, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Slipknot and Coldplay. It’s a huge gig to score, and Claudio seems quite nervous about the prospect.
"Ooooh yeah!" he enthuses, regarding the band’s position on the bill, "but honestly I don’t really know what to expect. Aside from say, DVDs I’ve seen of Iron Maiden on Rock in Rio, and things like that. I’m very excited, it’s very flattering to be attached to that title. So we’ll see."
This may actually complete the band’s live commitments for the current album, and Coheed fans will be excited to know that Claudio expects them to be back in the studio by the end of the year for a new album release sometime in early to mid 2012.
COHEED AND CAMBRIA play the sold out SOUNDWAVE festival at the Melbourne Showgrounds this Friday March 4 alongside Iron Maiden, Slayer and heaps more. They also join Stone Sour, Sevendust and 36 Crazyfists for a mammoth SIDEWAVE at Festival Hall tonight Wednesday March 2 – tickets from 136100 or ticketmaster.com.au. The Year Of The Black Rainbow is out now through Roadrunner.
