Coheed and Cambria
American progressive rock band with a sci-fi concept series.
Coheed and Cambria is an American progressive rock band formed in Nyack, New York, in 1995. The group's music blends progressive rock, pop, heavy metal, and post-hardcore, and most of its albums are concept albums tied to a science fiction storyline called The Amory Wars. Six of the band's eleven studio albums have reached the Billboard Top 10.
Quick Facts
- Also known as
- Toxic Parents (1995); Shabütie (1995–2001)
- Origin
- Nyack, New York, U.S.
- Years active
- 1995–present
- Genre
- Progressive rock
- emo
- alternative rock
- new prog
- heavy metal
- post-hardcore
- Label
- 300; Evil Ink; Hundred Handed/Everything Evil; B-Unique; Columbia; Equal Vision; Roadrunner; Sony
- Spinoffs
- The Prize Fighter Inferno
- Current members
- Claudio Sanchez
- Travis Stever
- Josh Eppard
- Zach Cooper
- Past members
- John Carleo
- Nate Kelley
- Mic Todd
- Chris Pennie
Facts from the source article.
History
After the split of Toxic Parents in March 1995, Claudio Sanchez and Travis Stever formed Beautiful Loser with Nate Kelley and Jon Carleo. That group broke up by June 1995 over a dispute about gas money. Stever left, and the remaining trio—Sanchez, Kelley, and Carleo—renamed themselves Shabütie, a word from African tribe chants meaning 'naked prey' in the film The Naked Prey. For nearly a year the band experimented with punk, indie, acoustic, funk, and heavy metal. Carleo departed in August 1996, and Kelley recruited Michael Todd, a guitarist who took up bass for Shabütie. The band released its first demo, Plan to Take Over the World, in 1999, followed by The Penelope EP later that year, shortly after which Stever rejoined. Shabütie appeared on the sampler Error 404: Not Found in July 1999 with the songs Camouflage and Kinderwhore. Kelley left during a performance in late 1999 and was replaced by Josh Eppard. The band released Delirium Trigger in 2000, still featuring Kelley on drums but listing Eppard in the liner notes. Several songs from that release were adapted into a science fiction comic series by Sanchez, originally called The Bag.On.Line Adventures and later renamed The Amory Wars. The band renamed itself Coheed and Cambria after two protagonists of that story and adopted the concept as a unifying theme for future albums. The Keywork logo, symbolizing the planetary alignment of the Amory Wars universe, was also created during this period.
Musical style and influences
Coheed and Cambria's style is described as progressive rock by Equal Vision, Spin, and AllMusic. Songs such as 'Blood Red Summer' and 'Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)' have been noted to contain pop elements, and one review characterized the band as bringing new life to a dying genre while mixing standard pop-punk with creative riffs. The band has also been labeled alternative rock, new prog, progressive metal, emo, post-hardcore, and alternative metal. Sanchez has said he envies his father's era of music, citing influences such as Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Police, Queen, and Thin Lizzy. He also acknowledges post-hardcore group At the Drive-In and heavy metal pioneers Iron Maiden. A major influence was alternative metal band Faith No More; Sanchez and Stever obtained their 1992 record Angel Dust, which Stever said 'showed them the light,' and they later listened to King for a Day and Album of the Year continually. Stever noted that many songs over the years contain guitar parts or vocal melodies he would attribute to Faith No More's influence. Bassist Michael Todd stated that the band was not influenced by Saga and that he had never heard of that group. Despite frequent comparisons to Rush, Josh Eppard said neither he nor the other members were big Rush fans; Sanchez later said he began listening more critically to Rush's albums after the comparisons. Punk rock influences include the Misfits and Bad Brains; Dr. Know of Bad Brains plays a guitar solo on 'Time Consumer' from Second Stage Turbine Blade. Sanchez and Stever's early band Toxic Parents drew similarities from Jane's Addiction and the Misfits. Sanchez has noted that The Amory Wars shares similarities with other stories, particularly the Star Wars trilogy, citing a line where the character Coheed returns home to his wife Cambria and she says, 'Somehow I've always known,' a line Princess Leia said to Luke Skywalker in Return of the Jedi.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which record labels has Coheed and Cambria released music on?
Coheed and Cambria has released music on 300, Evil Ink, Hundred Handed/Everything Evil, B-Unique, Columbia, Equal Vision and others.
Who are the current members of Coheed and Cambria?
The current members of Coheed and Cambria are listed as Claudio Sanchez, Travis Stever, Josh Eppard and Zach Cooper.
More in American Progressive Metal Musical Groups
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