Dogmatic

It’s proving to be a great time to discover some of the lost gems of 2003.

This month has proven a sure fire hit for catching some great new bands that I didn’t get round to hearing throughout last year. This week however, the band that has refused (and I do mean refused!) to leave the iPod is Coheed and Cambria.

Online magazine ‘Reason Y’ summed it up perfectly: “…Coheed and Cambria are not really an emo-core band. Nor are they really punk, or hardcore, or some metal hybrid, although there is much of all of these styles in their music…”

Hailing from New York City, the band got their name from two characters from a comic book that is being written by frontman Claudio Sanchez. (he’s the one with the Krusty the Clown-like afro and the main creative force of the band!) The overall story-line of the comic book is about a married couple, Coheed and Cambria, who are on a mission to save the universe in the post-apocalyptic sci-fi love story. Trouble ensues, however, after a virus inside Coheed’s heart (a Mon-Star) becomes awakened by a serum which was injected by a magical dragonfly. Coheed is suddenly forced to battle the Mon-Star inside him as he now has the power to either save or destroy the universe.

Sanchez, in a recent interview explained the writing process for the current album: “…Usually on our time off, I’ll go home and use that time to sit at an eight track and just record ideas. For this record I recorded all the songs acoustically on an eight track and showed them to the guys while we were on the road, and they all came up with their ideas in the van. Pretty much, I’ll write the original guitar part and melody and we’ll go into the studio and kind of just jam out on it until we construct a song and arrange it among the four of us…”

Coheed and Cambria are a strange band. A very strange band but don’t let that stop you from checking their incredible sound out. You can’t quite put your finger on their sound. Sure there are strong traces of ‘Emo-core’ and even ‘Progressive Rock’. Man, in places these guys sound like a young Rush. If the drum patterns on this disc were on the technical/Neil Peart side - you’d swear you were listening to Rush circa 1975!

There aren’t too many bands in this commercial pap day and age where songs are over 8 minutes long. But just when you think you have these guys figured out - they spring forth an infectious melody you’ll be humming in your head long after the song has finished.

And how do the band themselves describe themselves? Here is an excerpt from the band’s official bio: “What is rock and roll? Is it a look? Is it a dead legend that has been beaten and bruised by attempted revival? Is it based on individual perception, and defined differently by all? Does any one really know? Does anyone really care? This whirlwind of confusion blown down from the gods of rock above may perturb us at times, but there is hope in it! It is an ongoing force, holding places for new faces and sought-after sounds. Are you a part of this rock and roll confusion? Do you spend 50 dollars each time you step into Tower Records or your local Indie Rock superstore, but wind up with only 10 dollars worth of satisfaction? If you do it must be easy to relate to what I am saying. Its that unnerving feeling you have after buying four brand spanking new cds that almost make you ill with disappointment. With so much new music to be heard, and so little to be satisfied by, the gods of Rock seem to spit in our face all too often. At times it feels to me as though they are spitting in my eye as a reminder to be patient, and soon the goods will come. Where are the goods? Time is moving ever so fast and I want to get down while I am young! Well the answer is not blowing in the wind! It is not right under our noses! It is all up to the artists! We are all at the beginning of a story that will be continued on and on until our Rock and Roll has completely recovered from the illnesses of the past. So let this be a message to each and every Indie rockin, straightedge Hard Core representin, hip hop hurrayin, Emo or grind coring personality out there! There is hope!!! It lies within us!”

Amen to that!