Very few bands are as tenacious and consistent as Coheed and Cambria have been as they enter their 30th year as a band. As we all wait for their new album Vaxis: Act III: The Father of Make Believe, I was lucky enough to listen to it, and I can say with full confidence it is a smooth, exhilarating listen from front to back. Approaching the new album with a more personal touch while driving the next chapter of the Amory Wars story forward, Coheed breathe new life into old ideas and keep what brought them so much fanfare to begin with.
The Father of Make Believe combines a lot of elements from Year of the Black Rainbow and The Afterman albums, while sneaking in some ideas from Good Apollo I into the mix. It is an amalgamation of concepts that have presented themselves throughout Coheed’s career. Explosive choruses ring out like a gunshot, conjured up from catchy hooks and inner demons. Lyrics cross the threshold from fiction into personal tales, combining fears and emotions as a catalyst to take the band’s sci-fi story into an unknown territory.
Opening on “Yesterday’s Lost”, an orchestrated piano piece turns into an acoustic ballad, softly pulling the listener into the world of the Amory Wars and The Father of Make Believe. “Goodbye, Sunshine” follows, demanding your attention immediately. The pop-punk inspired song chugs along until picking up and slamming the listener down into a cascade of riffs and passion. The chorus rings out in a slower tempo, keeping that fierce energy presented in the rest of the song.
The title track showcases the duality of vocalist, guitarist, and writer Claudio Sanchez as the leader of this band, writer for the captivating story, and as a family man. It takes the form of a hard rock track, and dissects his role in everything while pushing the narrative forward.
“Throughout my career, I’ve navigated the insecurities of putting my truth out for the world to pick apart and scrutinize,” says Sanchez about the title track. “I’ve chosen to keep the struggles of my life private out of respect and love to those people and events that inspired the art. When I can’t express myself in words, I express in worlds.”
Genre-bending elements make an appearance on tracks like “Play the Poet.” This song would have done numbers in the heyday of nu-metal bangers. “One Last Miracle” presents a stadium-rock-forward ballad, bringing epic choruses to the listener and bursting on impact. Coheed have also brought back the suites on The Father of Make Believe with “The Continuum I-IV,” presenting a quick intro by All Mother from The Afterman albums and ripping through the listener as a fury of music.
The Father of Make Believe is a nostalgic glimpse into the rearview mirror of Coheed and Cambria’s career as they enter a new period of their lives, both personally and professionally. New ideas are presented in a nice package, playing off of old staples and heartfelt lyrics. For fans new and old, go give this album a listen. It’s fantastic.
Check out Vaxis: Act III: The Father of Make Believe when it drops on March 14 via Virgin Music Group.
Check it out here.
Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine
