Review by: Patrick Leary
Photos by: Robert McDonald
Venue: House of Blues Boston
Meet The Band
- Claudio Sanchez
- Travis Stever
- Josh Eppard
- Zach Cooper
Coheed and Cambria never cease to amaze me . After a dozen years of various lineup changes, seven studio albums, three live albums, and several special-edition releases, it only seems like their act is getting stronger.
For those of you who don’t exactly know Coheed, or the science fiction/songwriting genius that is Coheed Singer/Guitarist Claudio Sanchez, their albums are all centered around a science fiction storyline called The Amory Wars. Sanchez wrote the entire story himself, and it has since been transcribed into a comic book series, as well as a full-length novel.
I won’t even begin to try and tell the story of The Amory Wars, nor is it necessary to know to simply enjoy Coheed’s music. It’s just sort of a cool, unique element that adds to their spectacle. Their sound incorporates aspects of progressive, pop, and alternative rock mixed with hints of post-hardcore, and is highlighted by Sanchez’s high-ranging vocals.
After rousing sets by Chicago-based instrumental progressive rock band Russian Circles, and North Carolina-based progressive metal stalwarts Between the Buried and Me, it was Coheed’s turn to rock the near sold-out House of Blues, and they were clearly up for the challenge.
Opening with Pretelethal, the first track off of their latest release, February’s The Afterman: Descension, Sanchez played a ukulele in the haunting first minute of the song, only to explode into a wall of heavy guitars and drums, courtesy of Lead Guitarist Travis Stever, Bassist Zach Cooper, and Drummer Josh Eppard. The song is as epic of an opener as you can get, and transitions flawlessly into the second track on the album (and second track of the night), Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant.
Before the show, I had made a point to check out their previous nights’ set lists to get a sense of how they were approaching this tour. Having released two albums in the last 6 months (The Afterman: Ascension came out in October), I figured the show would provide a heavy dosage of newer material, which I was perfectly okay with. And although they powered through a lot of both Afterman albums including some pretty memorable versions of heavy hitters Key Entity Extraction III: Vic the Butcher and Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute, no Coheed show is complete without crowd favorites A Favor House Atlantic, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, and Welcome Home; the latter two having closed the first set and the encore, respectively.
All in all, a fantastic show. As a longtime fan of the band, I wouldn’t have minded seeing a little more variety with the setlist. But Coheed’s catalog is so vast and impressive at this point, that you’re really not going to go wrong with any setlist they could come up with, and you’re always in for an incredible showing of instrumental and vocal talent as well. Next time they come through Boston, I would absolutely recommend checking them out.
Set List:
Pretelethal
Key Entity Extraction V: Sentry the Defiant
A Favor House Atlantic
Goodnight, Fair Lady
No World for Tomorrow
The Crowing
Key Entity Extraction III: Vic the Butcher
Key Entity Extraction IV: Evagria the Faithful
The Afterman
Here We Are Juggernaut
Dark Side of Me
In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3
Encore:
Wake Up
The Hollow
Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute
Welcome Home