Coheed and Cambria returns with more mature album

The conceptual work
continues the narrative of the band’s 2005 album.

By JOHN BENSON

VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT

Here’s the story of how feature films “Transformers” and “Ghost Rider” saved prog-rock act Coheed and Cambria from disbandment.

On the verge of calling it quits just a year ago when the group’s rhythm section quit, Coheed and Cambria singer-visionary Claudio Sanchez sat in a studio writing material to be submitted for the aforementioned movie soundtracks.

It was a bleak time for the New York native; however, things turned around when he found himself constantly writing material that fit into the Coheed and Cambria conceptual story.

“The ‘Transformers’ song became ‘The Running Free’ and the other one was ‘The Road and the Damned,’ which was what I submitted for ‘Ghost Rider,’” said Sanchez, calling from Paris. “They didn’t make the soundtracks, but from that, Travis [Stever, guitarist] and I started hashing out new material and had a big collaborative effort on a bunch of songs. It just felt like we were a team and thriving again. We were hungry.”

Invariably, so were Coheed and Cambria fans, which in true geek-dom were worried about not only never hearing the follow-up to the band’s 2005 album “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Vol. One: From Fear Through the Eyes of Madness,” but also being left in the dark regarding the final installment of the group’s conceptual album series, which details the fictional characters Coheed and Cambria.

This leads us to the release of Coheed and Cambria’s latest album “Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Vol. 2: No Word For Tomorrow,” which is arguably the band’s most accessible effort to date. Whether by design or accident, the album succeeds in tying up the protracted narrative, as well as catering to Rush fans with a new millennium classic rock style. Coheed and Cambria is touring the new material with dates Tuesday and Wednesday at the House of Blues.

“I hear stronger songs,” Sanchez said. “Certainly the last ‘Apollo’ effort, I think we were conscious we were writing songs in a way to pay homage to some of our influences. Certainly a song like ‘Welcome Home’ calls back to Led Zeppelin ... a song like ‘Final Cut’ calls back to Pink Floyd, whereas this album is more influenced by personal experience we went through.

“Like it wasn’t so much about what we were listening to at the time, it was more about how we felt and how to get that message across.”

Invariably one of the biggest differences between the new album and any of its antecedents is the depth of the material, which this time out provides instant credibility. This is something that was perhaps missing from the Coheed and Cambria résumé.

“I think so,” Sanchez said. “Definitely a maturity level. When I listen to this record, it definitely reflects a moment in time and really shines with interesting things that I think people can relate to. I think it’s a concise record. It’s a body of work; it doesn’t really feel like it’s all over the place.”