Back in March, New Yorkers Coheed And Cambria released an eleventh studio album, titled Vaxis – Act III: The Father Of Make Believe. The band are currently on tour in the UK, so we talked to vocalist, guitarist, primary lyricist and driving force Claudio Sanchez about the shows, which follow a headline appearance at the 2000trees festival in July.
How did you enjoy playing at 2000trees?
It was nice to co-headline a festival. It isn’t something we get to do a lot. With the concept [CAC’s lyrics are predominantly based on Sanchez’s sci-fi saga The Amory Wars] we are a slightly bizarre band. But put us in front of a sea of people and we really surprise them – in a good way [laughs].
In Classic Rock, Vaxis – Act III was described as a “remarkable evolutionary step forward”. Were you pleased with the overall response?
That’s generally true of all our albums, but yeah. This has been a real rebirth for the band. I wish I had been mature enough to be open about the origins of the story twenty years ago and explain how it connects to myself and my experiences, but back then I was just too introverted and shy. I really didn’t know how to communicate.
Our reviewer noted the more personal nature of its songs, suggesting that it may have been inspired by a midlife crisis.
I’m in my late forties and I’ve watched family members pass away. I’m starting to realise the end might be just around the corner. I began considering what would happen to my wife Sandra if I passed away, or the other way around. The realisation that life is not for ever made me very sad.
Ten years ago, you broke away from The Amory Wars for The Color Before The Sun. Do you pine for another slice of that liberation, or is working within a framework something that you relish?
It’s a little of both. With these [conceptual] records I still get to express myself personally. The problem about making those records is the time they take to put together. Vaxis – Act III was finished a year before it was released. But what people don’t consider is the work that goes into it, things like the construction of the packaging. My wife and I also write and illustrate the story that accompanies it. I would have a bit more of a life if I put all of that aside.
Stylistically speaking, Coheed have always been tough to tie down. Does the term ‘prog’ get used about the band in lieu of a more suitable alternative?
You’re right. There are some prog tendencies in what our band does, but it isn’t everything. I like all sorts of music, and so does everyone in Coheed. We’re about music, not genres.
Will the three Vaxis albums provide most of the music for these UK dates?
Yes and no. It’s tough for us. A good forty-to-fifty per cent of what we play will be from Vaxis, but everyone wants to hear songs like Welcome Home [which dates back to 2005] and it’s hard to deny that.
UK band Haken are your special guests. Are you familiar with those guys?
I’ll be honest, I know very little about Haken. They were brought to us by our manager. I’ve listened to them a bit and they seem like a band that probably has to be seen live, which is also kind of true of Coheed. So in that sense we will probably be very compatible.
Coheed And Cambria play Manchester, Nottingham and London this week.
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