“I wish things had panned out differently. The lyrics were a message saying, ‘Meet us in the middle.’ It didn’t work out that way”: An armed robbery, a returning drummer and a new label brought this American band back from near oblivion

In 2012 Coheed And Cambria released sixth album The Afterman: Ascension, the first part of a double-length record complete with The Afterman: Descension the following year. The new instalments of The Amory Wars saga came after the band had endured a series of offstage challenges, resulting in the replacement of bassist Mic Todd and the return of original drummer Josh Eppard. Ahead of Ascension’s arrival they told Prog about their new lease of life.

Over many years, the boundaries of music genres have been slowly eroding against the crashing waves of evolution to create a world of music that’s rich in experimentation and brimming with wonderment. Artists are getting harder and harder to pigeonhole through music that refuses to be categorised, from the musicians at the top of the charts to the ones at the heart of the underground.

As one of the success stories of the New York rock scene, Coheed And Cambria have been storming airwaves for more than 15 years. Recent times have been somewhat turbulent, from a member committing armed robbery to bringing back their original drummer, as well as changing labels. Now the quartet are back with the first part of a double album, The Afterman: Ascension, which looks like a move into more progressive territory.

So what made them decide to on a double album? “When I started writing the music there was no full idea,” says leader Claudio Sanchez. “This time around I was just allowing life to inspire the music. As I started to catalogue this music, I realised it could be a double album. I was a little apprehensive – I feel they can be are quantity over quality; like, ‘Here’s a ton of songs, let’s just deem it a double album.’ It’s never quite a masterpiece like Pink Floyd’s The Wall.”

He continues: “When I listen to The Wall, the record feels like one concise experience. Some of their songs are just a minute and a half long, but it creates this beautiful journey. It’s similar with our new record. there’s a concise storyline and full-bodied songs – some are eight-minute epics and some are shorter interludes. The comic book writer inside me decided to create two albums, and have the first create a sonic cliffhanger.”

Coheed and Cambria "The Afterman" Official Trailer - YouTube

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His passion for comic books seeped into the heart of his music long ago. Every Coheed And Cambria album thus far has expanded The Amory Wars, his science-fiction tetralogy set in Heaven’s Fence, a collection of 78 planets bound by interconnecting beams of energy known as The Keywork. Admittedly it’s not the usual kind of topic you’ll hear bands tackling on the radio – but Coheed And Cambria aren’t your average rock band.

“I’ve always loved the medium of comic books – I like graphic storytelling and being put right into the scene,” Sanchez says. “I wanted to approach the double album like that: to leave the listener wanting more, as opposed to drowning them in too much before the pageturn, as I like to call it.”

The decision to release one body of work in two volumes registered profoundly throughout the group, who looked to decades past for inspiration. “The 70s had some monster double albums, and that era really inspired us,” says guitarist Travis Stever. “Like what The Who did with Tommy and Quadrophenia. And then there’s all the great prog from that decade, like Selling England By The Pound by Genesis. Did you know the original drummer and keyboard player from King Crimson made an album together just after In The Court Of The Crimson King came out because they weren’t happy with it? That record is amazing – it’s pure prog! We’ve been like a rolling ball collecting our influences as we grew up.”

“There’s something about how those records were made back then,” Sanchez adds. “Even if there wasn’t a conceptual thread travelling from start to finish, you could certainly create one. Was Fragile by Yes a concept record? I don’t know, but it could be! Night At The Opera by Queen is another that comes to mind.”

In the months before The Afterman’s release, a trailer left fans scratching their heads, wondering what the band had come up with – the electronic ambience of album opener The Hollow was heard against film noir footage of a lone spaceman on a ship cruising through the galaxies, signifying that a step further into the avant-garde was imminent.

“I went to see Mastodon a couple of years ago in Manhattan,” says Sanchez. “Behind the band they had this 1940s-like silent movie. I was curious about who’d done it for them. When we were working on our trailer , Rob Schober’s name came up, and our manager said that was the guy who did the Mastodon stuff. We stripped our original science-fiction idea back a bit and went for a film noir version instead. It came out looking really classic.”

Coheed and Cambria - Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute [Official Video] - YouTube

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The album that followed certainly lived up to expectations – Coheed And Cambria were embarking on a new adventure through sonic galaxies. But with all this talk of distant planets, spacemen and vintage concept records, do the band feel their fans are looking for something beyond the music?

“Definitely,” states Sanchez. “That’s why we create complete packages with the music first, then add the background storylines. I wrote this concept years ago, in 1998, when I took a trip to Paris. The furthest I’d ever been from New York was New Jersey, so the trip felt very foreign – almost like visiting another planet. I feel like I learned a lot, so the idea of going far away and exploring other worlds really called to me. A lot of the music is a reflection of my life; I just colour it here and there with pieces of fiction. It’s nice to have all of those dimensions and see how they transcend from my life into The Amory Wars.

“For example, if you listen to Holly Wood The Cracked, you’ll understand how the character is reflected in the music; how this entity is obsessed with the idea of celebrities to the point that it drives her into insanity. You can hear that in the music – the way the vocals are delivered, the way the guitar sludges through with fuzz pedals to make the song feel insane. There’s actually a break in the middle that has a Beach Boys vibe!”

It’s not as if Sanchez are short of inspiration – life has been fairly difficult in recent years, especially with ex bassist Mic Todd’s addiction battle. The band were on tour in Massachusetts with Soundgarden last year when Todd held up a drugstore and was subsequently arrested.

“I saw police officers gathered around our bus – some were even going through my comics,”Sanchez says sadly. “Unfortunately, Mike was a drug addict; we knew what we were getting into when we brought him back. There were moments he was relapsing and we knew something was going to happen.”

He reflects: “I’ve had heroin in my close family since I was born. I understand the battle he was fighting. We thought we could help him; that as long as he was with us, we could try to keep him safe. But he figured a way around it. I wish things had panned out differently. The second half of Domino The Destitute, ‘I implore you brother, don’t walk away,’ is like a message from us to him, saying, ‘We’ll meet you halfway but you have to meet us in the middle.’ Unfortunately it didn’t work out that way.”

Since then, Coheed And Cambria have embraced a new dawn, with original recording drummer Josh Eppard back behind the kit and the addition of new bassist Zach Cooper. The part-new/part-old rhythm section has re-energised the quartet, and after a rocky period, the band are eager to move on.

“Now there’s bass in the band, which helps!” Sanchez laughs. “Zach is an amazing player; the guys that helped produce the record actually suggested him. He plays with such aggression, but at the same time he’s articulate with very clean notes, which is perfect for us. We brought Josh back because when I started to demo the songs, I didn’t feel the beats were sitting quite right to emphasise the message. I knew Josh would be the right guy; and as a friend, I love him. We all work well together, we’re brothers – and we’ve come from nothing to this point today.”

Coheed and Cambria - The Afterman [Official Video] - YouTube

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Eppard was more than ready to return, having conquered the demons that forced him out in 2006. “I was in this band for the first three records and dedicated those years of my life to playing with Travis and Claudio,” he says. “This has been like going home. I don’t want to disrespect anybody, but this new page in the band’s history will definitely take things to the next level. I’m the new guy and the old guy!”

It seems all the newfound positivity has paid off – not only does The Afterman look like being a landmark in the band’s career, but The Amory Wars has been optioned for the big screen by Mark Wahlberg and Leverage Productions. “We’ve been in touch for a year or so now,” says Claudio. “They’re known for their work on HBO shows Boardwalk Empire and Entourage. So at this year’s Comic Con, we decided to go public with the news. The guys over there asked if they could bring it to Mark Wahlberg’s attention as he was affiliated with them. I said, ‘Sure!’ Then I got a call saying he wanted to get working on it. I thought, ‘Holy Moly! This just got legitimised big time!’ The fact it’s getting that kind of attention is amazing. At the moment we’re trying to take things to the next level.”

And with that, Coheed And Cambria take their leave, with a renewed determination to bring progressive sounds even further into the mainstream.