Returning to the UK after a 7 year absence are the mighty Coheed and Cambria, touring to promote there latest release Vaxis- Act lll The Farther Of Make Believe, who are back in The Great Hall in Cardiff, the same venue they played the last time they came to Wales.
Support on this tour was going to be British Prog masters Haken but unfortunately had to pull out at the last minute which was a shame as watching them live a few years back I know how good they can be. We do however get a very talented band as a replacement in the form of Belfast's own And I Watch You From Afar.
The queue before doors open stretches far up Senghennydd Road, these are diehard fans, Coheed and Cambria have not only a huge fanbase all around the world but every one is totally invested in the journey they have been on for almost 25 years.
Between the graphic novels and the concept albums to go with them apart from the 2015 album The Colour Before The Sun, which was a break from the Armory Wars saga, being a part of The Children Of The Fence is a community of people that all love the music and story's that have come from this band over the years, you can most certainly just listen and just enjoy the music, that being one of the best things about Coheed And Cambria, but when you take that extra step and dive in to the lore behind the music it just adds so much more to the experience.
First up though we have the Northern Irish band And I Watch You From Afar (7) who come quietly to the stage with great applause and cheer, the instrumental band get straight into some bouncing and chunky beats with bass player Ewen Friers leading the way in playing like he has springs on his shoes. We get a dreamy set full of mind blowing alt rock and prog with a nice sprinkle of post hardcore guitars at times.
First up though we have the Northern Irish band And I Watch You From Afar (7) who come quietly to the stage with great applause and cheer, the instrumental band get straight into some bouncing and chunky beats with bass player Ewen Friers leading the way in playing like he has springs on his shoes. We get a dreamy set full of mind blowing alt rock and prog with a nice sprinkle of post hardcore guitars at times.
This being my first time seeing them I was very impressed with how talented they are, technical playing from all throughout and not knowing which member to look at any given time but not at all feeling like they are playing separately due to how well structured the songs were.
A band that I recommend you see live and take in the sound and watch the talent in front of you, a very good stand in replacement that most certainly would of been perfectly placed if announced as the official support.
I have to say beforehand what I am going to write about Coheed And Cambria (9) will be 110% biased due to the fact I have loved this band since I first heard of them back in 2006, I had a lot to catch up on even then. I have listened to everything more times than I can count and adore the lore and side tales that go along with it, the band itself are very talented individually and together and make music that just resonates with me like few others do.
Anyway now that's out the way lets get to the actual performance shall we, First up we get the intro to the latest release Yesterdays Lost which is a beautiful piano piece that rings through the great hall, it has a call back sequence at the beginning which plays the melody to The Hollow from the 2012 album The Afterman: Ascension which immediately gets the crowed roaring with anticipation.
I have to say beforehand what I am going to write about Coheed And Cambria (9) will be 110% biased due to the fact I have loved this band since I first heard of them back in 2006, I had a lot to catch up on even then. I have listened to everything more times than I can count and adore the lore and side tales that go along with it, the band itself are very talented individually and together and make music that just resonates with me like few others do.
Anyway now that's out the way lets get to the actual performance shall we, First up we get the intro to the latest release Yesterdays Lost which is a beautiful piano piece that rings through the great hall, it has a call back sequence at the beginning which plays the melody to The Hollow from the 2012 album The Afterman: Ascension which immediately gets the crowed roaring with anticipation.
On to the stage walks drummer Josh Eppard first followed by the rest of the band, first song we get into is Goodbye Sunshine the first full song from the latest album, a up lifting which has that perfect balance of bouncing rock drums and, riffs with the classic back and forth pinch mini solos from guitarist Travis Stever and Claudio, to the sing along choruses that Coheed are known for.
For the next two songs we go back to previous albums with Shoulders from Vaxis ll: A Window Of The Waking Mind and then onto one of the bands biggest songs Blood Red Summer from the 2003 album In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3, no matter what song from any album just like every crowed that Coheed have is sang from every single person here, just looking around you will not see a mouth that is not singing along.
These songs mean a lot to everyone here, with such a close fanbase and invested that is clear to see. After a brief break were the band thank everyone that has come to watch them and supported them throughout the years we get to the next song which is more from the last release.
Blind Side Sonny being the first single to be released from the latest album which has vocalist Claudio getting even more animated and bouncing around the stage with the half time break down mid way though having him switching from screaming to singing effortlessly.
Next up we go all the way back to Everything Evil from the bands first album The Second Stage Turbine Blade which the crowed go even more crazy for and we get our first surfers of the night, everyone here sings back at Claudio with full passion "Jesse! just come look at what your brother did" and the great hall rings out with calls of "Claudio! Dear Claudio! to end the song.
Number City is next from the 2012 and one of my favourite albums from the band The Afterman: Descension, a song that has a hook that would not be out of place in a 80s Comedy Rom Com, but in other parts takes you to dark times especially when you know the lyrics and concept behind the song in relation to the Armory Wars saga, something I wont go into as I wouldn't be doing it justice to explain it here.
To follow we have The Suffering from the bands 2006 album Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through the Eyes Of Madness a classic song that gets more singing and dancing from all here, a very up beat song that is just pure rock genius and a stand out fan favourite.
We get more from the latest album in the shape of the second single released Searching For Tomorrow and then The Continuum ll: The Flood which is a 6 and a half minute masterpiece that leaves you in a dreamy state of music bliss of crushing drums and a stop section towards the end that will take your breath away with anticipation.
The band take a breather with Claudio thanking everyone for making Cardiff a sold out show and saying "of course we wanted to come back here" and "way to many bands skip Wales when they tour" something that I cant agree with more, not that anyone here doesn't know the band but we get the standard band introduction before getting back into more songs.
We get 2 fan favourites and classics from
In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 next, first up we get A Favor House Atlantic then sandwiched in between those though is a song from Vaxis ll: A Window Of The Waking Mind as the band play The Liars Club.
We then get the title song from the bands second album, a song that will leave you deaf just from the roars and sheer volume that every single person shouts Man Your Own Jackhammer towards the end of the song. A great way to end the set with one of the bands most iconic songs.
The lights go out and the band quickly exit the stage, with everyone here still chanting and wanting more the lights raise again with vocalist Claudio Sanchez walking back to stage with his acoustic guitar in hand, after thanking everyone again we get Corner My Confidence a beautiful song has every one in the building just standing in awe, one of the biggest applause of the night followed the song and deservedly so.
The rest of the band walk back onto the stage next to big roars and we get into another song The Continuum lll: Tethered Together from the latest album release with a section that has the crowed singing loud We'll All Sing Together, Tethered Together in unison. We come to our actual last song of the night, Arguably the bands most famous song Welcome Home from the 2005 album Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness.
What to say about this song from the hypnotic drums that march you through the song, the vocals that you cant help but sing along to, the undertone bass that tells its own little story and then you have the guitar solos that bounce back and forth from Travis and Claudio, the former having changed to his iconic double neck Gibson by this point, playing it behind his head as he does at every show is just a crazy thing to witness.
The singing by everyone of the ending to Welcome Home I cant really describe well here just go and have a quick look from a live performance if you can as its something you have to see for yourselves, its an amazing group experience that is hard to find in any other walk of life apart from live music.
The band finish to huge roars and applause from everyone here and deservedly so, the sound was fantastic and the performance was excellent with a good variety of songs from a very big back catalogue of music. Coheed And Cambria have never disappointed me live and that didn't change this past weekend.
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