Product Description
If you heard “Blind Side Sonny,” the first single from Coheed and Cambria’s tenth album, The Father of Make Believe, then you probably noticed that something seemed different about the sci-fi-inspired New York prog legends. A two-minute, thrash-adjacent metal ripper whose chorus screams, “Blood! We want blood! We want blood!,” the track embodies an urgent, almost rabid desire to be heard clearly and felt intensely. “How many times have I heard the ‘underrated’ statement about us?” asks Claudio Sanchez. “It’s something that lives in all of our subconscious minds and has certainly played a role in making us who we are. This is a song of revenge.”
A funny thing happened as Sanchez — a master of translating reality into fantastical tales — began plotting Coheed’s latest. Yes, The Father of Make Believe carves out new sonic territory amidst all of the wailing guitars, drums that crack like fireworks, and Sanchez’s aching, powerful voice that centers us through moments both placid and pinwheeling. But where the set really forges new ground is in how Sanchez embraces the role of main character. He’s often used epic songcraft to mask the stories he wanted to tell: reflections on an addicted father, memories of his beloved grandfather, concern about raising a child in a cruel world, hopes and fears around the love of his life. This time, he’s writing more directly about his life and, especially, his unusual career. Sanchez is the Father of Make Believe, gazing down upon this world he's wrought.
“This record is a midlife crisis,” he chuckles. “I realized, 20-some-odd years in, I was struggling with the brand I've given myself: Am I satisfied being the science fiction rock ’n' roll guy when so much of my material comes from personal experiences?” Of course, Sanchez being Sanchez, Coheed’s wiki-writing legions of fans will still find plenty of rich character work, narrative flourish, and references to the running lore. But if you’re new here, there’s no homework required to tap directly into our host’s struggles and triumphs — although, you might get drawn in anyway.
But The Father of Make Believe showcases some of the band’s strongest songwriting to date precisely because Sanchez foregrounds his perspective. “Meri of Mercy” is a touching ode to Sanchez’s late grandparents, who’ve made cameos as characters before — the interplanetary couple Sirius and Meri Amory. With this new chapter of a song, he’s comfortable admitting that these fictions were a way to bring back his dearly departed family members. The piano-infused ballad is patient and gut-wrenching, written from the perspective of his grandpa, recently passed and reuniting with the woman he lost 40 years prior. “I miss him very much. My memories of him are so persistent,” says Sanchez. “I hope he’s with her.” At least for these four minutes, he is.
SIDE A
A1. Yesterday's Lost
A2. Goodbye, Sunshine
A3. Searching for Tomorrow
A4. The Father of Make Believe
A5. Meri of Mercy
SIDE B
B1. Blind Side Sonny
B2. Play the Poet
B3. One Last Miracle
B4. Corner My Confidence
B5. Someone Who Can
SIDE C
C1. The Continuum I: Welcome to Forever, Mr Nobody
C2. The Continuum II: The Flood
C3. The Continuum III: Tethered Together
C4. The Continuum IV: So It Goes
SIDE D
D1. The Omni-Voice