Review: Coheed and Cambria “In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth 3”

Artist: “Coheed and Cambria”
“In Keeping Secrets of SIlent Earth 3”
(Equal Vision)

It’s not often that such an ambitious band finds its way into your great big box o’ CDs to review for the month. Such is the case with Coheed and Cambria’s “Silent Earth”, however, a masterful jaunt through everything you love about emo and hardcore without all of those sappy lyrics and generic breakdowns. CO and CA’s multi-layered and varied sound ranges from the stirring immediacy of acts like Hot Water Music and Hopesfall to the controlled fury of Thrice and Glassjaw while still managing to incorporate some of the catchier elements of The Get Up Kids. Sounds like a whole mess of bands, huh? Damn straight it does, and damn straight if Claudio Sanchez’s gritty NYC vocals don’t tear the lid off the whole g-damn thing. Beginning with heavily atmospheric songs like the title track (an eight minute song to start an album?! are you kidding me?!) and working its way into blistering cuts like “The Crowing” shows, not only, how versatile this band is, but how musically accomplished they are. Now, at times the length of some of the tracks can get a bit laborious, as CO and CA show time and again that passing the five-minute mark means they’re just simmering gently. Still though, “Silent Earth” is a shining example of excellent musicians producing excellent music. I have a date now. Gotta go.