Coheed and Cambria

Het Amerikaanse Coheed and Cambria bracht in de eerste helft van dit jaar Year Of The Black Rainbow uit. Deze vijfde full length is de laatste toevoeging in The Armory Wars en vormt het eerste hoofdstuk in het verhalenlijn. Wij waren bij de headline-shows in de Dynamo en de Melkweg en ook bij de show in 013, waar ze de zaal mochten opwarmen voordat het tijd was voor Deftones. Voorafgaand aan die show spraken wij met bassist Michael Todd.

“Hi, I’m Michael Todd, I’m the bassplayer for Coheed and Cambria”. Om direct maar met de deur in huis te vallen, wil ik graag weten wat hij zich herinnert van de vorige twee shows in Nederland. “Yeah, it was alright. We’re always having a good time when we play in The Netherlands. Or is it Holland? The crowd is very respectful, they watch very closely and they’re really focused.”

De band tourt nu met Deftones, zijn de bands vrienden van elkaar? “They’ve become. We kinda met them, on the summer festivals. We set-up this tour and hang out with each other en we’re getting along. So yeah, they’re friends now.” Deftones en Coheed and Cambria, is dat niet een raar package? “I think, that the problem with our band is, that no one knows where to put us. Like ten years ago, Claudio and I listened a lot to Deftones and we were inspired by them and they’re such cool guys to hang out with.” De band was vorig jaar nog op tour met Heaven and Hell, hoe was dat? “Yeah, that was larger than life. The Sabbath guys and Dio, wow. Unfortunately, we played at Dio’s last show, that was really sad. But the tour was such an honor for us.”

Year Of The Black Rainbow heeft een andere vibe, in vergelijking met zijn voorgangers, hoe komt dit? “This is largely due to the producers, Atticus Ross and Joe Barresi. We wanted to include something different and a lot of those ‘electric vibes’ were their idea. It wasn’t intentional, but this is what it’s turned out and we’re really happy with it. The general feeling of this album is more darker, we’re a different band than we were before: this is the first album that Chris has played drums on, and that really shaped the songs.”

De snelheid van de laatste drie platen is erg verschillend, komt dat omdat alle drie de albums met een andere drummer zijn opgenomen? “Yeah, the change of one member can be felt, especially the drums. Josh is hugely talented and Chris is immensely skilled and they have their own ‘voice’. They have really cool dynamics and that definitely changed the feeling of the records. Taylor has more of a big tempo rock sound and he is super professional. I remember when Taylor was learning Chris’ parts, because Chris was in the band but couldn’t record, Taylor said: “I don’t know if I can play that part!”

Deze plaat is als laatste uitgebracht, maar is het eerste deel van het verhaal. Moeten we hem dan ook muzikaal gezien aan het begin zetten? “I feel like it’s more at the end, the story takes place in the beginning, but it has been a progression in one direction. It shouldn’t be in the front. So if we play al the albums full, we start with The Second Stage Turbine Blade and end with this new one. It’s stuff that takes place in the beginning, but you’re not supposed to hear it until now.”

Graag wil ik weten van Michael welke plaat zijn favoriet is. “Uh, I think our third record, Good Apollo One. I listen to that record a lot. We spend a lot of time on that album, it didn’t felt rushed at all. I really like the feeling of that record.” Nu heeft Coheed and Cambria vijf platen, dus The Armory Wars verhalenlijn is klaar. What’s next? “We don’t really know. We could go tell a new story, we could have no story, or go back and add to this one. We just don’t know yet. We’re hoping that we’ll know when we get there. And it’s not the end of Coheed, we’ll keep playing.”

“We’re doing more touring in the New Year and we’re talking about filming a new DVD. There are no plans yet, but we’re talking and we’re hoping to have something. I love making a live record, because you only get one shot. And you take more chances live, than in the studio. I play better like that.” En wanneer kunnen we het viertal weer in Nederland verwachten? “I think before next summer, probably both festival –and club shows.”

Wie heeft er uiteindelijk voor gezorgd  dat Michael basgitaar ging spelen? “That’s a tough one, but I think Prince. My brother and sister were really into that. They’re nine and ten years older than me and Prince played everything and I wanted that as well. I can play guitar and when I went to school I learned how to play drums and piano.” De band zit op zowel Sony Records als op Roadrunner Records, is dit anders werken? “In America we’re on Sony and we actually got Roadrunner for here in Europe, just for this record. This is because we didn’t felt that Sony was working very much with us on this record. Roadrunner did a lot of work, it feels that the records are in more stores over here and that there is more advertising. It’s easier to find our music now.” Ik sluit ook weer af met de schoenmaatvraag. “I have size twelve American, I don’t know how much it is here. Let’s see, I think we’re close but yours are bigger.”