Customer Reviews

The Second Stage Turbine Blade

5 star:		(111)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

After ATDI broke up I extensively searched for a band I could get to the same level of liking with. My search took me through Thursday, Finch, Recover, Taking back Sunday, poison the well, Thrice and many many more similar bands..........This site was actually the tool I needed to find what I was looking for. The fact that you guys also bought this album are the reason I have a favorite band again cus I found Co & Ca by pilaging through pages of "People who bought this album also bought...." They are not as Hardcore as ATDI were but the vocals are simply amazing and his range is unbelieveable as he switches back and forth between Coheed's words to Cambria's word's. One of the few Cd's I can just put in and listen to all the tracks and have no real preference on which to hear. Can't wait for the next CD and they better not break up on me.
Sometimes there aren't enuff Stars but 5 will have to do.

It's march of 2002 and I've accidentally tuned to the local college radio station when I am bombarded by a quizically catchy tune sung by what sounds like a high-pitched man or a boyish girl. 4 months later after repeated listenings of 'Everything Evil' and 'Hearshot Kid Disaster' on mp3 I buy the CD and it still hasn't left my player. In a sea full of well-meaning but ultimately uninspired and unoriginal emo music Coheed & Cambria stand out as something more than just another genre pandering, pop-punk wanna-be. Co&Ca eschew the politics of the emo world and the pretensions of post-punk angst rock for a sound that once accepted, yields untold amounts of talent and originality.

From the single string picking intro of 'Time Consumer' to the pleading desperation of 'God Send Conspirator' The Second Stage Turbine Blade is an album of contrasts assembled like a fine novel with a sentence structure of sound. In fact narrative is important to Co&Ca not only in the album's conception as a companion to Claudio's own writing (on which the album is based) but in the composition of songs such as 'Everything Evil' where story progression isn't just a matter of words but is relayed musically as well through peaks and valleys and careful composition.

Co&Ca may not be for everyone, but given the chance the raw talent of this group should be enough to entertain the ears of a broad range of listeners. If you can look past the genre labels and past the intial perception of the sound, the soul of Coheed & Cambria shines through in the experimental love for music it's members lend to their work. If their already dedicated following and live presence (with a headlining tour starting Feb '03) are any indication, Coheed & Cambria are destined for greatness. Do yourself a favor and check this one out. Give it a chance and I doubt you'll be disappointed.

I was turned on to Coheed & Cambria and The Mars Volta by a friend. Being intrigued by the Co&Ca samples I heard online, I bought The Second Stage Turbine Blade and was pretty much blown away (which is saying something from a 40-year-old guy with a library of 1100+ CDs). This band is definitely prog, I don't know where the emo label fits in to the picture?!? Claudio's vocals have been endlessly compared to those of a certain Canadian (whose band I love dearly and grew up with since the 1970s) -- all I will say is that his talent stands on its own and is quite infectious. The guitars are savage, tight and beautifully support the conceptually poetic lyrics, all on a foundation of a heavy and cohesive rhythm section. Coheed & Cambria has created something of a masterpiece -- this is one of those CDs you will cherish for a long time, and quite possibly become a classic. All I can say to Mr. Sanchez and the rest of this gifted band is thank you for keeping the spirit of progressive music alive and well. You have made another fan, and I will definitely be checking out your other releases very soon. It's been a long time since I have been this excited about a band. Rock on...

Wow, this band is exactly what I was searching for. Music is something that I have enjoyed playing (drums) and listening to all my life. Early 2002 I remember searching for something new, emo was starting to kick full effect everywhere and I was hooked on stuff like Thrice and Taking Back Sunday but I still felt something was missing. I remember staying up late at night searching music websites and looking for a prog band that did not have "Im a 40 year old nerd singing about dungeons and dragons" vocals and "lets stuff every single over-played metal guitar riff into this song OK?" guitars. No luck, till my musically gifted friend showed me Coheed and Cambria. I didn't like it/or pay attention to it at first. I think it was the vocals that threw me off. But my roomate got the cd and after listening to it a couple more times I was HOOKED, forever. Seriously this cd is awesome and it IS fresh and is very intelligent and the band members are very talented. They mix so many styles of music together its amazing, and top it off with Claudio's voice and storytelling ability - WOW, it just blows my mind.

To the Nay-sayers -
Claudio is not a rip-off of RUSH, the ONLY similarity is the high pitch, thats it, they sing completely different styles

Don't be fooled by the MTV crowd that worships "Favour House Atlantic" (from their newest album) - its just their most poptastic song and teenage girls love that stuff i guess

Notice how the bad reviews usually post 2 sentences along the lines of "THIS SUX , omg he sounds like a girl! EWW"- they have no REAL criticism because they don't have the intellect/patience to appreciate good music, let alone form rational arguments.

Give Coheed and Cambria a chance!
If you feel something is missing in your cd case then this is the CD that will fill the void.

This album will be the best of the year 2002, hands down. When will people realize that this is what true music is all about. Very inventive and rarely heard meld of what people nowadays call "emo" but should be called melodic post-hardcore, with prog-rock and even Tool-like metal. Not only that, but the lyrical themes, although occasionally abstract and hard to decipher, are brilliantly poetic and emotionally powerful. Also, Claudio Sanchez is one of the 3 best male singer's on the planet (along with Red House Painters' Mark Kozelek and Camden's William Seidel). I suggest buying this immediately and skipping over overhyped rubbish like the Strokes and the White Stripes. Just because the media hasn't jumped on Coheed & Cambria's bandwagon (yet?) doesn't mean that they shouldn't be heard.

First off, let me say that Coheed and Cambria are one of the most innovative bands out there, and they create truly great music. This album is no exception. I have to admit, when I first bought this CD, I wasn't thrilled with it. This was because I had bought "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3" prior to this album, and it had a different sound to it. But after a while it started to grow on me. I listened to each song and began to realize the layer upon layer of fine musicianship poured into each and every one of them. Standouts among the tracks are "Delirium Trigger" (great harmonies at the end), "Devil in Jersey City", "Time Consumer" (amazing intro), "Everything Evil", and "God Send Conspirator". I also have come to like "I, Robot", the bonus track at the end of the CD. As I said, this CD has a different feel than "In Keeping Secrets..." but that is no reason to ignore it. It honestly is a work of art and a solid debut from a great band. It deserves your immediate attention.

No one seems to know how to define Coheed and Cambria. They tour with bands like Thrice, and Thursday, and have a crunchy punk-core sound, so they get grouped in with that genre most often, but they also draw a lot of comparisons with legend canadian prog-rockers, Rush. (Mostly due to his high-pitched singing.) In fact, in an interview, lead singer Claudio Sanchez stated that while he doesn't listen to or care for Geddy Lee or Rush for that matter, he would best describe their sound as Progressive Rock.
For those of you who insist on classifying your music, file it here. In actuality, this is a concept album, if you know what that means. If you were intrigued by Rush's laborious "2112" about a future society who's priests use technology to oppress and control the people through propaganda saturated media, then you'll love C&C. Much like George Lucas' Star Wars saga, C&C is part of the tenatively titled Bag Adventures. Second Stage Turbine blade, while the first release, is actually the second chapter in a four part science fiction love story. Coheed and Cambria are a married couple assigned to save the earth but meet troubles along the way, in the form of a dragonfly that opens a deadly virus in Coheed. The third chapter in the story, In Keeping Secrets of the Silent Earth 3, continues the saga, and the last chapter, Dearest Apollo, I'm Burning Star 4, will conclude the series, before the first chapter is released. Sanchez is currently working with a graphic artist, and the story will then be released in graphic novel form.
Sanchez intentionally keeps the lyrics cryptic and vague so, when the novel comes out, you'll see how close you really were in terms of the story. This is more than an album, it's a whole art piece that will span boundries. It wouldn't surprise me to see this captivating story possibly even told on the big screen someday!
I highly recommend this album to everyone who is tired of the same-ol' same-ol' on the radio and who enjoy a good epic story.

Thank God for Coheed and Cambria. This is the only band I can think of that can blend infectious pop hooks and elements of progressive rock without coming off as either too radio friendly or too pretentious.
This album in a word, is brilliant. The songs are is equal parts beautiful and bizarre. The lyrics chronical an ongoing sci-fi saga played out over 5 albums. If you enjoy picking apart songs, you will love this album as well as the rest of the bands catalogue.
My best advice to you would be to listen to the clips above. I realize that Coheed and Cambria wont be everyones cup of tea, but If you are looking for a band that is truly unique, I guarantee that you will be mildly intrigued by what this band has to offer.

Coheed and Cambria is greatest band of all time. They pour out endless emotions and bizarre lyrics. The guitar breakdowns are amazing and the vocals are beautiful. To add icing to the cake they even based the band on a story written by the singer, Claudio Sanchez. It's a dark sci-fi story starting with the two lead characters, Coheed and Cambria. Each song tells a part of this epic story. The Second Stage Turbine Blade encompasses the beginning of this tale, but interpreting the story is extremely hard. Thats why Claudio is releasing graphic novels/comics to easier explain the story. Well anyways, Coheed and Cambria is an amazing band, The Second Stage Turbine Blade is a must buy. I recomend you buy it before In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth:3.

xx

This CD is stunning. Everything about it is perfect.
The music is haunting AND uplifting due to Coheed And Cambria's complexity of their songs where one song will often go through several variations in mood. The lyrics are original and they are all part of a story (Which is being told in comic books published by Evil Ink) written by the band's frontman Claudio Sanchez. I don't even need to talk about Claudio's impressive vocal range that just speaks for itself. Seriously if you don't already own this album go buy it NOW!