While the name Coheed and Cambria didn't appear until 2001, the band previously known as Shabűtie are celebrating their thirtieth anniversary this year. And this same year, the Americans are releasing their eleventh album and more specifically the third part of the Axis saga ‘The Father of Make Believe’, an album in which Claudio Sanchez behind the metaphors of The Armory War universe opens up about his questions, which he reveals to us on Music Waves....
What is the question that you have been asked too often and that you are fed up with answering?
Claudio Sanchez: Oh, I don't know, that's a tough one! It's funny but sometimes I get tired of answering questions about The Amory Wars...
Oh, really?
Yes, because the older I get, the more I find that these albums are actually very much based on my life. In fact, The Amory Wars was a kind of diversion to be honest and sad in the songs...
The Amory Wars are a metaphor for my life!
Are you admitting that you are no longer afraid to bare your soul through your music and that you no longer have to hide behind metaphors?
Absolutely. That's exactly it: The Amory Wars are a metaphor for my life!
Despite everything, you continue to play it?
Because I also love developing this universe... And at this stage, I have to finish this story: there are still two albums after ‘The Father of Make Believe’ and I think we can conclude The Amory Wars...
The band's latest release is ‘The Father of Make Believe’, which continues the epic of Vaxis. Can you tell us more about this new part of the story and what the main characters are going through?
I had a hard time after finishing ‘A Window of the Waking Mind’. I was so proud of the recording that I thought it would be difficult to do better.
Despite everything, I continued to write without thinking about the story or the characters' motivations. I only asked myself what I wanted to write and what had meaning for me: it was part of my writing therapy.
But while I was writing, people in my circle passed away and I thought about these people and their lives: for example, my grandfather, who lived 35 to 40 years without his wife. All of this made me think about myself, my mortality and all the questions that relate to our modern life, and in particular, I wondered if I had made the right decisions...
It's a collection of questions and I asked myself when all was said and done: is this the metamorphosis of something new or is it the end? This is really what I use to motivate the character of Vaxis because eventually he will create something great.
I am alive and as such I would always ask myself questions
You raise a lot of questions, but have you found the beginnings of an answer?
No, I haven't found the answers! When I write songs, most of the time I compose the verses based on the questions that arise, and I would like the choruses to be the answers...
On one level, they provide a resolution, but ultimately, I am alive and as such I would always ask myself questions.
This album seems to delve deeper into the themes of fatherhood and illusion. How do these concepts fit into the story and into your own experience as a songwriter?
The last album was a metaphor for fatherhood through the pandemic. I particularly recognised myself in the role of the father on the last two albums.
In this album, I feel more at the centre of the story; I see myself more in the role of Vaxis, with the future ahead of me and how I can change it to make it meaningful for me. Because that is what this character is going to go through...
The only real theme of this album - in terms of kinship - is the notion of loss. A song like ‘Yesterday Lost’ makes me think about a life where I will no longer be there and therefore how my family will continue their journey. This is the main theme I have in mind when I think about fatherhood.
How has this aspect, which seems to be personal, impacted the way you sing? Have you tried here to convey stronger emotions through your vocal lines, particularly in ‘Tethered Together’, where you switch from a calm voice to a more aggressive one?
That's true! When I think about ‘Tethered Together’ and when I think about the context and the themes that come before, in the end, it's a bit like accepting reality... No matter my state of mind in a song like ‘The Continuum I: Welcome to Forever, Mr. Nobody‘ with the confusion and unanswered questions that are asked, ´Tethered Together’ is that moment of resolution where I accept the reality in which I live and in which I have a good team around me, whether it be Coheed and Cambria or my family, regardless of the obstacles we have to overcome, we do it together! And that expression is in us!
There are a lot of characters in this saga. Have you considered inviting guests to play the different roles that appear on these albums, like on an Ayreon?
I see what you're getting at, but when I think of Coheed and Cambria's albums, I don't see them in a musical sense where the lines are delivered by the characters. For me, it's really an extension of how I feel and I use it to tell the story.
But I have projects that are more in line with what you're talking about, with characters who have their own singing lines and play their roles in the story. But I never thought about that for this project.
In this respect, this project - the Vaxis saga - has a very cinematic scope. Have you considered adapting its universe in another form, such as a film or an animated series (like your music videos)?
Absolutely. We think about it all the time. In fact, the
booklet in the
deluxe version of this album is a great way to immerse yourself in the conceptual side of Coheed and Cambria or the books of The Amory Wars, which are linked to some of our first albums.
We have spoken with series directors about the potential of adapting this saga into a TV series - perhaps an animated one - it's something we're working on and are open to.
I never wanted to be defined by a particular music scene or culture
Musically, ‘The Father of Make Believe’ seems to explore new textures while remaining true to the Coheed and Cambria DNA. What were your main inspirations for this album?
Everything is a source of inspiration. I have always been influenced by all forms of music. When Coheed and Cambria came along years ago, and even when I was a teenager, I never wanted to be defined by a particular music scene or culture: I loved everything and wanted to do everything. I wanted to have a very diverse range of artistic creation. I think that this state of mind is still present and is part of who we are, of who I am... and I need it to get the message across that I want to get across...
There is a search that draws on the 1970s for the concept and the sound of the 1980s, particularly in the first part of the album. What do these eras represent for you and how are they most relevant to the group?
I don't know. When I listen to the album, I can clearly hear the influence of the 1980s on a song like ‘Someone Who Can’, but it's just a question of production because when I wrote that song, it was very different in terms of instrumentation - it was a piano, drums, guitar and me singing - until Zakk Cervini, my production partner, listened to it. Basically, it was very different in terms of instrumentation - it was a piano, drums, guitar and me singing - until Zakk Cervini - my production partner - listened to the song and said we should do something with it and we decided to colour it in that aesthetic.
I think it may be a product of the instrumentation used because I hear a song like ‘Goodbye, Sunshine’, I'm not totally sure where it might come from in terms of time. Which makes me think that it's maybe just a question of instrumentation that makes you feel that a song sounds like this or that period...
The track ‘Someone Who Can’ has a more accessible sound, almost pop-rock, while ‘The Flood’ is more progressive. How did you strike a balance between experimentation and accessibility?
That's true, but I think that's how I did it. I like writing intriguing and complex songs that make you ask yourself lots of questions, but I also like short and concise songs. When I wrote ‘Someone Who Can’, I had it in mind to include it in a
side project: it was intended to be a song on a solo album. I composed this song in a different way with an acoustic guitar and piano, but Zach (NdStruck: Zach Cooper, the band's bass player) heard it and said it would be good to explore it further, and that's what we did.
But it's all about perspective, knowing that ‘Someone Who Can’ wasn't basically a Coheed and Cambria approach, whereas a song like ‘The Flood’ comes at the climax of the album and where all the questions I ask myself about mortality, identity... overwhelm me and find their resolution in ‘ Tethered Together'… I think it makes sense from a musical point of view and how the record evolves from beginning to end.
But the story of “The Flood” is funny because it's the last song I wrote and when I composed it, I realised that this album needed that song and the tension it brings to the album.
You say that you wrote ‘The Flood’ at the last minute and that you realised at that moment that this track was essential to the balance of the album. But ultimately, how do you compose?
When I started composing for ‘The Father of Make Believe’, I wrote 30 songs and selected those with a theme that really represented my state of mind. And then I arranged them so that their sequence made sense.
But sometimes it's my production partner who points out to me that it would be interesting to explore a particular track. And based on that comment, I try to inject them and when I listen to them, the experience from the beginning to the end of the album is particularly satisfying.
And considering the thirty songs you've composed, what happens to the sixteen that aren't on the album?
Anything can happen, but yes, they have the potential to make an EP... I wouldn't say they deserve to be made into an album, but maybe some of them would be good on an album.
I write all the time and am creative because it's simply my pleasure!
Given your productivity, one wonders if these tracks could have been released as an EP of previously unreleased material as a taster before this album, rather than the cover album ‘Claudio Covers’...
We could have, but with the cover album, I didn't want to overwhelm the listener. But it's clear that these new songs have potential. But I write all the time and am creative because it's simply my pleasure!
You've said little about how you compose, but afterwards, how did the recording of this album compare to the previous ones? Did you take a different approach in the studio?
No, it was very similar. When we started to consider finding a producer for this new album, I listened to ‘A Window of the Waking Mind’ again and told our managers that we should team up with the same team again because I'm very proud of ‘A Window of the Waking Mind’ and I love it... For this reason, the approach is very similar to what we did before...
It's important for me to make sure that the singing is engaging enough to keep the listener invested in the musicality. When I write music, in general, whatever the instrument - whether I start on the guitar or a sequencer... - I always sing, I always make sure that the vocals are the guide for all the parts to come.
It's important for me to make sure that the vocals are engaging enough to keep the listener invested in the musicality.
‘The Father of Make Believe’ alternates between direct and accessible pieces and a more progressive final part (as on the previous album). Between these two approaches, which is the most demanding in terms of composition and arrangements? Do you find it more difficult to condense an idea into a short format or to develop a long narrative piece?
The two are very different, but if I had to choose, I would say that it is more difficult to condense your message in a shorter song. Because, on the contrary, in the case of longer songs, you don't immediately answer the question.
Your recent albums have elicited a variety of reactions from your fan base. How do you perceive these differences of opinion, and do they influence your creative process for future projects?
Coheed and Cambria is such a versatile and eclectic band that there's always someone who's going to love it or someone who's not going to love it. I think that no matter what the songs are, if you're a fan of Coheed and Cambria, you're going to be drawn into the story first and foremost... So all these considerations don't really have an influence on how we construct the material that we put out.
Coheed and Cambria fans are really going to love this new album!
Your fans are very attached to the conceptual dimension of your albums. What kind of reaction do you expect from them with ‘The Father of Make Believe’?
Honestly, I think they're going to love ‘The Father of Make Believe’ (Laughs)! Looking back, one of the things I realised about this album and the way I created it is that it is in line with the process of some of our earlier albums. It's not something I thought about methodically - it wasn't my approach to do it like we did in the beginning - it just happened that way.
Looking back, I realise that I just kept writing a lot of songs from ‘A Window of the Waking Mind’ to ‘The Father of Make Believe’ and I chose the most appropriate ones. And in the end, this approach is not that different from the one I used when writing ‘The Second Stage Turbine Blade’. In fact, I remember touring with this first album, opening with the track ‘In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3’, even though the eponymous album had not yet been released. It was the same with ‘Goodbye, Sunshine’ and ‘One Last Miracle’, which were in the pipeline even though we had finished ‘A Window of the Waking Mind’.
I think Coheed and Cambria fans are really going to appreciate this new album!
Can you tell these fans more about the tour that will accompany this album? Are you preparing a specific stage set to recreate the world of ‘Vaxis III’ on stage?
Yes! In the latest videos released - ‘Blind Side Sonny’, ‘Searching For Tomorrow’ and ‘Someone Who Can’ - we decided to integrate the character of Blind Side Sonny into the film, but as he is in the concept but more in a guardian angel role, and we will try to continue to incorporate him...
But in the end, isn't it paradoxical to include characters from The Amory Wars when you said you wanted to move away from it at the beginning of the interview?
I think that these videos are the best representation of what I do because I take a character from the story and I integrate him into the videos but making him do something else... Something that is not really what he does in the story of Vaxis/Amory War...
The videos are more of a personalisation of myself and Vaxis is like a guardian angel... The character Blind Side Sonny in these videos shows us the potential realities if Coheed and Cambria didn't exist. This character shows us the importance of our actions. And these videos show us as guardian angels of our younger selves helping to make the Coheed and Cambria we have now what it is.
I am very lucky to do what I do and I want to continue doing it.
And finally, what are your expectations for this album?
My expectations are just that as many people as possible like this new album so that we can play it all over the world. That's all!
At this stage in my life, I realise that I am very lucky to be doing what I am doing and I want to continue doing it.
Coheed and Cambria is a very interesting form of contemporary music
Despite everything, do you think you have reached a glass ceiling or do you aspire to reach new heights with Coheed and Cambria?
I don't know! Coheed and Cambria is a very interesting form of contemporary music. It's hard to say how it will be received. Of course, I'd like as many people as possible to get into this album... But we'll see, I think I've done what I had to do (Laughs)!
Finally, we started this interview with the question that has been asked too often. On the contrary, what would you like me to ask you or what would you dream of answering?
Wow, that's a good question, man! I really don't know, knowing that I think you asked some excellent questions.
If I may, then... During this interview, you talked a lot about your fears, especially about mortality... The question I'm going to ask you is whether you are at peace with yourself?
I would say yes, most of the time. But, you know, life is short but hard at the same time, so I think these existential questions will always arise... Despite everything, I am mostly at peace and I am very lucky: I have a beautiful wife, a great child, I live in New York City, I am here now in Paris to promote this new album... when I could be far away from all this and sleeping on the street... No, I'm pretty lucky....
Thank you very much.
(In French) ‘Merci’, that was really cool man!
And thanks to Calgepo for its contribution...