With Year of the Black Rainbow, Coheed and Cambria bring The Amory Wars storyline full circle. This fifth studio album and prequel to The Amory wars storyline was released just days ago and counted with the talented participation of musician/programmer Atticus Ross (Janes Addiction, Nine Inch Nails) and engineer/producer Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age). A deluxe edition of the album includes a 352-page novel created by Coheed and Cambria front man, Claudio Sanchez, and The Hulk character writer and “Star Trek: New Frontier” novel series writer, Peter David.
Days before their Coachella performance, Claudio sits with Al Borde for a quick chat about the learning process of working with noted talents to create both the album and the Year of the Black Rainbow novel, and about the thought that went into working The Amory Wars in a backward manner.
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Year of the Black Rainbow
Going into this album, we knew it was the first chapter, so there were some events or broad strokes that were already part of the storyline, but life helps fill in the details. It gets us from point a to point b. “Here We Are Juggernaut” and “The Broken” encompass the overall meaning to The Amory Wars. “Here We Are Juggernaut” reflects the relationship between the two characters and how strong they truly are in this story. “The Broken” is about finding the acceptance of your self and others, flaws and all, and turning that into something positive and powerful. We have a couple of songs that detracted from the momentum of the album so we shelved them, but they are available as b-sides.
Working conceptually, backwards
The concept albums are heavily based on personal experiences, so really the concept itself is more a suggestion than a rule. If you think about it, every album out there is a concept record; it’s just a matter of fiction or non-fiction. The concepts are based on true events so staying on track is easy. My life dictates the fiction. I think having the characters lives already plotted out made it a little easier to go back and figure out where they began. Dealing with characters and plots that already have personalities and endings, helps to fill in the beginnings. I understood what the parts were, but again, personal experience is what filled in all those gaps, so I really couldn’t have prepared for something I hadn’t lived yet.
Graduation with honors
Each album of the series shows the progression of the band and Year of the Black Rainbow encompasses that progression collectively both musically and lyrically. I created this concept ten years ago because as a lyricist, I was uncomfortable confessing myself in words. The concept was a place for me to hide those feelings. I think with time I’ve matured and allowed listeners into a side of the story that’s very real. Musically speaking, there is a natural progression that comes with playing with people for a considerable amount of time. We’ve learned in time to work with each other’s strengths and accommodate the weaknesses to make for great drama in a musical context.
Collaborating with greats: Peter David, Atticus Ross and Joe Barresi
I’d heard of Peter David and his work on the Incredible Hulk, as well as his original series, Fallen Angel, which I’m a fan of. We met him at the San Diego Comic-Con in 2009 and the creative flow was very positive. It felt like a good fit. Peter has written a large number of novels in his time and so immediately, his experience helped guide the ideas. His role in our early meetings was one of asking a ton of questions I hadn’t necessarily thought of before and kind of playing the devil’s advocate in terms of the storyline.
And working with Atticus Ross and Joe Barresi on this album was the beginning of a great relationship. They were both very creative in their roles. They wanted to help us make an artistic statement as opposed to just capturing a band doing what they do. Even the smallest details got their full attention and I think you can hear that on the album. One of the professional tips and tricks that rubbed off from working with them was finding the musical quality in everything. Even the weird sounds that could never live on their own make for great reinforcement.
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Year of the Black Rainbow is out now, and for your chance to check out the band live, don’t forget to make your way over to Coachella this weekend where Coheed and Cambria will be performing on the second night of the festival along with Latin alternative favorites, Zoé and Aterciopelados.
