Coheed and Cambria Sign to Columbia

This isn't the kind of thing that I expected to see in the music industry going forward.

Coheed and Cambria Signed to Columbia Records

The unclassifiable rock band Coheed and Cambria has signed with Columbia Records, who, in conjunction with Equal Vision Records, will re-issue the group's watershed album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, on Tuesday, June 29.

One of the biggest indie band breakout stories of the year, Coheed and Cambria, already legendary for delivering incandescent live performances, will be among the headliners on this year's Vans Warped Tour (see full itinerary following).

Coheed and Cambria is: Claudio Sanchez (lead vocals, guitar), Michael Todd (bass, backing vocals), Travis Stever (lead guitar, backing vocals), Josh Eppard (drums, backing vocals). Officially christened Coheed and Cambria in 2001, the group released its debut album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade in 2002. The album laid down the perimeters of the group's mythos: the ongoing saga of an alternate intergalactic netherworld, its main characters being an archetypal husband and wife named Coheed and Cambria.

While The Second Stage Turbine Blade has gone on to sell more than 80,000 copies in the U.S., it was the next Coheed and Cambria album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, that catapulted the band onto the next rung of success. Released in October 2003, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 debuted at #52 on the Billboard 200 best-selling album chart, an extraordinary feat for an independent release fueled largely by word-of-mouth and burgeoning fan loyalty.

Coheed and Cambria's epic storytelling, majestically crafted songs, impeccably taut musicianship, and witty emotive personae proved an irresistible combination. The New York Times called Silent Earth: 3, "?the year's most fearless rock album," while CMJ Music Monthly heralded the album as "?a beautifully complicated chuck of heavy, filled with melodic-pop sentiment and heartfelt lyrics." Additionally, Coheed was hailed in Alternative Press as a "#1 Band You Need To Know in 2004," and Blender's "Next Big Thing" (Jan./Feb. 2004).

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Article Author: Craig Lyndall

Craig Lyndall writes about all things related to Cleveland sports for WaitingForNextYear.com.

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