COHEED RETURNS

School and life in general have been extremely intense these past few weeks. With the radio and MTV being the easiest access to new music, I am saddened to say that Justin Bieber, Tay-Tay, and good old Miley have been my best friends as of late. Thankfully, though, I’m about to kick ‘em all to the curb and will no longer have to listen to Bieber’s pre-pubescent relationship woes. Gosh, he can be so whiny sometimes.

In a mere three weeks, quite a few talented artists are going to start releasing new albums left and right. Spring is a hot time for bands to release new albums in order to get fans amped up for their SUMMER TOURS.

Here is what our spring release line-up is looking like right now:

COHEED AND CAMBRIA- Year of the Black Rainbow- April 13

MGMT- Congratulations- April 13

CIRCA SURVIVE- Blue Sky Noise- April 20

MINUS THE BEAR- Omni- May 4

Mmmm it’s going to be like Christmas for my IPod.

 

Which of these new releases am I most excited for? Uh is “all of the above” an answer?

Right now, I’m in a slightly screamo/sweet guitar-riffs/big hair kind of mood, so lets start with Coheed.

Claudio Sanchez, lead singer of Coheed and Cambria.

 

Take a look at the big scary man above. Semi-frightening, right?

Now listen to this song:
 

Can some one please tell me how a creature of this size can produce a sound so soothing? Just one of life’s greatest mysteries, I suppose.

Giant fro or not, Coheed and Cambria is back with some sweet new tunes. New album, Year of the Black Rainbow is set to be released on April 13^th. Two new tracks, Here We Are Juggernaut and Broken, are available for our listening pleasure on Coheed’s website.

After listening to Juggernaut 11 times in the past hour, I have decided to do the unthinkable and actually PURCHASE the CD when it comes out.  And I’m not talking about half-assing it and buying the cheaper version on ITunes. I’m going to march right over to Best Buy on April 13^th, pay the $11.99, tear off the crispy plastic wrapping and pop Year of the Black Rainbow right in to my old-school boom box. Claudio’s voice does not live up to its full potential in mp3 quality.

Coheed and Cambria

“This is not your place, no this is not your playground, it’s my heart,” just one of the emotionally twisting lines from Juggernaut that Coheed is so famous for.

Coheed and Cambria have been around since the mid-90s, but did not release a full studio album until The Second Stage Turbine Blade in 2002. The have since released four more studio albums, two live albums and many special-edition releases. Fun fact- all of Coheed’s albums are concept albums that reveal a science fiction storyline called The Amory Wars, a series of comics written by Claudio Sanchez.

Coheed is on tour headlining right now and will be stopping off in California for a little festival called Coachella in mid-April. Then the guys are hopping back on the road for a two-month tour with Circa Survive. You have two options: 1.) Patiently await my stellar review of Coheed and Circa’s  performance in Central Park on May 26, or 2.) GO SEE THE MAGIC FOR YOURSELF.

Potential Best Album of 2010?

 

As of yesterday, Circa Survive’s third full-length album, Blue Sky Noise, has officially been completed. No one is more excited than me that THE WAIT IS ALMOST OVER! The new album is set to be released on April 20th, but honestly who can wait that long? Luckily, the boys of Circa know that I can not possibly hold out another 60 days to hear the fresh masterpiece and have done loyal fans a large favor by leaking the new track, Get Out, on CircaSurvive.com last night.

Album artwork for Blue Sky Noise, Esao Andrews. Courtesy of CircaSurvive.com.

It has been playing on repeat on my laptop for probably the past 24 hours.

Just like any other song sung by Anthony Green, the emotion in his voice is palpable. Green never fails to make listeners feel exactly what he is feeling with his music. Circa Survive’s first two albums, Jutura and On Letting Go, are exceptional classics and I am certain that Blue Sky Noise is going to live up to every one’s expectations.

Circa Survive has also announced their spring tour dates. The band is going to be headlining the first part of their three month tour starting off in North Carolina and finishing at The Bamboozle music festival in Anaheim, California. From then, Circa will be taking a month break and then head back out on the road with Coheed and Cambria.

Circa Survive. Courtesy of IndieRockReviews.com.

DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT, miss this opportunity. I have seen Circa live numerous times and they never fail to put on an extraordinary show. Think Green’s voice is strong and mighty on CD? Be prepared to be blown away in person.

Anthony Green. Courtesy of RollingStone.com.

Aside from having a uniquely vigorous voice, Green is also ridiculously good-looking. Quite possibly the sexiest specimen in the music biz. Before he started Circa Survive, Green was the lead-singer of Saosin, a post-hardcore band that peaked in 2003. Green also put out a solo-album, Avalon, about a year ago of music he has been working on for the past 10 years. A new remixed version (by Colin of Circa Survive) of Avalon has been recently released. Listen here. Green has collaborated with lots of other bands including Say Anything and Chiodos.

Bottom line- anything that involves Anthony Green is magical. Avalon is definitely one of my all-time favorite albums. Check out a few select tracks performed live by Green:

Slowing Down-

 

Baby Girl-

 

Dear Child (I’ve Been Dying to Reach You)-

 

BONUS TRACK WITH CIRCA SURVIVE: KICKING YOUR CROSSES DOWN-