Modern progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria’s upcoming sixth studio album will be a double concept album entitled ‘The Afterman’, which will be released in two separate full-length volumes. The band made the announcement today via a cinematic video trailer on their official website.
The first volume, ‘The Afterman: Ascension’, will be available on both physical and digital platforms October 8, 2012 via V2 Recordings/Everything Evil and the second volume, ‘The Afterman: Descension’ is slated for release in February 2013.
The band also confirmed a handful of intimate US club shows leading up to the release of ‘Afterman’, with a UK tour in November of this year which follows Coheed and Cambria’s performances at Reading and Leeds 2012.
A deluxe version of the ‘Afterman’ will include a hardcover coffee-table book with expansive art by Heidi Taillefer and Nathan Spoor with collaborative written work from singer/creator Claudio Sanchez and writer Peter David that will create a song by song experience.
David previously worked with Sanchez on the prose novel adaptation of the band’s 2010 album ‘Year Of The Black Rainbow’, and the graphic novel adaptation of their 2003 album,’In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3′. All the band’s titles, including ‘The Afterman’, fall into a grand sci-fi story arc called ‘The Amory Wars’.
It was announced previously at this month’s San Diego Comic Con that ‘The Amory Wars’ has been picked up by Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson of Leverage Productions to be developed into a live-action feature film.
Musically, ‘Afterman’ sees the band perfecting their powerhouse progressive rock, soul and even pop landscapes. The dual release also marks the return of original drummer Josh Eppard, who the band parted ways with in 2006, bringing with him his benchmark percussive grooves. Coheed and Cambria self-financed and co-produced ‘Afterman,’alongside Michael Birnbaum and Chris Bittner, who produced the band’s first three albums, in Woodstock, NY. ‘Afterman’ was mixed by Rich Costey (Muse, The Shins, Foster the People) and Ryan Williams (30 Seconds To Mars).
“This is without a doubt, the most honest record I’ve ever written,” says Sanchez. “Though all the songs can be interpreted through our main character in the story, they were initially written in a very spontaneous manner.”
“In the past,” he continues,” I’ve always had a predetermined idea of what the story was going to be when I approached the songs. With ‘The Afterman’ being a new story within the (‘…Amory Wars’) arc, I allowed the events of my life to drive the concept, and therefore opened up the songwriting to a fuller degree.”
Coheed and Cambria are currently on the road in North America with Iron Maiden.
UPCOMING UK TOUR DATES:
AUGUST
24 – Reading Festival
25 – Leeds Festival
NOVEMBER
8 – London – Koko
9 – Glasgow – ABC
11 – Birmingham – Academy
12 – Manchester – Ritz Ballroom
For more information visit the links.
