Flaunt Weeekly
Coheed And Cambria represent rock at its most progressive, with their deep conceptual work bringing together crunching riffs, fantastical synths, and themes redolent of the science fiction realm.
New album ‘The Father Of Make Believe’ is out now, the third act in their Vaxis series. The band continually push the envelope, having long-since defined a unique creative realm. Absorbing fresh ideas and stylistic inclinations, the record will be accompanied by a headline slot at 2000Trees festival later this year.
Claudio Sanchez is the band’s lyricist and a supreme creative force, matching his role as a musician to leading up the Amory Wars, a series of entrancing graphic novels.
The graphic novels interweave around the themes in the band’s own work, with one coming to reflect the other; a double helix of audio-visual art, with fans able to unpick it at their own pace.
CLASH caught up with Claudio Sanchez to chat about his literary influences, including his comic book inspirations.
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What is your favourite graphic novel and why?
The Watchmen – there is no other book that’s pacing is quite like it. It’s very cinematic, from choice of dialogue to the little inserts between issues. The concept is so good and the book is very immersive – just all around an exquisite piece of literature.
What other comic creators do you like?
Alan Moore, Frank Miller, Jeff Loeb…
What draws you to certain books / series?
Typically, like a lot of people, the art draws me in. Of course I lean towards writers and stories i’m a fan of, but the art is the pull.
Have you ever discovered a real lost classic? What is it and why?
Yes, Krull. I discovered it very young and it captured my imagination and has informed a lot of the art I have done in my life.
What led you to start the Amory Wars?
My insecurities is what led me to write the Amory Wars. I was able to hide my personal stories behind the fiction. But the comic form was a timing thing… I stepped into a comic shop one day in NYC around the time I was developing the band, and was reminded how much I loved the medium and it all went from there.
Which comes first, the song or the graphic novel? Or, have you found a way these strands to truly interweave?
Typically the songs come first, as I mentioned, they are all related to my personal life, and then I tie them into the story.
What’s the biggest challenge in creating this series?
Keeping track of the events and characters and so forth to insure continuity. All of this is a moment in time, and sometimes when you move on in life, you forget those moments.
Who / which titles inspire you when writing?
Vonnegut’s Slaughter House Five and Breakfast of Champions have been big influences. There are plenty of others in the beginning and over the years, but Kurt is probably the farthest reaching.
Have you ever identified with a character in a book? Which one and why?
The Kilgore Trout character being an extension of Vonnegut, and popping up in a lot of his books certainly inspired me to have characters in my books that are somewhat recognizable as me…
Is there an author / poet you would like to collaborate with?
Kevin J Anderson… more to come!
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Coheed and Cambria’s album ‘The Father Of Make Believe’ is out now. The band headlines 2000Trees Festival this summer.
Photo Credit: Jimmy Fontaine
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