COHEED AND CAMBRIA

O2 ACADEMY, BIRMINGHAM

Coheed’s latest full-length, Vaxis – Act I:

The Unheavenly Creatures, offered a new instalment of the Amory Wars – the bewildering sci-fi adventures penned by the band’s frontman. And tonight,

Claudio Sanchez’s prog-rock crew are back in Birmingham after what seems like light years away. It takes but one note from sprawling, seven-minute opener

The Dark Sentencer to entrance the audience, and the fist-pumping ardour of Here We Are Juggernaut to keep them gripped. Banter between songs is minimal, with a preference to just let the omnipresent energy of the four-piece’s anthemic arsenal do the talking during the set. The Academy positively vibrates with the audience’s voluble participation throughout A Favor House Atlantic and Ten

Speed (Of God’s Blood And Burial). Expansive swathes of undulating melodies sit alongside flawless vocals, gleaming pop-rock sensibilities and equally thrilling choruses; Claudio and Travis Stever trade solos beneath neon strobes during the signature jam Welcome Home, as its unmistakable intro riff is greeted by deafening roars that linger long after those final ‘Whoaah’ refrains are bellowed triumphantly into the night. Long may the saga continue.