7. They Were Special Even In Their Former Incarnation
Like most bands, Coheed didn't begin its life fully formed. There were several iterations of the group that would go on to be known as Coheed and Cambria, with different band members filtering in and out. The core group began as Beautiful Loser, and featured current members Travis Stever (on lead vocals) and Claudio Sanchez (somehow not on lead vocals, if you can believe that), as well as former drummer Nate Kelley and former bassist Jon Carleo. Eventually, Michael Todd was brought in on bass (and stayed with the band through 2011) and current drummer Josh Eppard joined the newly rebranded Shabutie. Named after an African tribal chant, Shabutie laid the framework for what Coheed & Cambria would eventually become, incorporating a multitude of styles that probably shouldn't have blended together as well as they did. Truly, there was something special about this band. And although they sounded a bit like fellow post-hardcore innovators At the Drive-In, they were clearly coming into their own sound. Take a listen to "Cassiopeia" and revel in the goodness of a song that could have seamlessly found its way into the track listing of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VVpC_apO_0