Coheed And Cambria // VAXIS II: A WINDOW OF THE WAKING MIND // Album Review

Prog titans Coheed and Cambria are back with their 10^th studio album Vaxis II: A Window of The Waking Mind, the second part of a new 5-part Prog concept epic tale. While Prog and especially concept albums can be a difficult realm to get into, Coheed has managed to create an album both for fans that carries on the plot of Vaxis I while being musically completely accessible for new listeners.

This is instantly noticeable within the track Beautiful Losers, which blends elements of Pop-Punk into the prog mix to create one of the catchiest choruses I’ve ever had the pleasure of hearing from the genre. As the album moves along to Comatose, more of the typical prog sound comes to the forefront while keeping the massive, anthemic chorus’ that I can already picture a sold-out arena show having every lyric screamed by the crowd.

This isn’t to say that the album doesn’t fall into the realm of pure Prog Rock though, as the album closes with an immense 3-track cinematic exploration of space with the likes of Ladders of Supremacy, Rise Naianasha (Cut The Cord) and the 8 and a half minute long Window of the Waking Mind which is pure prog brilliance with an incredible range of soundscapes that tell a story of their own, before even taking into account the story told by the lyrics (with an utterly amazing vocal performance from Claudio Sanchez)

While I have to say this album definitely won’t appeal to everyone, for those into prog and/or concept albums, Coheed and Cambria have knocked it out of the park once again. With a blend of crushing riffs, experimental musicianship and an incredible storyline that blends into every aspect of the songwriting, Vaxis II is a must-hear.

VAXIS II: A WINDOW OF THE WAKING MIND arrives June 24th courtesy of Roadrunner Records

Review: Dan Stapleton

Tracklist:

The Embers of Fire

Beautiful Losers

Comatose

Shoulders

A Disappearing Act

Love Murder One

Blood

The Liars Club

Bad Man

Our Love

Ladders of Supremacy

Rise, Naianasha (Cut The Cord)

Window of the Waking Mind

ANNOUNCE SPECIAL RELEASE DAY LIVESTREAM WITH TWITCH CELEBRATING VAXIS II: A WINDOW OF THE WAKING MIND

FULL BAND STRIPPED BACK PERFORMANCE, BOOK READING & MORE

TO BROADCAST LIVE FROM ROUGH TRADE NYC ON JUNE 24

PERFORMANCE BEGINS AT 5PM BST (12PM EDT / 9AM PDT)

OCTOBER 2022 EUROPEAN CO-HEADLINE TOUR WITH THRICE

NEW ALBUM VAXIS II: A WINDOW OF THE WAKING MIND OUT JUNE 24

PHOTO CREDIT: ALEXANDRA GAVILLET

The music world’s most intriguing storytellers, Coheed and Cambria, have announced a special release day livestream in partnership with Twitch and in support of Discogs’ Independent Record Store Month, set to take place on June 24th. The event will see the band celebrating the arrival of their widely anticipated new album Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind with a full band stripped back performance, book reading, and more live from Rough Trade NYC. The official broadcast will kick off at 3pm BST (10am EDT / 7am

PT) with Coheed and Cambria’s performance slated to stream at 5pm BST (12pm EDT / 9am EDT) on vocalist Claudio Sanchez’s official Twitch channel.

Just last month Coheed and Cambria shared “Comatose,” the final new track to arrive ahead of the release of their new album Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind. “Comatose” finds the band stepping on the gas with the hi-energy joyride of a song, leaning a little into their classic pop-punk side, with modern electronic sounds that give the song extra bounce.

“Comatose” follows album standouts “The Liars Club,” which is currently Top 25 at Active Rock radio and “Shoulders.” which broke into the Top 10 on the same chart earlier this year. All three tracks are featured on Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind , Coheed and Cambria’s ambitious new thirteen track album which is produced by the band’s own Claudio Sanchez and Zakk Cervini. Pre-orders for the album on DSPs, Vinyl, Cassette, and for the collection’s deeply immersive Vaxis II: A Window of the Waking Mind Limited Edition Deluxe Box Set are available now.

This October Coheed and Cambria will embark on a massive 2022 European co-headline tour with Thrice. Touché Amoré are confirmed as special guests. Coheed and Cambria will close all dates in the UK, while Thrice will close in mainland Europe. The upcoming trek will kick off on October 14th and see the band performing across mainland Europe and the UK. Tickets for all dates are on sale now [full tour itinerary below]. For tickets and more information on Coheed and Cambria’s upcoming tour dates, visit www.coheedandcambria.com.

Fri 14th Oct – UK – BRISTOL O2 Academy

Sat 15th Oct – UK – BIRMINGHAM O2 Academy

Sun 16th Oct – UK – LONDON O2 Academy Brixton

Tue 18th Oct – UK – MANCHESTER Academy

Wed 19th Oct – UK – NOTTINGHAM Rock City

Thu 20th Oct – UK – GLASGOW SWG3 Galvanizers

Sat 22nd Oct – BELGIUM – ANTWERP Trix

Sun 23rd Oct – NETHERLANDS – TILBURG 013

Tue 25th Oct – GERMANY – BERLIN Columbiahalle

Wed 26th Oct – GERMANY – WIESBADEN Schlachthof

Fri 28th Oct – ITALY – BOLOGNA Estragon Club

Sat 29th Oct – GERMANY – MUNICH Tonhalle