Coheed and Cambria
The Second Stage Turbine Blade

THE REVIEW

As rough as a newly discovered diamond. At first glance, that's the impression listening to "The Second Stage Turbine Blade", Coheed & Cambria's debut album, gives off. Probably not the best record by Sanchez & Co., it exhibits all those characteristics (I absolutely don't want to talk about flaws) that emerge from a band's first work: unclean sounds, musical immaturity, daring sound effects that perhaps go beyond the overall context of the collection, various experiments, Sanchez's voice still embellishing too much with falsettos that don't quite fit into the recording as a whole. Characteristics, because even at their beginnings, Coheed & Cambria show what their sound is made of. Characteristics, because after a more attentive listen, one realizes that what are generally categorized as "the debut's little flaws" are the peculiarities of a group capable of immediately and arrogantly projecting themselves onto the world music stage. After all, from this first album, one truly recognizes Coheed's vocation, showing they know how to skillfully handle the raw and violent sounds of hard-core and manage themselves without getting lost within the emocore galaxy.

The intro is that blend of sounds that will accompany all of the group's productions, then it's up to "Time Consumer". With this track, Coheed creates that dark mix that strongly permeates the music of the quartet to this day: soft and gentle arpeggios that create the anticipatory atmosphere for the guitar outburst, crowned by Claudio's voice. The whole thing, naturally, in perfect Coheed style, who on this occasion collaborated with Dr. Know on guitar to create a sound that is both sweet and sophisticated. "Devil in Jersey City" remains one of the band's most famous singles, which here magically creates a perfect mix of metal and hardcore, accompanied by fine riffs and voices alternating with that of frontman Sanchez; but all this seems like nothing compared to the gem of the album, in my opinion the most intense and emotionally engaging song of recent years, "Everything Evil". In this track, it truly seems the four let loose their musical impulses: Sanchez's guitar, recalling the singer's origins (Puerto Rican father, Italian mother), starts speaking Latin, freely dialoguing with Stever's hardcore, while Todd is not passively observing but laying the foundation with his bass and Eppards is possessed on the drums. Sanchez's screams thrust the listener into the drama of Jesse and Claudio, who, in a passive trance, is caught by the strong passion: the final minutes are overwhelming for the strong barrage of sensations and emotions they evoke, the emotional whirlwind unleashed by the four reaches its peak.
"Delirium Trigger" does not disperse the atmosphere created; with guitar roars nearing distortion and drums displaying the hardness of cymbals, another masterpiece by Coheed & Cambria is witnessed, which alternates hardcore strength with calm sounds leading to other violent and aggressive ones. However, a nearly perfect first part of the record does not correspond to an equally valid second part; certainly, melodies remain that underline the concepts previously expressed by the band, but the impression is that the remaining tracks, even though they are quite valid, are too lacking in impact when compared to the first ones. What is most tiresome is the exhausting length of the songs: "Hearshot Kid Disaster", while it maintains a relatively high rhythm and enjoys all the musical technique the band possesses, loses strength due to excessive repetitiveness. Nonetheless, one cannot deny that Coheed & Cambria maintain a high level of their music, just look at "33" and "Junesong Provision", even though the latter suffers too much from Sanchez's vocalizations. "Neverender" somewhat forcibly fits into the album's framework, while in "God Send Conspirator" they pay for inexperience and the risk of musical experiments.

Certainly, "The Second Stage Turbine Blade" breaks away from the norms of a classic debut album; though this leads to a drop in intensity in the more "experimental" and less measured moments, it also results in the creation of a true emotional spiral that strongly drags the listener into the fantastic world of Coheed & Cambria.