New York prog rockers Coheed and Cambria faced a dilemma with the release of their fourth record, "No World For Tomorrow": Have they reached the end of the line?
They weren't contemplating splitting up. They had hit their stride with the album, which debuted late last year at No. 6 on Billboard's Top 200. It earned praise from Blender, the New York Times and Rolling Stone, and the band was transitioning from opening act to headliner, including in its first bill-topping show in Tucson on Monday.
Their problem — for some die-hard fans — is that they are a conceptual band, centered on a story penned by founding member Claudio Sanchez.
"No World" is the final chapter in the story of Coheed and Cambria, a married couple trying to save civilization. Each album — from the 2002 debut, "The Second Stage Turbine Blade," to 2007's "No World" — advanced the story, including the advent of children and the couple's struggles with the universe and their relationship amid the swirl of the apocalyptic Amory Wars.
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Is "No World" the final word? We talked to guitarist Travis Stever, 29, last week as he and Sanchez prepared for two four-day concert events — one in Los Angeles in October, the other in their native New York in November — in which the band will perform all four albums in their entirety, one a night.
"Because this is the end to this chapter for us and the story, we decided it would be really cool to give our fans something special, doing all these albums live," said Stever, second from left above. "It will be cool and interesting for the fans and us to see where we've been musically."
Have you done this before?
"This is the first time. This is going to have every song in order the way they are on the albums. The story line that has gone through from the first album through this album is going to go through with each tune, live."
When you first started, did anyone consider what would happen when the story ended?
"That was always part of it, that the story would come to an end. But there are so many dimensions to this story that if we wanted to continue, we could do that. Or even start a new story. We're not anchored by that story. We don't have to sit in the realms of the Amory Wars story.
"We can go on; we're a rock band first and foremost. With every song and every album, you can relate to it just being a fan of rock 'n' roll, and that's what we want. We want people to realize we are a rock band. But what I find is that if you become a fan of the band and a fan of the music, generally you're going to want to find out what's going on in the story."
Where do you go from here?
"We've been working on some tunes already, and Claudio is working on the story . . . of the origins of Coheed and Cambria. It's basically a prequel."
Your song "Welcome Home" is on the "Rock Band" video game. Is this boosting your recognition and sales?
"Yeah, sure. For the kids to get to hear that song from that prospective and play along and be a part of the game is great."
Have you played it?
"Yeah, all of us in the band have the game. I didn't play it on expert (level) or anything. I'm afraid of that expert."
If you go
• What: Coheed and Cambria in concert, with Secret Machines and Russian Circles.
• When: 7:30 p.m. Monday.
• Where: Rialto Theatre, 318 E. Congress St. All-ages.
• Tickets: $23 through Rialto, 740-1000; rialtotheatre.com.
