The Unheavenly Creatures is Coheed and Cambria’s eighth studio album. Their furious return to concept albums is the ‘First Act’ in a brand-new story arc within the backdrop of The Amory Wars universe. The clip takes us inside the story’s opening chapters, where we begin by seeing two captured criminals (Creature and Colossus) being walked through a ship on their way towards judgment for their crimes. It’s clear any friendship that once existed has not survived, as we see colorful flashbacks of their crimes committed against society, and perhaps, one another. Bass guitarist Zach Cooper talks to us about the new songs and the new storyline and returning to the concept that has become a trademark for the band.
Andrew: I guess you guys are getting ready for the release of the new album coming out soon.
Zach: Yeah this Friday!
Andrew: Yeah exciting times! What have you got planned for the release date, have you got any shows planned for it at all?
Zach: Yeah we’re playing a show in Times Square in New York at a small club on the release day on the 5th. It’s part of Comic-Con in New York so that’s always exciting too.
Andrew: Yeah that’s a cool thing! So obviously the new album is going back to the concept that you strayed away a bit on the last album so initially what sparked the idea to go back to the concept? Was that something you were always going to be doing anyway?
Zach: Yeah I’m pretty sure this was something that was always going to happen, Claudio (Sanchez, vocals/guitar) even said early on with the “The Color Before The Sun” that we would be heading back in to the Amory Wars and that wasn’t going to be the end of it so there was no doubt in any of our minds that we were going to head back into that territory again.
Andrew: Yeah I mean some fans were probably surprised with the direction that you took on the last album. Looking back on that now, what kind of feedback were you getting from people at that time?
Zach: I heard a lot of overwhelmingly positive feedback, a lot of people that at the time were very excited about it and really loved the songs on the record. I see people disliking that direction, disliking the record for whatever reason and I get that. It was a change of pace, a change of direction, it took a lot of people by surprise but for me I saw an overwhelmingly positive feedback.
Andrew: That’s obviously a good thing to have and being that you guys are a progressive rock band, that’s sort of a natural thing to be going in different directions so it shouldn’t be that surprising I suppose.
Zach: Yeah and I hope that people wouldn’t be that surprised but at the same time I get why people would be kind of surprised and be, ‘Woah what is this? This is different’. But you know, the thing with the band is we’ll go wherever we go and there’s not a lot of thought as far as…I hope people not get mad about this, it’s just a kind of secondary thought.
Andrew: So with this new album I had a sneak listen to it the other day and I have to say that even though concept albums are obviously not new to the band I do feel this has a very cinematic feel, it almost feels like a soundtrack to a movie. Musically speaking what was the idea going into this and what were some of the things you wanted to achieve, just on the music front?
Zach: Oh that’s awesome, basically what you described is what I think we were going for. Cinematic and having the music help tell the story as it kind of unfolds through the record and making it a cohesive ride all the way through and not just pummeling one kind of sound or sonic idea the whole time or going too far in one direction or another but maintaining that cinematic feel. Letting things develop, letting things move, that’s kind of the idea right there.
Andrew: And back to the Amory Wars story, I hear that there’s a whole new story going into this thing. Am I right in saying that or is this a continuation of where you left off?
Zach: Yeah this is kind of a continuation but also a new story. There’s all new characters, there’s a whole new setting for the story and after No World For Tomorrow and the destruction of everything really, this is kind of the aftermath of No World For Tomorrow. But yeah new characters, new everything really.
Andrew: So in saying that and because of the way Claudio writes the lyrics that even though it’s fictionalized there’s also a personalised attachment to it, do you feel because of the new story and everything that this is kind of a new era in the band in some ways?
Zach: Yeah to me it definitely feels like a new era, a new chapter in the band. That approach is still there, he’s still writing songs about his life and then kind of tying them into a concept.
Andrew: Yeah it’s obviously become a signature stamp of Coheed And Cambria. With you being a part of all this, what’s your take on the direction of the music and the story and how do you relate what you are doing now compared to what you had done in the past?
Zach: From the very beginning of this record I was really excited about the songs, I was really excited about the direction. I think for me personally from a stand point of playing the bass, I kind of always go in trying to support the song the best I can trying to help convey whatever feeling that the song is supposed to convey is and try to do it to create new ways and everything like that, but ultimately just trying to help drive the narrative.
Andrew: That narrative then drives the music I suppose so when you sit down and do the recording and stuff, are the storylines already in place or do you come up with the music first?
Zach: On this record it was actually but right around the time we got demos and ideas for songs and things like that we were also getting story synopsis and we even got artwork, what the characters were going to look like. We had character art and some of the background art and all this concept art for the new stories. So there was a lot to draw on when going to the music and coming up with an approach to it, you have this whole wealth of other stuff to influence where you want to kind of take it.
Andrew: That’s got to be inspirational to already have an idea in place before you have even hit that first note.
Zach: Oh yeah absolutely and for me anyway it was a clear picture of, OK this is where it’s gotta go. And then sometimes it’s just purely you’re a guy in a band and you’re like, ‘I think this sounds cool, I want to try this’ [laughs].
Andrew: Anything that works! It seems like it’s quite a collaborative effort between everyone in the band by the sounds of it.
Zach: Yeah Claude wrote I think pretty much all the songs except for one song he and Travis (Steever, guitars) worked on together. So there’s a framework in place, there’s a very good idea of the song in place and then you find your place in it and then you try and help support it somehow and also try and make it as cool as you can.
Andrew: I do like the track “Unheavenly Creatures” just for the simple fact that at the very beginning of the song in the intro, to me anyway it sounds like an 80’s video game and I don’t know if that was the idea behind that. Can you tell me a little about that part and where it came from?
Zach: That intro Claude did, I think it’s like a Chiptune intro and the video game is kind of right up the alley of maybe some of the idea. You said you heard the record right?
Andrew: Yeah that’s right.
Zach: So I don’t know if you caught this but there’s a bunch of those kinds of sounds on the record, some of that synthy kind of stuff. Definitely that kind of vibe is very present on the record which is something that I don’t know if Claude was going for it intentionally or if it was a sub-conscious kind of thing but it’s something that really resonates with all 4 of us, these are the sounds that we basically grew up with.
Andrew: So I assume that you are probably a big sci-fi and comic book fan as well then?
Zach: Sure yeah I mean I was very into comic books when I was younger and then as I got into high school I kind of fell off it a little bit and since joining the band I’ve kind of rekindled some of my affection for it. I haven’t really dove head first back in yet really but yeah big sci-fi and all that kind of stuff, absolutely.
Andrew: So how does it feel to be somewhat involve with Marvel Comics? Because for anyone regardless if you are a fan or not is a big deal to have that partnership I guess.
Zach: Oh absolutely! It’s such a cool thing just to be a part of it, even in a very small way which I consider my involvement to be very small but it’s still such an exciting thing to be a part of and experience.
Andrew: Sure and it’s amazing how in the last couple of decades Marvel has really taken off because there was a period years ago when Marvel was – not underground but certainly not where it is today where it’s a big iconic company.
Zach: Yeah that’s about when I was reading it [laughs]. Back in the early 90’s I was one of 4 kids who would sit at recess at a picnic table and read X-Men comic books and it wasn’t the cool thing to do back then [laughs].
Andrew: [laughs] That’s alright! So when you were a kid then, was your biggest passion music or comic books?
Zach: Well at that age it was more comic books, and cartoons actually more than comic books. So I was really into animation, just any kind of art was really exciting to me. Right around the time I think I was 12 years old I got a bass and then music kind of took over and I didn’t really look back, it was all about music and discovering music and bands and records. That’s been a steady constant in my life now for over 20 years.
Andrew: So who were the kind of musicians or bands that you were listening to at that time that got you into playing music?
Zach: When I was a kid right around the time I got my first bass, I had my two best friends in school and we all listened…it was the 90’s and grunge was the thing which I’m pretty grateful for because I grew up listening to Soundgarden and Nirvana and all those bands and because all those bands listened to underground bands, that led me down to some of that stuff and got me into a lot of music that I’m still into today. But at the same time I was discovering my dad’s music listening to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and learning those songs, so it was kind of an exciting time for me of a mix of all these different eras of rock n’ roll I guess.
Andrew: Sure and what led you to the bass? Why that particular instrument?
Zach: Alright so it’s kind of funny. My two best friends in school, Pat and Bart both played guitar and they told me they were starting a band and the three of us spent every weekend together, we were always hanging out together and I always wanted to play guitar and I wanted to be in a band. So I was like, ‘I’ll get a guitar, I’ll be in a band’ and they said, ‘No man if you get a guitar you can’t be in our band, you have to play the bass’. I said, ‘I don’t want to play the bass, what? No I don’t want to do that’. They said, ‘Well if you want to be in our band you gotta play the bass’. ‘Oh my god, alright fine’. So I got a bass, I asked for a bass and my parents got me one for Christmas and I’ve been playing ever since and never really looked back. I’m so grateful to them that they never let me get a guitar because I love playing the bass [laughs].
Andrew: Isn’t that the case for a lot of bass players, they find they wanted to play the guitar and then they just fell into the bass thing? It’s kind of funny that’s usually the story!
Zach: It is a pretty common story, not many young kids like a 12 year old. Most 12 year olds are like, ‘I don’t even know what a bass is’. I had no idea and then as I got into it I found a really good teacher who turned me onto some more really good music and great bass players and then I got into the whole ‘Oh wow basses can be really interesting, it doesn’t just have to be DDDDD’ You can play melody on a bass so I was like, ‘Wow cool interesting things to do here’.
Andrew: Before I let you go I do want to say that we caught one of your shows a couple of years ago in Australia and it was fantastic. I actually had a chance to meet all of you guys backstage before the show during your rehearsal so it was fun to catch up with you guys.
Zach: Oh right on!
Andrew: Are you looking to come down here again on this tour for the new album?
Zach: I sure hope so! Australia is one of my favorite places to go, I really hope we do. We went on “The Afterman”, we went on “The Color Before The Sun” so it would be crazy to not go on “The Unheavenly Creatures” [laughs].
Andrew: Well if you do come here we look forward to hearing these new songs live and I’m guessing and maybe you have been thinking about it, it probably feels like you could play the whole thing from start to finish.
Zach: Yeah I mean eventually I’m sure we will as like a Neverender but it’s so funny, you put out a new record and I know for myself and talking to the other guys, you just want to play songs off that record that we’re so excited about all these new songs like woah! We can’t play them all but we want to.
Andrew: [laughs] Well thanks for your time, it’s really fun to be chatting to you. Congratulations on the new album and hopefully we will see you on tour at some stage.
Zach: Awesome thanks a lot, it was great chatting!
