One of the most iconic progressive metal bands of the present time - Coheed and Cambria are touring North America alongside Dehheaven. It was great to see them live at a full-house Fillmore in Silver Springs, MD on the first day of May. The hugely popular band has a massive fanbase and it reflects on the ticket sales of most of the venues they are performing - even Fillmore Silver Springs was completely sold out and packed with almost 2000 fans.
It was 8 PM when Deafheavens came on stage. George Clarke - with his stunning presence and performance was able to take the energy of the room to the peak. Though their guitarist Shiv Mehra was not present for the show, Kerry McCoy on the guitars, Daniel Tracy on drums, and Chris Johnson on the bass were able to deliver what they are known for. The Blackgaze sound is very unique to Deafheaven combining Shoegaze and Black metal. For around 30 mins they performed 4 songs - “Dream House”, “Sunbather”, “Canary Yellow” and “Mombasa” - each of them was not just a song but some musical experience that I am sure will stay on with the audience.
Next on stage was what the massive crown was waiting for - Coheed and Cambria. This time the stage set up was very simple with a big poster of the “Neverender NWFTWM” tour in the back and four vertical LED screens. Claudio Sanchez started the night by strumming an acoustic guitar and the fans went crazy. It seemed like the whole focus of the tour was very straightforward - delivering some great songs one after another. Alongside Claudio, Travis Stever on the guitar Josh Eppard on the drums, and Zach Cooper on the bass were doing what they do best and performed the album “Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow” in entirety and for the encore they came back with numbers from their latest album “Vaxis – Act II: A Window of the Waking Mind”. Coheed is primarily known for the Progressive Metal elements in their music, but they are also experts in blending other genres like Alternative Rock or even Emo. It was an aural delight for the audience.
The night was a great success in the first leg of the tour which ends on May 20 and the second leg of the tour will be during September and October. I highly suggest catching them live at a venue near you. Finally a shoutout to the tour and venue management for the successful execution.
Coheed and Cambria
Deafheaven
