Under The Gun Review sent staff writer, Drew Caruso, to the House of Blues in Boston to experience Coheed And Cambria’s monumental album ‘In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3’ in full. Late on an Autumn evening, the fiction saw the real.

It was certainly difficult to ascertain the correct words to attribute my emotions upon heading to the House of Blues in Boston to experience one of the most influential and monumental albums of my short lifetime. Being only 12 when it first hit my ears, it was the album that made me question how I thought rock music was supposed to sound, it was the album that taught me guitar, the album that I would lock myself in my room with, hitting strings until they sounded like my favorite parts. It was the album that showed me that music could transcend sounds and reach narratives far beyond sonic notation. It was Coheed And Cambria’s second album, In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.

When it rings, will you answer?

On a Sunday evening I was gifted the chance to experience the forcefully authoritative piece of art that shaped my style and interests for the years that would come. From start to finish Coheed and Cambria reminded me of where my musical existence came from, resonating with the fellow children of the Fence by my side. From the beginning rings of “The Ring In Return” to the final sounds of “21:13,” I was sent back to the time where I was experiencing riveting new sounds and methods that taught me to question the norms of mainstream musical consistency.

Hello, Apollo. Where should I begin?

Apart from musical enlightenment, Coheed’s Claudio Sanchez taught me that it was okay to fully embrace the true rewards of the imaginative mind and what it may instill in you. As I grew through high school, it was Coheed that showed me it was okay to indulge in the expansive mind of the imagination, they showed me that science fiction was a mere placeholder for human question and speculation, and that a spaceship was just as human as the beings piloting it. The human experience transcends technological capabilities, and if there is one thing I have learned from the Coheed mythos, it’s that the Kilgannons are just as human as anyone else.

Man your own Jackhammer!

Upon waiting for the show to begin, I was thinking about all the wonderful set pieces Coheed has had over the years, most specifically their From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness tour, and was hoping to see something similar for this Neverender tour. It was with great relief that I saw a simple phone sitting atop a stool, waiting to ring. Illuminated by the giant Keywork symbol that stood high among center stage behind the band, the battle was soon to begin. After “The Ring In Return,” it wasn’t long until Claudio began to play the so lovingly familiar notes of “In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3.” The quiet march began as myself and the audience prepared for the coming battle filled with Jackhammers, The Navigator, and the onslaught of distortion and athematic chanting.

Lights blasted through the band members and onto the crowd. The first few minutes of the performance truly revealed how cyclical Coheed’s existence can be. It was a particle pairing between audience and artist, and just as The Writer entered through The Willing Well in Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume: 1 the membranes between worlds open for all to enjoy, though thankfully not as violent as The Writer needed it to be in his time within the Keywork.

What did I do to deserve…

The album continued throughout the night, with each song being screamed by the crowd to assist Claudio in bringing the fiction to the real. Unlike many album shows, there was no waiting for the “choice track,” or “fan favorite” for they are all fan favorites. This is not an oversimplification, each track performed was just as loud as the one before, with each fan screaming louder and louder as The Crowing found out who he truly is.

I’ll touch it if you ask me to, but how is up to you?

Ending with the chilling performance of “The Light And The Glass,” the first of many encores was meant only for the coveted hidden track from In Keeping, “21:13.” Closing the album in perfect passion, the crowd responded to the finality of the performance with a ferocious resonance.

Coheed then proceeded with two more encores of favorites from their discography, with a highlight being the performance of “Number City” with horn assistance from members of the opening act, Thank You Scientist. Ending with “Welcome Home,” I left the House of Blues with a special surge of nostalgia, and have found myself revisiting the works of Coheed and Cambria ever since.

Bye bye, beautiful. Don’t bother to write.

There is something special to be said about a band that can revitalize listeners by the riffs of their repertoire long past. It was pure magic to feel the sounds of In Keeping fill the large room of the House of Blues. To Coheed and Cambria I merely say thank you, and I cannot wait for Neverender: Good Apollo, I’m Burning Star IV, Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness.

But IRO-Bot will never die.

Review and photos by Drew Caruso — (Follow him on Twitter)