Coheed and Cambria

Not for nothing does article after article describe Coheed and Cambria as the emo Rush. With 2003's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3, the New York quartet straddled two divergent demographics to go gold, playing the Warped Tour and attracting increasing numbers of classic-rock fans as headliners. Good Apollo won't disappoint Coheed fans who also listen to My Chemical Romance, the ones who prefer Pink Floyd, or the 37 people who dig both. "The Suffering" revisits the hand-clap refrains and cheerleader choruses that made "A Favor House Atlantic" a big pop single last time out. "Welcome Home" updates album rock for the 21st century, replacing Led Zeppelin's blues base with elaborate emo. Singer and guitarist Claudio Sanchez writes each song as part of an ongoing metafictional space opera. In this installment, the characters meet their author, who, heartbroken from a nasty breakup, decides to destroy the universe he's created, reaching that conclusion after a series of duets, dialogues, a 6/8 blues jam, and an acoustic stomp. Prog is alive and well, but if 20-minute solos make a comeback, let's hope Sanchez puts down his double-neck Gibson and revisits arena rock with an Illudium Pew 36 Explosive Space Modulator.