Coheed and Cambria are well on their way to the release of new album Vaxis – Act I: The Unheavenly Creatures, the 15-track, 78-minute follow-up to 2015's The Color Before the Sun, due October 5th. They've already released two singles, the massive "The Dark Sentencer" and the record's title track, and today, they've dropped another new song, "The Gutter," along with a visualizer detailing some more of the story behind the group's return to its sci-fi Amory Wars storyline. The theatrical cut begins in classic Coheed fashion, featuring prog-rock riffery and an upward momentum to glory. By the end of the song, Claudio Sanchez and Co. have built to a very Queen-esque final movement, conjuring up some truly victorious and sweeping sounds.
If the song feels born of real emotion, not just fantastical imaginings, that's because it is, as Sanchez talks about in a wide-ranging new interview with Rolling Stone. Speaking of his personal connection to Coheed's concept albums, he says, "I love writing in the conceptual format. I like being in a band that has this overarching fantasy element that goes with it. I just enjoy it. I see myself in all the characters." He adds, "As long as I live, I think 'The Amory Wars' will, too."
