COHEED AND CAMBRIA will release its new album, “The Father Of Make Believe”, on March 14, 2025 via Virgin Music Group. The new full-length marks the tenth studio album from the New York band and continues the narrative of “The Amory Wars” / “Vaxis” universe, following their 2022 album “Vaxis Act II: A Window Of The Waking Mind”, which garnered critical success and the band’s first Top 10 radio single of their career with “Shoulders”. Alongside the album’s announcement, COHEED AND CAMBRIA shares the new single “Searching For Tomorrow”, which arrives alongside an Anthony Scheppard-directed and animated video. “The Father Of Make Believe” will also include the recently released single “Blind Side Sonny”, arguably COHEED AND CAMBRIA‘s most aggressive track to date that was complemented by a Max Moore-directed video that unveiled a new villain in “The Amory Wars” realm.
Speaking about “Searching For Tomorrow” and “The Father Of Make Believe”, COHEED AND CAMBRIA bandleader, vocalist and lead guitarist Caludio Sanchez shares: “This song is a reminder that always looking for something better in your life robs you of being able to appreciate the good things you already have.
“With every album I try to ‘outdo’ the one before, or at least make something that sounds different and evolved in some way. I think that initial struggle added to the feeling of having a kind of musical midlife crisis…this constant internal battle of searching for creative release and growth…the being unsure if it’s the right path. This one took more effort in the beginning, but in the end I think the digging was worth it for the subsequent surge.”
Additionally, the “Vaxis Act III: The Father Of Make Believe” limited-edition box set is available for pre-order today and features the CD and digital download along with various exclusives, including Blind Side Sonny‘s fully wearable and functional helmet and neuro-dynamic display goggles, “Vaxis Act III: The Father Of Make Believe” hardcover illustrated novella coffee table book, neuro-dynamic display goggles app for display customization, 11.5″ x 35″ “Vaxis III: The Father Of Make Believe” bedroom poster and a signed Death Certificate of Siv Trafinder.
One way to look at “The Father Of Make Believe” is COHEED AND CAMBRIA establishing a desire to move forward while honoring a remarkable history. Another: a series of questions, emotions, and thoughts at war with each other — “a war within myself,” as Sanchez puts it. “The Father Of Make Believe” fits into the band’s sonic oeuvre with wailing guitars, drums that crack like fireworks, and Sanchez‘s aching, powerful voice centering us through moments both placid and pinwheeling. Where the set forges new ground is in how Sanchez embraces the role of main character. He’s often used epic songcraft to mask the stories he wanted to tell: reflections on an addicted father, memories of his beloved grandfather, fears about raising a child in a cruel world, anxieties around losing the love of his life. This time around, he’s writing more directly about his life and, especially, his career. Sanchez is the Father of Make Believe, gazing down upon this world he’s wrought.
Next year, COHEED AND CAMBRIA will join TOOL, PRIMUS, MASTODON, EAGLES OF DEATH METAL and more for the Tool In The Sand festival in the Dominican Republic in March ahead of 2000 Trees with KNEECAP, TAKING BACK SUNDAY, ALEXISONFIRE and more in the United Kingdom in July. Next November, COHEED will embark on their S.S. Neverender 2025 cruise with THURSDAY, L.S. DUNES, THE DEAR HUNTER, HAIL THE SUN, MEET ME AT THE ALTAR and more. Earlier this year, COHEED AND CAMBRIA traversed North America with INCUBUS, which saw the band play legendary venues across the country, including sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden in New York City and Allstate Arena in Chicago as well as a co-headline tour with legendary funk-prog masters PRIMUS. Also, COHEED AND CAMBRIA headlined the Saturday night at Furnace Fest in Alabama and performed both dates of When We Were Young festival in Las Vegas before their trek to Australia where they headlined the multi-city Monolith festival.
For the last 20 years, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have continuously broken the mold of what a rock band can be, forging their own path and building a universe around their music unlike any other. Whether it is in the way their genre-spanning approach to songwriting has allowed them to bridge worlds without being contained to one, or the multifaceted story arc of their albums and comic book series which mark the longest-running concept story in music, COHEED AND CAMBRIA have consistently shaped new standards, never conformed. Comprised of Claudio Sanchez (vocals / guitar),Travis Stever (guitar),Josh Eppard (drums) and Zach Cooper (bass) the band has gripped listeners and press around the globe with their visionary compositions and conceptual mastery.
“The Father Of Make Believe” track listing:
01. Yesterday Lost
02. Goodbye, Sunshine
03. Searching For Tomorrow
04. The Father of Make Believe
05. Meri of Mercy
06. Blind Side Sonny
07. Play The Poet
08. One Last Miracle
09. Corner My Confidence
10. Someone Who Can
11. The Continuum I: Welcome to Forever, Mr. Nobody
12. The Continuum II: The Flood
13. The Continuum III: Tethered Together
14. The Continuum IV: So It Goes
Photo credit: Jimmy Fontaine
