Coheed & Cambria - In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3
Equal Vision Records
Progressive Rock
12 songs (70:36)
Release year: 2003
Coheed & Cambria, Equal Vision Records
Reviewed by Kyle
Archive review

It’s difficult reviewing an album like this. Though I love Coheed & Cambria and would love to write a review that glorifies everything they do, they aren’t for everyone, and the things I enjoy most about them might be a huge turn off to other listeners. Thankfully, In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 is not my favorite C&C album, so it’s easier to write an unbiased review about it than, say, Good Apollo Vol. 1 (Undoubtedly my favorite album of all time, and one of the only albums I’d ever give a 100/100). But it is a great one, and highly deserving praise from the prog rock community.

In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 is C&C’s second album, and the third part of the Coheed & Cambria saga. (They’re doing the Star Wars thing and releasing the first part in the story last) You don’t need to be familiar with the Coheed & Cambria graphic novels to understand the lyrics, as they’re rather nonsensical anyway, but the emotion behind Claudio Sanchez’s high-pitched voice and the music itself is powerful enough that the lyrics don’t HAVE to make sense. The music is so powerful and catchy that if you can get into the sound and learn to tolerate Claudio’s voice, you’ll be singing along the whole way. From the cry of “Man your own Jackhammer!” in the title track to the crooning of “Would it really matter if you were to count the days left in your hands?” in The Light & The Glass, the entire album is as catchy as the flu and a million times more enjoyable… to the right person that is. For some people, Coheed & Cambria is a downright painful band to listen to, and it’s all because of Claudio Sanchez. But though his voice is high-pitched and maybe a bit whiney (and perhaps a little pitchy on the band’s debut), it’s really quite powerful and impressive if you can learn to like it.

The music here is leaps and bounds over what was heard on the band’s first album, The Second Stage Turbine Blade, and features improvements in ALL aspects of the music; production, talent, instrumentation, lyrics, you name it. This time around, the band incorporates more blues, classic rock and metal influence into their music, and the end result is wonderful. Tracks like The Velourium Camper I: Faint of Hearts, with its bluesy, Santana-esque Latin rock vibe, and the The Crowing, with its static power chord riffing and metal influenced mid-section, show real maturity and variety in the band’s sound. It’s amazing how much the band has progressed between just two albums. C&C is made up of very talented musicians that always play to the best of their ability; the bass doesn’t follow the rhythm guitar, but rather a line all its own; the drum patterns are complex and unpredictable; the vocals effortlessly soar from note to note; and the lead guitar is intricate and all over the place, weaving itself through all the other instruments. All of this combines into a sound that’s radio-friendly, but at the same time original enough to appeal to a much wider audience.

Though this is probably the most diverse of all of Coheed & Cambria’s albums, it shares a common theme with all of their other releases: This album is a journey. Like everything C&C does, In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 is packed with emotion and songs that are completely different from one another. That’s one thing I believe C&C prides themselves on: They never make the same song more than once. Over the course of the album, the music goes through several different tones, from happy (A Favor House Atlantic) to angry (The Velourium Camper III: Al The Killer) to sad (The Light & The Glass), though the lyrics are all very dark throughout, and talk about killing, suicide, and even racism (It’s all a part of the story folks, this is NOT the band’s view). Just look up the lyrics for either of the last two Velorium Camper songs or for Three Evils (Embodied In Love And Shadow), and you’ll see what I mean.

The musicianship, the songwriting, and the lyrics are, by themselves, nothing special. It’s the way that they all combine and flow so well that makes In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 at truly enjoyable listening experience, and makes Coheed & Cambria one of the most impressive modern prog rock bands around. This album is a great place to start for anyone looking to get into C&C, and is highly recommended for all fans of prog rock, or just rock in general. This is a very, very fun album, and even people who aren’t fans of this style of music should give this a listen; that’s how it all started out for me.

Killing Songs :
All, but In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3, The Crowing, the Velourium Camper trilogy and 21:13 are in a league of their own.
Kyle quoted 93 / 100
Adam quoted 85 / 100
James quoted 90 / 100
Other albums by Coheed & Cambria that we have reviewed:
Coheed & Cambria - The Afterman: Ascension reviewed by Kyle and quoted 86 / 100
Coheed & Cambria - Year Of The Black Rainbow reviewed by Kyle and quoted 85 / 100
Coheed & Cambria - No World For Tomorrow reviewed by Ben and quoted 85 / 100
Coheed & Cambria - Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV. Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes of Madness reviewed by Daniel and quoted 94 / 100
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