Summarize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in Arabic Unlock the Editor’s Digest for freeRoula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.Debate rages in Reddit threads: are Coheed and Cambria prog rock? The US band’s many concept albums all unite to create a storytelling cosmos of bravura dimensions. Very proggy. But then there is their sound, which includes genres such as emo; a word no prog devotee can utter without making a moue of disapproval.Originating in New York state, they released their first album in 2002. In those days, a casual observer of their name might have assumed Coheed and Cambria to be a Balearic chillout act making smooth beats with mildly exotic flavours for cocktail hour at sunset. In fact they were embarking on an immense feat of narration unmatched in the history of rock. Several decades later, the results resemble novelist Anthony Powell’s A Dance to the Music of Time turned up to 11. Or a Dungeons and Dragons game that has got crazily out of hand.Vaxis: Act III: The Father of Make Believe forms the latest chapter in what is known as The Amory Wars, a Star Wars-style epic about intergalactic adventuring. Its storyline and characters feature in almost all their albums. There is also a spin-off series of comic books and novels, co-created by frontman Claudio Sanchez. The interlinked plots tell a convoluted saga of revenge and warfare in an area of the universe known as Heaven’s Fence populated by warriors and monsters. After immersion in the new instalment, I confess to being none the wiser as to which warrior is doing what to whose monster on its songs. But ignorance of Amory Wars arcana is no bar to enjoyment of this colourful album.Sanchez appears in different guises, from the uxorious husband singing tenderly about being with someone until death do them part on “Yesterday Lost” to the cartoon pop-punk brawler of “Blind Side Sonny”. Lead guitarist Travis Stever plays switchback riffs and foot-on-monitor solos with touch and power. Drummer Josh Eppard and bassist Zach Cooper are a pinpoint rhythm section. The songs have big emotions and catchy hooks. Time and age are recurrent themes. Sanchez, who is 47, takes a Prospero-like role on “The Father of Make Believe”, a wizard relinquishing the fantasy world that he has created. There is prog in there, to be sure — but also the bright sheen and exuberance of a Broadway rock opera.★★★★☆ ‘Vaxis: Act III: The Father of Make Believe’ is released by Virgin
