It's easy to think "The Light & the Glass" is the last song off In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. The back of the album lists it as so. On the first play through, one might be surprised therefore to discover twelve tracks that follow "The Light & the Glass" only to be surprised that these tracks are completely silent. They're not officially named tracks on the album, but they have collectively been titled as "A Lot of Nothing I-XII." However, the real prize lies at track number twenty-three -- "21:13".

The song is a continuation of the dream that the character Claudio has during "The Light & the Glass." Where that song was about Claudio desiring to see his girlfriend again, "21:13" is a manifestation of Claudio's thoughts about the night he came home to find his sister Josephine murdered, and the subsequent deaths of his parents. The line "When I fall asleep, your face is all I see" is repeated several times during the song, which indicates to me either Claudio seeing the face of Newo, or even his mother, Cambria.

Because the song is a re-enactment of that night, the band incorporated returning themes and riffs -- most notably the opening riff from "Time Consumer," as well as a rendition of "IRO-Bot" that ends the song and, ultimately, the album. To me, the return of these themes cements the band as storytellers. Themes and motifs are common elements in stories, and their recurrences are used for a reason. The use of these songs helps to connect IKSSE with SSTB seamlessly, reminding the listener that there is still a story here.

"21:13" is a typical progressive rock song. The song structure varies, as does the time signature. Elements of progressive rock were seen on the album's title track, but it was subtle. Here, however, the band lets loose their hard rock and progressive influences. As I pointed out long ago, it is important to keep note of this changing style in their music. The next record is especially rooted in progressive rock. In fact, if there's any genre can Coheed and Cambria can fall under, it's most certainly progressive. Aside from these elements, the band continues to show its liking for moments of rocking out. Several parts of the song contain moments where the band performs a full instrumental breakdown, one of which uses a highly catchy solo. One of my favorite moments is when the battle cry of the Crowing is heard. This scream gives me chills all the time.

Hands down, "21:13" is one of Coheed and Cambria's best and most well known songs. How anyone discovered this hidden track is beyond me, but since then it's become a popular and often used closer in Coheed concerts. Out of the three concerts I've attended, the first and only time so far I've heard this song was at my second show just this past May, where the band played it as their final song for the night. The atmosphere, the combined sound of everyone singing along to it especially at the "woahs", and the intensity behind the guys and their instruments makes "21:13" one of the most memorable tunes in Coheed's arsenal. No better ending could have been used for this album.

And today's post officially ends the review series for In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3. I'm really enjoying this project of mine. Next up on the reviews is the third Coheed and Cambria album. Until next time!

I immediately fell in love with "The Light & the Glass" the first time I heard it. Coheed and Cambria proved on SSTB that they were capable of playing slower acoustic songs, but at that time "IRO-Bot" was a different sort of acoustic style. With this song and in future acoustic songs, the guys showed they could write ballads -- the kind of tunes that bring you chills. The kind of tunes that have that melancholic feeling to them but still retain a quiet beauty. In the first time the guys try out their hand at this sort of style, we receive a near ten minute epic that seems to end the story of In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 nicely.

Following the disaster that was the failed surprise attack on House Atlantic (though you wouldn't immediately know it considering the upbeat, bouncy tune of "A Favor House Atlantic"), Claudio Kilgannon escapes with his uncle Jesse, Ambellina, and the IRO-Bots Chase and Sizer aboard Jesse's ship, the Grail Arbor. Exhausted from their adventure, Claudio contemplates the destiny that lays before him -- the task of saving Heaven's Fence by destroying it. Unwilling and incapable of truly accepting this role, Claudio falls asleep and dreams of the events of ten years prior. He dreams of his girlfriend, Newo Ikkin, whom he had to leave behind when he escaped from Ryan's forces, and wishes he had given her a better goodbye before his life was destroyed. In short, it's a love song.

For some reason, I always picture this song as starting out with the gang sitting down as they play to the first couple minutes. It probably has a lot to do with how the song starts off soft and slow, with Claudio and Travis both playing accompanying lead riffs as Mic and Josh play softer bass lines and drum grooves. As the tempo increases and the distortion kicks in, changing seamlessly from acoustic instruments to electric, I suddenly imagine the full band standing up and rocking out.

The song actually ends before the nine minute mark, with the last minute or so of the song actually playing a rendition of the "time passage" theme as heard on "The Ring in Return." This is probably my only real issue with the song, although it's minor. Much as I love that theme and the rest of the song in particular, it feels slightly out of place with the rest of the song. Just a little side note.

"The Light & the Glass" remains among one of my favorite of all songs, not just Coheed songs. From beginning to end, each moment brings something new to me every time I hear it, mainly because I'm discovering new riffs or bass lines I hadn't heard before. From beginning to end, Claudio's singing gives me chills. From beginning to end, I feel like I'm at peace when I hear this tune. A fitting song to put at the close of the record after so much rocking out.

Next time: I review the final, hidden track on the album. Stay tuned!

It was sometime in early 2005. I forget the month specifically, but I would guess it to have been March or April. It was at least several months before September, that I know for sure. I was at my friend Robert's house, hanging out, when he called me over to his computer to show me a music video. We watched a near three and a half minutes of what looked like the strangest and weirdest music video we'd ever seen. What boggled me most was that the singer, who appeared to be a male, sounded close to a low-pitched female. I couldn't help myself -- I laughed. I laughed hard and couldn't stop for a while. That was all that was said about this, however. I left Robert's house that day without another word or thought. I passed off this band as a total joke.

Now, five years later, I'm wiser. That was the day I had my first experience with Coheed and Cambria, but I hadn't known it then. All I knew was that it was annoying funny music. As it turned out, the music video was none other than the video to the first single from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 -- "A Favor House Atlantic." Next to "Welcome Home", off the following record, this song is one of Coheed's most well known; not least because of Claudio's trademark vocal style.

The song's beauty lies in its simplicity -- a standard verse, chorus, bridge format that isn't overdone or underplayed. The band showcases their continued preference for guitar taking the lead in their compositions, but it doesn't completely overshadow the other instruments. Mic plays bass in a simple fashion that helps to keep rhythm. Most of his notes sync completely with Josh's drum work, in fact. Claudio and Travis stick to their preferred roles as rhythm and lead guitarist, respectively. Together, "A Favor House Atlantic" is the catchiest and typical "pop" song of the record. However, it stands alone as unique among pop songs because of its roots in the concept of The Amory Wars.

The journey to House Atlantic -- the headquarters of the Supreme Tri-Mage, Wilhelm Ryan -- has come to an end. The group prepares the task of taking down the villain once and for all. However, for reasons appearing to be nothing else than his own self interests, Al hands over the group to the United Red Army, betraying them. But, Al has not lost his humanity completely. His travels with Ambellina, however short, have shaped his desire for her into a sense of love, however twisted. Guilty over betraying her to Ryan's armies, Al has a change of heart. He uses his sharpshooting skills to pick off soldiers and allows the rest to escape from House Atlantic, knowing their planned surprise attack is useless at this point. Al gives a final farewell to Ambellina, somewhat jokingly saying "Bye bye beautiful, don't bother to write." However brief his appearance may be, it appears that Al has at least a heroic last stand.

And so, yet another attempt to thwart Ryan's twisted plans and save Heaven's Fence has been foiled.

I end this review today with the very music video I first saw five years ago. As I said, it's quite strange indeed.

As the little band of heroes continues its journey aboard The Camper Velourium, the music takes a slightly heavier tone. One of my favorite things about this series is how the music becomes progressively heavier and more aggressive from "Faint of Hearts" to "Al the Killer." In the second part to this series, "The Camper Velourium II: Backend of Forever" is quite the middle-ground in terms of aggression. It's very fitting, considering that the Camper Velourium series revolves around Al, the pilot of this ship. The songs in the series, as I explained in my last review, are how Claudio explains and develops this character. In the previous song we discovered Al's disturbing sexual obsession with his sniper rifle. In this song, we see a slightly more human side to him.

Enamored by the presence of Ambellina, Al begins to think back to all his failed relationships. It isn't surprising for him to be captivated by the Prise. The Prise are often spoke about with reverence and respect, and are known to be enchantingly beautiful figures. However, Ambellina finds Al distasteful and keeps her distance from him, focusing solely on her mission to guide Claudio. The scorn and rejection from Ambellina drives a certain wedge into Al's already twisted mind. The song juggles between Al's desire to pursue Ambellina -- more out of lust than any genuine love -- and his equally strong desire to ignore his feelings.


Musically, it's important that the song is slightly heavier than "Faint of Hearts." As the listener gets more insight into Al's character, we find that the story is taking on a darker and more twisted tone. And yet, the song is not without its lighter moments. The opening riff is a series of arpeggio-like notes played in sequence from high to low, and then repeated again. This style of riff playing, if it could be called that, would become a staple in what could be called the Coheed sound -- although many fans and critics tend to point out that there is no Coheed sound at all, as the style seems to change very often. It is important, however, to note that this method of note playing is in fact seen in Coheed and Cambria's later records.

I sometimes think this song is a chance for the guys to just rock out and have fun. At times it seems chaotic and messy, complete with Josh's erratic drum beats. Travis and Claudio switch up between rhythm and lead in various parts of the song, and Mic's bass lines are equally oddly placed. However, there's a bit of beauty in how this "mess" is played out.

And with that, I end with a message to the American readers out there: Happy Thanksgiving!

In the second single from In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3 ("A Favor House Atlantic" being the first, though not chronologically appearing on the record until later), the band delivers one of their most radio-friendly "pop" songs. Certainly, it's a different style from any single off SSTB, and appears after such heavier riffs as "Cuts Marked in the March of Men" and "The Crowing." Thus, when listening to "Blood Red Summer" for the first time after those previous songs, I was rather put off.

It took me some time to enjoy the song as many others have grown to enjoy it. In fact, it took me quite a while. I would skip over it many times simply because I didn't feel it flowed too well with the rest of the album. However, like so many of Coheed and Cambria's songs, it eventually grew on me. With catchy lyrics and melody, it's safe to say that if there's ever a Coheed song that's more sing along than any others it's this one.


Indeed, while Claudio's voice makes a return to high pitched -- and, in more crude terms from critics, whiny -- the vocal style is just as important as the music. The bridge has undoubtedly one of the most well known parts as Claudio continually chants "Woah oh!" a few times alongside repetitions of "What dd I do to deserve?"

From earlier songs, it's clear that the band is very much guitar-driven. On "Blood Red Summer" this is made even more prominent. Together, Claudio Sanchez and Travis Stever play rhythm and lead, respectively, in a perfect balance where neither overshadows the other. Instead, it's a perfect compliment. Taking together Josh's simple drumming pattern for this song and Mic's equally just as simple bass lines along with the guitars, the song is a bouncy tune. Quite truthfully, the best part of the song is the fact that it's so simple.

Conceptually, the song more of an info dump, as often happens in stories. The character Claudio, naturally unwilling to believe in the destiny that lays before him, chooses to at least take up the promise he made to himself to fight back against Wilhelm Ryan. With Ambellina nevertheless guiding him, Claudio meets up with with his uncle Jesse, who relays to him the events of the past years and what happened to his parents and siblings, as well as just why Ryan wanted to destroy the family -- he knew one of the children would have the power to destroy him. With Claudio having returned, Jesse has new found hope in a better tomorrow for the people of Heaven's Fence. Claudio, however much he tries to accept this, merely asks "What did I do to deserve this?"

Coheed and Cambria (the band, not the characters) deliver what is arguably one of the heaviest songs on this record, and it's important that it is. As musicians, it's important for the band to create different moods when necessary in order to obtain the right atmosphere. As a concept band, this is even more critical. With such an event as a young man being told he alone must overthrow the villain and take up the mantle of his universe's savior, "The Crowing" is one of the most story-oriented songs in Coheed's career. Driven by Josh's fast-paced and aggressive drumming, the combination of Travis and Claudio chugging to the same chords for the verses before Travis splits off to a fantastic bit of lead, and Mic's ever heavy bass, the song is not light-hearted.

Melody wise, the most interesting part of the song is the breakdown that starts around two minutes and fifty seconds into the song. During this interval, the band shows off the fact that their sound is changing. Where SSTB contained post-hardcore and punk influences, IKSSE and this song especially showcase yet another influence on the band, combining their post-hardcore roots with elements of hard rock. The "sound" of Coheed and Cambria has always been hard to distinguish because of the major differences from one record -- and sometimes even one song -- to the next.

What continually amazes me the most is Claudio and his singing. While his voice still cracks and gets incredibly high-pitched at times, it's very obvious it's changed even slightly since recording the previous album. While the instruments and percussion make me want to head bang and rock out, it's the vocals that truly make this song. "The Crowing" gives me chills every time I hear it. The best part of it, without a doubt, is the last chanting melody of Claudio's multi-layered vocals:

You may want to click on the image to get a better view of it, but this entire drawing was done in hatching and cross hatching. That is, every line, every form, every shade, and every mark on this piece of paper was done with short strokes of lines. The point of this piece, an extra credit project, was to demonstrate that I could give form and volume to a 2-dimensional space through hatching principles and ONLY though hatching, rather than using contour shapes and lines to create the image.

The subject was a corner of my living room as it looked back then (the giant hutch still remains, but the darker hutch next to it has since been removed). Much of the shading is off and incorrect, and as my professor pointed out there is not enough contrast. However, for a simple extra credit project, I'm most proud of how the forms came out. For me, the result looks very much 3-dimensional.

As I mentioned during my reviews of SSTB, Coheed and Cambria sometimes have the ability to take something that, thematically and conceptually, is a rather traumatic and horrifying experience and make it sound energetic and upbeat. For IKSSE, this kind of songwriting is especially noted in the fourth track -- "Three Evils (Embodied in Love and Shadow)." Like "33" from the previous record, "Three Evils" is the sort of song that feels like it should have been a single but never was.

The song opens up with a chugging rhythm of chords played by Claudio and then quickly kicks into a full playing band, with Mic grooving on bass along to the same notes as Travis and Claudio and Josh performing some ever quick snare, hi-hat, and bass drum work. It's almost impossible not to bob one's head in time to the music while that first verse is playing. Of particular note is Claudio's singing. Still as high as always, it's clear however that since the first album Claudio has more control of his voice.

The unfortunate thing about this song is that it's likely what gave way to some critics mislabeling the band as being "emo." Being a concept band, Claudio's lyrics reflect certain events going on in the story at that particular time and place. It's easy to certainly mislabel this song as emo and depressing when considering the final lines being screeched out at the very end: "Pull the trigger and the nightmare stops." However, when one considers the story and even Claudio's own admission, the band never intended this song to encourage suicide in any way. I say this again: the song is NOT about suicide or encouraging it.

Rather, the song continues where "Cuts Marked in the March of Men" left off. Sizer, in an attempt to gain some sort of affection from his "father" Jesse, sacrifices himself to the United Red Army. The URA takes him off planet to Shylos 10, where they perform brutal interrogation techniques upon Sizer, going so far as to blind him, drive drills into his hands, and even disassemble him in order to gain information on Jesse and his rebellion. Realizing he won't talk, the URA scatters Sizer's mangled remains across the surface of Shylos 10. The song is a back and forth narrative between the act of the URA torturing him and Sizer's thoughts.

Overall, the song is quite fast-paced. Despite it's lyrical content, "Three Evils (Embodied in Love in Shadow)" remains one of the catchiest melodies in Coheed's catalog. It was played many times during the band's tour in support of the album. As later records were released and the band played other songs in support of them, "Three Evils" saw itself being pushed back a little in favor of bigger hits. I'm happy to say, however, that the band has brought back this amazing tune at recent concerts. For such a simply composed song comprised of the standard verse, chorus, verse formula it remains high on many fans' lists of favorite Coheed songs, including mine.

As the song winds down to a close, we hear what sounds like running water in the background and what sounds like someone singing a tune. As these two sounds wind down, all of a sudden we hear a rather loud scream: the battle cry of The Crowing.

Stay tuned for the next review.

After the eight minute epic that was "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3" it's hard to think that the rest of the album of the same name could be as great as that one song. However, Coheed and Cambria managed to put together a much shorter tune that, while in many ways lacks the epic scope of its predecessor, stands on its own two feet successfully. With "The Ring in Return" and "In Keeping Secrets" under the listener's belt, we next proceed onto "Cuts Marked in the March of Men." Pretentious sounding? Perhaps. Excellent use of alliteration? Yes. Badass? Absolutely.

This is going to be a rather short review tonight. Much as I like this song there isn't a whole lot I can really talk about. But, let's get going anyway!

I didn't mention much about the production of the record on the last review so I'll go ahead and make a point here. Long before this song begins it's clear that the band worked with a better production sound than in SSTB. If it wasn't obvious enough in the first two tracks, this song makes it very clear. Of particular notice to me is how much easier it was for me to hear Mic's bass parts. Vocally, Claudio makes a return to the layering style of the last record, in that he recorded his vocals from multiple sources and synced them together. This sort of layering is not unique among Coheed and Cambria. Many bands utilize this to great degrees (one that really comes in mind is Alice in Chains). The fact that Coheed DOES do this only emphasizes their technical prowess, as trying to match your vocal tempo to another recording can in fact be difficult. Not impossible, but difficult.

At this point in the story, we're introduced to newcomers Chase and Sizer. A second generation of IRO-Bots created by Jesse, the two end up playing a pivotal role in the events to come. Chase resembles the body of a four year old girl, but has the mind of an intelligent young woman, using her IRO-Bot powers to foresee the future, much in the same way Cambria could when she was alive. On the other hand, Sizer is very similar to Coheed. Further exploration of The Amory Wars reveals that these two were created by Jesse as another means of helping to take down Wilhelm Ryan and his United Red Army (URA). In that sense, they are his "children." Through careful analyzing of Claudio's lyrics, what we actually hear in this song is not just the continuation of battle, but actual character development.

As battle rages on between Jesse's rebellion and the URA, Chase is captured by the enemy, which hopes to utilize her precognitive abilities against her and the rebellion. Sizer, who feels that Jesse has no love or affection for him, sacrifices himself to save Chase in a partly selfish attempt to gain Jesse's notice -- with the end result being the URA capturing Sizer and taking him off planet for "interrogation."

As I said, very short review tonight. I could have spent ages trying to come up with something more to write but the fact is I really couldn't. I'll try to put more effort into these in future.

Last week, I took a trip to the orange grove on my school's south-eastern corner. Supposedly, my campus has one of the last natural orange groves in all of southern California. Regardless of whether this is true or not, I still find the place fascinating. I knew there was an orange grove at the campus long before I even entered college, but I only drove by it. What I didn't know, however, until my second year of college was that the orange grove was also home to a pond that catered to fish, turtles, and a flock of ducks. Since then, I've made many trips to the area for peace and quiet. There's just something about being surrounded by orange trees, hearing the rushing of a water fountain, and seeing the life of the pond that makes the area so tranquil and amazing.

I was walking through the area last week while trying to film one of my digital art class video projects. I wanted someplace comforting and beautiful. Since I was at school, I figured the orange grove would be most perfect. I finished my video, but I also took time as I always do while in the area to walk around the pond and look at the animals.

After the epic bit of instrumental going on in "The Ring in Return" one may almost be surprised to hear the series of notes being played out so softly in the opening seconds of the record's title track, "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3." And yet, those opening notes are some of the most recognizable ones in Coheed and Cambria's entire catalog. Within twenty seconds, the rhythm picks up with Josh adding gentle taps of the snare drum. In fact, when hearing this beat, you can make out that it's in fact a similar sounding drum beat often associated with the drummer boys of wars gone by. With this in mind, it cannot be more clear that the concept has reached an intense moment. Just to drive the point home, the band kicks in full swing at forty seconds with plenty of distortion to go around.

The imagery I always associate with this song is that battle is about to begin and we, the listeners, are caught in the middle of it. This is emphasized by the very line that this post gets its title from: "Man your battle stations!" When thinking back to how the last album ended, or how I feel it ended anyway, it appears that Jesse has organized a rebellion. Of note is that while this isn't the first time the people of Heaven's Fence have tried to strike back against Wilhelm Ryan, it seems as if it's much more unified this time around. While earlier uprisings in both the previous record and the prequel record (which, as I indicated before starting this project, I will review at the end) were small and short-lived, this new rebellion is more powerful. Living up to the reason he, Coheed, and Cambria were created so many years ago, Jesse's only ambition is to take down this evil tyrant once and for all, using the mysterious Silent Earth as his headquarters.

The song is the longest of Coheed's opening tracks, and whether Claudio Sanchez intended this isn't something I know, I feel it's better placed as the longest than any other opener for good reason. There is just so much going on and so much at stake at this point. With so much going on, the result is a near 9 minute epic full out jam, yet another indicator of just what Coheed could do and WOULD do in the future. "In Keeping Secrets" is a song that almost sounds as if it has multiple songs within it. While it follows a basic structure of verse, chorus, verse, chorus, the tempo and style change up so much as the song reaches its bridge that it caught me slightly off guard the first time I heard the song and realized it was still the same track.

The best example of this moment is around four and a half minutes into the song, as Claudio begins to sing these lines:

A phone rings once. Footsteps are heard in the background, but they are merely a whisper. At the second ring they get louder, much more noticeable. With every ring the footsteps continue to gain in volume. It is as if we, the listeners, are standing right next to the phone hearing the footsteps approaching from another room in the house. Rather than answer it ourselves, we let this mysterious person get it. As it turns out, the call is for this one anyway. At the fifth ring, the phone is answered, and a young female voice asks "Hello?"

Unlike the first album, where I coupled the opening instrumental with the second track in a single review, I'm choosing not to do so with this track. In fact, I won't from here on out. The difference between this instrumental and the one off SSTB isn't just that it's longer. It also has a lot more going on in it. I said before that the track entitled "Second Stage Turbine Blade" was the first half of a motif. "The Ring in Return" is the other. These motifs are generally considered to represent the passing of time in the Coheed concept.

And this makes perfect sense. IKSSE takes place approximately ten years after the events of the first album. To sum up the last ten years, Coheed and Cambria are long dead. Their only remaining child Claudio remains hidden from the rest of the worlds. Wilhelm Ryan and his right hand General Mayo Deftinwolf have taken control over the entirety of Heaven's Fence, and the rebellion that was formed by Mariah at the end of SSTB has been crushed. Keeping up his public image as a hero, Ryan has misguided the public into thinking Coheed and Cambria were terrorists. Working behind the scenes, he is currently underway to fulfilling his many year long ambition to consume all life in the Fence for his own gains. However, like many dictatorships, there is always one who is willing to continue the fight as long as there's even the shred of hope that tyranny will be eradicated. With his friends and comrades dead, Jesse (Inferno) -- the last of the K.B.I, last of the original IRO-Bots -- takes up what he was created for. War has begun.

As soon as the woman says "Hello?", piano kicks into high gear. From this, it is clear to see that the production on the record was vastly different from the previous one. There are no lyrics, with the music instead being the only way to visualize what's happening. As I've said, the motif being played during the first minute and a half seems to indicate a passing of time. It plays out repeatedly alongside heavy percussion, giving the listener the idea that something is about to happen. Indeed, as the tune begins to fade the sound of warplanes can be heard as a low, almost musical whisper accompanies the sounds. With that last quote of the song -- "Hello, Apollo. Where should I begin?" -- it is without a doubt that battle is raging.

Which is also why the song segues perfectly well into this album's title track.

I said that my blog would involve a lot of reviews, thought I hadn't thought about writing a food review -- until this afternoon.

I'm still chugging away at Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits. For those of you who aren't too familiar with this food chain, it's a fried chicken joint, much like KFC. However, its style couldn't be any more different. Popeyes was founded in New Orleans as a means of having the wonder that is Louisiana cooking, but without the hassle of going to fancier restaurants. Since its opening in 1972, Popeyes has expanded its branches all over the United States and even across the seas. To this day, it remains true to its New Orleans heritage, serving not just fried chicken, but a variety of spicy dishes that were first made popular in the land of fine cooking.

Having been working for Popeyes for a little over two years now, I've experienced many lineups in our menu and seen new dishes being added to the mix. For the most part, the concept remains the same: fried chicken, sides, biscuits, and seafood. However, every so often the corporation brings back -- or sometimes creates -- flavorful dishes that exemplify the spirit of Louisiana cooking. This time, it's the crawfish Po'Boy sandwich.

First, you might be wondering just what the heck a Po'Boy is. Well, I'll just let the Popeyes website explain this delicious bit of New Orleans:


There you have it. A simply made sandwich with just the bare minimum -- in the case of Popeyes this includes lettuce, pickles, and a lot of meat stacked between. Note, however, that the picture of the sandwich seen above is NOT the crawfish Po'Boy. Po'Boys are made in a variety of ways at Popeyes -- chicken strip, shrimp, and even catfish. This month's special is centered around crawfish, shrimp like food that's marinated in famous Louisiana spices and fry cooked to perfection. When I took my lunch break at work today, I wanted to try out this sandwich, being both a fan of crawfish and a fan of the Po'Boy.

The result was amazingly delicious. I wish I had a picture to show just how delicious looking this sandwich really was, but I hadn't thought about picture taking for reviewing purposes until after the sandwich was long gone. Instead of using mayonnaise, the Crawfish Po'Boy uses horseradish as its sauce. It was an unusual thing, but it worked VERY well. The sauce gave it just that extra kick that makes me enjoy Popeyes food so much even after having been working there for so long.

With a side of famous New Orleans style red beans n' rice and a cup of our Sweet Iced Tea, this was one of the best meals I'd ever tasted at this place. I'm very much a fan of spicy food. I tend to dump loads of hot sauce on my steaks, burgers, and even my french fries just to satisfy my spicy needs. The food I had here needed absolutely nothing extra. All the spice was there and all the flavor was there.

Suffice to say that I recommend this sandwich to anyone. I know in this day and age fried food is looked down upon, but as the saying goes: "Everything in moderation." There's nothing wrong with indulging yourself a little bit. It might not be entirely healthy for you, but if flavor and good food for your money is what you're looking for, this kind of sandwich is definitely a good way to go.

Welcome, all of you out there reading this, to the start of my second series of song reviews. First, I apologize for my somewhat long absence from posting. The past week was really rough for me. But, it's all behind me and things are looking up again. I'm determined, I'm motivated, and I'm eagerly looking forward to what's in store for me in the coming days ahead. And thus, I am excited to get back to my little project.

When I last left off, I had finished reviewing the songs from Coheed and Cambria's 2002 debut album The Second Stage Turbine Blade. Keeping with my current project of reviewing this band's music -- due to desiring to explain just why this band is my favorite -- I shall be starting on their next album, 2003's In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3.


Like many of Coheed's songs and records, the names are sometimes long, and this is no different. To stave off repeating such a long title, I will for the most part label the record as IKSSE. I feel this will make things much simpler, yes?

The release of SSTB was a milestone for the band. Though truthfully I hadn't heard of these guys until three years after the release of that record, I compiled together what I know happened during those few years, and it very much seems that Coheed and Cambria were already creating a loyal following that has existed to this day. I've always been a bit envious of those who experienced the band at that early stage of their career; there's something fascinating about watching a group of musicians start out and make it big, rather than join in while they've already taken off. But, I digress.

Suffice to say that while the band was making progress, it was more in the area of their hometown of Nyack, New York. Coheed played various shows and gigs that helped to extend their fanbase even more so. Of course, like all music goes through, the band didn't go without problems. Many were quick to brush off Claudio's vocal style, and others dismissed the entirety of the band's concept and story, thinking it childish. Nevertheless, Coheed pressed on. Following several tour dates that even took them outside the U.S, as well as taking part in the 2002 Vans Warped Tour, the guys began working with manager Blaze James, who would even further expand the band's fanbase and national recognition.

So, when IKSSE was released in fall 2003, it became what is arguably considered one of if not the best record Coheed has ever released. Not in terms of record sales, but in terms of just what it accomplished. Namely, helping to convert even more fans. With such hit singles as "A Favor House Atlantic" -- without a doubt the highest Claudio's vocals were ever recorded -- and "Blood Red Summer" and more hard rock, epic songs like "The Crowing" and the titular "In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3," Coheed and Cambria created a style of progressive rock that they have modified but still remained true to in the years that followed this album.

Until 2010's Year of the Black Rainbow, this album remained my favorite even though it wasn't the first one I'd heard. There are many reasons why it's such a crowd pleaser and why it became so successful, which I shall go into more detail in the coming days.

And once again, the track listing: