3

Before Coheed and Cambria made it okay for the Warped generation to indulge in the guilty pleasure that is prog rock, this upstate New York band were doing what was previously thought to be the unthinkable in fusing tightly arranged, intricate compositions with full-bore punk fury (sure King Crimson were doing it way before that, but they were way ahead of their time). This third entry into 3’s mission of musical education is driven by Joey Eppard’s Michael Hedges-inspired acoustic guitar wizardry and Marc Bolan-esque vocal fury with strong support from his equally adventurous band-mates. Imagine C&C replacing their Iron Maiden-isms with David Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust-era glam rock and you get the idea. And bonus points for having the balls to put that staple of stadium rock shows — the drum solo — on a studio album.