Ten albums in, something changed for Coheed and Cambria. As singer, guitarist, and master storyteller Claudio Sanchez began plotting out the sci-fi-inspired New York prog legends’ latest, The Father of Make Believe, he found himself writing more directly about his life and, especially, his career. Amid the wailing guitars, cracking drums, and Sanchez’ powerful voice — centering listeners throughout moments placid and pinwheeling — Coheed devotees will still find plenty of character work and references to the lore. But if you’re new here, there’s no homework required to feel our host’s hopes, fears, battles, and triumphs. Of course, you may get drawn in anyway. Coheed — which includes Travis Stever (lead guitar), Josh Eppard (drums), and Zach Cooper (bass) — emerged in the early 2000s wedged between an emo renaissance and a metal revival. While their peers broke hearts and banged heads, they crafted Game of Thrones-level fantasies around their Amory Wars storyline, which unfurls across 78 planets known as Heaven’s Fence. Eight of the band’s albums thus far (plus a small galaxy of comics and novels) live in this space and so does The Father of Make Believe. It’s just that the sky is cracking, revealing the hand behind the scene.

GRAMMY® Award-winning band Mastodon have steadily evolved into one of the most influential, inimitable, and iconic rock bands of the modern era. Since emerging in 2000, the Atlanta quartet have defied both sonic and thematic boundaries with an uncategorizable, undeniable, and uncompromising vision unlike anything else in music. This vision manifested over the course of canonical albums such as Leviathan, which landed on Rolling Stone’s coveted The 100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time. Following the seminal Crack The Skye [named one of the best albums of 2009 by Time], they earned three consecutive Top 10 debuts on the Billboard Top 200 with The Hunter [2011], Once More ‘Round the Sun [2014], and Emperor of Sand [2017].