r/coheed's Song(s) of the Day #11: The Ring In Return/In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3

So today, I'm doing both The Ring In Return and In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3, because why the shit not?

The Ring In Return-

The Fiction: Claudio calls Newo, something he's been doing lately. He doesn't know what to say, and hangs up soon after she picks up. He then travels to her house in the middle of the night, where he sees Apollo, her dog. The entire story of this album is told by Claudio to Apollo. (credit to songmeanings.net's akanakin)

The Real: I would guess this is Claudio's way of showing that this is actually how he is in real life. He is very socially awkward, often spending time talking to his girlfriend's dog.

The Part: I guess it's cool to hear the reprise of the "keywork theme" as I am going to call it, but honestly this is the least good it's ever sounded. TRIR is my least favorite album opener by a wide margin.

In Keeping Secrets Of Silent Earth: 3 (EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE)

The Fiction: This song is about a space battle between Jesse's resistance and Mayo's Red Army, aka the bad dudes we don't like. akanakin at songmeanings says that Claudio sings "Man your own Jackhammer" in Mayo's voice and "Man your battle stations" in Jesse's. Jackhammers being Mayo's army's ships. "The "For you, I'd do anything" stanza is Sizer's point of view, because all he wants is Jesse's affection, but Jesse just sees him, Chase, and the other IRO-bots as tools." Sizer is a main character that I hadn't even heard of until this very post! themoreyouknow.jpg

The Real: It's possible this song is about the intense touring Coheed did around the time this album was being made, as well as the lead-up and aftermath of Second Stage. It probably felt like a pretty intense grind, so attaching a war motif works well. Claudio wants his parents to be proud of him, hence the middle of the story. We were one among the fence refers to the cohesive unit that the band had become, no matter how tough their journey has been.

The Part: I personally love the part right before the epic WHOA OH OH bit. "We were one among the fence" is such a gorgeous line, and singing it with others around who are singing along... You feel like a family or a cult or something. It's amazing. The background "aaaahhhhhh" is just amazing as well. The false ending would be a great end to the song, and then when they bring the beginning riff back... It's such a concise example of what Coheed and Cambria is as a band. They reprise something you don't really expect. You think the song is over and boom, it restarts. I know that fucked with me the first time I heard it. There is a reason they play this song at every single show they play. This song is the iconic Coheed and Cambria live experience. If this song didn't exist, I honestly question if Coheed and Cambria would be as popular as they are. I know it isn't a single or a hit, but you watch it live, you're captivated. Without this in their live repertoire, I don't think their buzz would've grown so substantially and given them such lasting power.

I should mention that In Keeping Secrets is officially r/coheed's favorite song by the band