Review - The Prize Fighter Inferno

4.5 out of 5
Artist: The Prize Fighter Inferno | Album Title: My Brothers Blood Machine | Release Date: October 31, 2006 | Label: Equal Vision Records | Reviewed By: Sean Salomon

Claudio Sanchez, the frontman of Coheed and Cambria, has created a side project by the name of The Prize Fighter Inferno. This album very well might be the next best-kept secret despite the name The Prize Fighter Inferno, which is relatively hard to remember. The band, according to Sanchez, "is kind of the original idea for Coheed & Cambria." The synth-pop and folk-rock feel of the album is a sort of combination of The Postal Service and Coheed and Cambria.

If the first track "The Going Price For Home" doesn’t suck you right in you should probably take a pass on this one. The song is extremely catchy and, although it’s less complicated musically than the rest of the album, it still somehow manages to be the best track. Claudio has brought a different singing style into this project and it works. Those people who get annoyed with Sanchez’s voice in Coheed will be pleasantly surprised with it in this album. He doesn’t strain his voice as much and it seems that he is comfortably singing instead of forcing it.

At times the album is upbeat and catchy (“The Price of Going Home” and “The Margetville Dance”). It also has really eerie moments (“The Fight of Moses Early & Sire Arthur McCloud” and “Our Darling Daughter You Are, Little Cecillia Marie”), especially once you read some of Sanchez’s lyrics. Even the name of the band, which refers to character named Jesse who died on a previous Coheed and Cambria album, is a little creepy. The album’s lyrics continue on with Coheed’s ongoing and consistently confusing storyline. If you can figure out what exactly is going on with the three-family fued of the Coheed album you are a true fan and this album will be a special treat.

Although there is a lot going on with the lyrics, you don’t have to understand everything to enjoy the album. Sanchez mentioned that "side projects should be very left field. I knew some of the material I was working on for Inferno wasn't fit for Coheed, but I wanted to release it." Although the storylines between the two bands interlink, the music is completely different.

I am personally hooked to this album and can listen to it over and over again and enjoy it every time. That’s not something I can say for Coheed and Cambria. You’ll like this album if you are a die-hard Coheed fan or a diehard synth-pop fan. The release is sure to gain your respect after a good listen. Focus tracks include “The Going Price for Home,” “The Margretville Dance,” and “Run, Gunner Recall, Run! The Town Wants You Dead!”