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If you heard “Blind Side Sonny,” the first single from Coheed and Cambria’s tenth album, The Father of Make Believe, then you probably noticed that something seemed different about the sci-fi-inspired New York prog legends. A two-minute, thrash-adjacent metal ripper whose chorus screams, “Blood! We want blood! We want blood!,” the track embodies an urgent, almost rabid desire to be heard clearly and felt intensely. “How many times have I heard the ‘underrated’ statement about us?” asks Claudio Sanchez. “It’s something that lives in all of our subconscious minds and has certainly played a role in making us who we are. This is a song of revenge.”

A funny thing happened as Sanchez — a master of translating reality into fantastical tales — began plotting Coheed’s latest. Yes, The Father of Make Believe carves out new sonic territory amidst all of the wailing guitars, drums that crack like fireworks, and Sanchez’s aching, powerful voice that centers us through moments both placid and pinwheeling. But where the set really forges new ground is in how Sanchez embraces the role of main character. He’s often used epic songcraft to mask the stories he wanted to tell: reflections on an addicted father, memories of his beloved grandfather, concern about raising a child in a cruel world, hopes and fears around the love of his life. This time, he’s writing more directly about his life and, especially, his unusual career. Sanchez is the Father of Make Believe, gazing down upon this world he's wrought.

“This record is a midlife crisis,” he chuckles. “I realized, 20-some-odd years in, I was struggling with the brand I've given myself: Am I satisfied being the science fiction rock ’n' roll guy when so much of my material comes from personal experiences?” Of course, Sanchez being Sanchez, Coheed’s wiki-writing legions of fans will still find plenty of rich character work, narrative flourish, and references to the running lore. But if you’re new here, there’s no homework required to tap directly into our host’s struggles and triumphs — although, you might get drawn in anyway.

Coheed and Cambria — 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, Sanchez and co. were crafting Game of Thrones-level fantasies around a storyline called The Amory Wars that unfurls across 78 planets collectively known as Heaven’s Fence. Eight of the band’s nine albums thus far (plus a small galaxy of comics and novels) dwell in this world — and so does The Father of Make Believe. It’s just that the sky is cracking now, revealing the guiding hand behind the scene.

To wit: “Goodbye, Sunshine,” a tension filled pop-punk track with chugging guitars and a chorus built for festival stages and arenas that imagines Sanchez having to bid farewell to, as he puts it, “the glorious time I’ve had in Coheed.” The feeling is grand, almost joyous, reminding us that even when Sanchez is ruminating on loss, he can pen a shout-along melody better than most. The song then careens into the stormy, fret-scaling “Searching for Tomorrow” which could just as easily be about Sanchez’ creative evolution or a hero’s journey. Then comes the title track, where over a knotted tapestry of shred and pounding kick, he sings, “I’m not how you remember me, I’m the vision that you chose to see / The one you can hate, or love as you need.”