Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe
| Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 14, 2025 | |||
| Recorded | 2024 | |||
| Length | 57:27 | |||
| Label | Virgin | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Coheed and Cambria chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe | ||||
| ||||
Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe is the eleventh studio album by American progressive rock band Coheed and Cambria. It was released on March 14, 2025. The album, like most of the studio albums from the band, is a concept album that continues the Amory Wars storyline. A deluxe edition of the album, called the New Entities Edition, was released on October 3, 2025.[1]
Themes and composition
While the album continues The Amory Wars storyline established in most of the band's previous albums, frontman and lead writer Claudio Sanchez has stated that this album was more personal than others, with a focus on personal stories rather than the concept first.[2] Sanchez has described the album as a "midlife crisis."[3]
The album's themes revolve around loss,[2] as "Yesterday's Lost" sees Sanchez ponder a potential time without his wife[2] and "Meri of Mercy" features the return of characters inspired by his late grandparents.[4]
Critical reception
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 82/100[5] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| 3 Songs & Out |   [6] |
| Kerrang! | 4/5[7] |
| Maximum Volume Music | 9.5/10[8] |
| Metal Hammer |  [9] |
| New Noise Magazine | [10] |
| PopMatters | 7/10[11] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.7/5[12] |
Vaxis – Act III: The Father of Make Believe was released to critical acclaim from many contemporary music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82 based on five reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[5]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Claudio Sanchez except "Corner My Confidence" written by Sanchez and Zakk Cervini.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Yesterday's Lost" | 3:24 |
| 2. | "Goodbye, Sunshine" | 4:16 |
| 3. | "Searching for Tomorrow" | 3:33 |
| 4. | "The Father of Make Believe" | 4:39 |
| 5. | "Meri of Mercy" | 4:16 |
| 6. | "Blind Side Sonny" | 2:22 |
| 7. | "Play the Poet" | 3:29 |
| 8. | "One Last Miracle" | 3:12 |
| 9. | "Corner My Confidence" | 4:04 |
| 10. | "Someone Who Can" | 3:45 |
| 11. | "The Continuum I: Welcome to Forever, Mr. Nobody" | 3:43 |
| 12. | "The Continuum II: The Flood" | 6:23 |
| 13. | "The Continuum III: Tethered Together" | 4:36 |
| 14. | "The Continuum IV: So It Goes" | 5:45 |
| Total length: | 57:27 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "The Omni-Voice" | 23:24 |
| Total length: | 80:51 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 15. | "Key Entity Extraction VI: Melvin the Mistake" | 3:50 |
| 16. | "Key Entity Extraction VII: Yuko the Trivial" | 3:52 |
| 17. | "Key Entity Extraction VIII: Peter the Wishing" | 6:28 |
| 18. | "Key Entity Extraction IX: Shiloh the Selfish" | 3:56 |
| Total length: | 75:06 | |
Notes
- "Yesterday's Lost" contains, at approximately 0:28, a reprise of "The Hollow" from The Afterman: Ascension.
- "The Continuum III: Tethered Together" contains multiple allusions to the Key Entity Extraction suite from the Afterman albums, most prominently reprising the melody of "Key Entity Extraction I: Domino the Destitute" from The Afterman: Ascension. It also contains the choral chant from “The End Complete III: The End Complete” from Good Apollo, I'm Burning Star IV, Volume Two: No World for Tomorrow.
- "The Continuum IV: So It Goes" contains, at approximately 5:16, a reprise of "Pretelethal" from The Afterman: Descension.
Personnel
Coheed and Cambria
- Claudio Sanchez – vocals, guitar, synthesizer, production
- Travis Stever – guitar
- Zach Cooper – bass
- Josh Eppard – drums
Additional musicians
- Christopher Jahnke – orchestrations
Technical
- Zakk Cervini – production, mixing, engineering
- Chris Athens – mastering
- Julian Garguilo – mix assistant, engineering, additional production
- Sean-Paul Pillsworth – drums engineering
Artwork
- Chase Stone – art
- Nick Steinhardt – design
Charts
| Chart (2025) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Scottish Albums (OCC)[13] | 11 |
| UK Albums (OCC)[14] | 70 |
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[15] | 4 |
| UK Rock & Metal Albums (OCC)[16] | 3 |
| US Billboard 200[17] | 51 |
| US Independent Albums (Billboard)[18] | 9 |
| US Top Rock & Alternative Albums (Billboard)[19] | 8 |
References
- ^ "Vaxis Act III: The Father Of Make Believe (New Entities Edition) 2LP (D2C Exclusive - Purple Optic Distortion)". September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025 – via coheedandcambria.com.
- ^ a b c Wilson-Taylor, James (March 14, 2025). "Coheed And Cambria, 'The Father Of Make Believe': The Album Story". Retrieved March 17, 2025 – via rocksound.com.
- ^ Reid, Sêan (March 14, 2025). "Review: Coheed and Cambria – The Father of Make Believe". Retrieved March 17, 2025 – via alreadyheard.com.
- ^ O'Sullivan, James (March 13, 2025). "Album Review: Coheed and Cambria - 'The Father Of Make Believe'". Retrieved March 17, 2025 – via whenthehornblows.com.
- ^ a b "The Father Of Make Believe by Coheed and Cambria". Metacritic. Retrieved August 2, 2025.
- ^ Braunton, Michael (March 2, 2025). "Coheed And Cambria - 'The Father of Make Believe' Album Review". 3 Songs & Out. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ Law, Sam. "Album review: Coheed And Cambria – Vaxis – Act III: The Father Of Make Believe". Kerrang!. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ Thorley, Andy. "Review: Coheed and Cambria – Father of Make Believe (2025)". Maximum Volume Music. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ Travers, Paul. "The Father Of Make Believe is Coheed And Cambria's midlife crisis album. Luckily, it's also a layered, thoughtful and rich new entry in the Amory Wars Saga". Metal Hammer. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ Curtiss, Ryan. "Album Review: Coheed and Cambria – Vaxis: Act III: The Father of Make Believe". New Noise Magazine. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ Conaton, Chris. "Coheed and Cambria Offer Fresh Ideas on Muscular Hard Rock". PopMatters. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ West Foss, Dakota. "Coheed and Cambria Vaxis III: The Father of Make Believe". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved March 17, 2025.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 21/3/2025 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart on 21/3/2025 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 21, 2025.
- ^ "Official Independent Albums Chart on 21/3/2025 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart on 21/3/2025 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved March 22, 2025.
- ^ "Coheed and Cambria Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ^ "Coheed and Cambria Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
- ^ "Coheed and Cambria Chart History: Top Rock & Alternative Albums". Billboard. Retrieved March 25, 2025.
