I’ve decided to do in-depth analysis’ of all of Coheed and Cambria’s studio tracks in chronological order so that myself and others might have a better idea of the story line of the universe and how the songs and the comics connect to each other.
I'm going to give a line-by-line (omitting repeated lines) of my interpretation of each song and explain how it corresponds to the comics.
"Delirium Trigger"
This song is very confusing because it’s difficult to know who is narrating and what is reality. The song is about a delirium, after all. And to make thing even more confusing to those who catch it, the entire first two verses refer very specifically to the movie Alien by Ridley Scott. My personal opinion is that the bulk of the verses are coming from a crew member who is under the influence of a delirium brought on by Cambria and by Coheed.
When I say he refers to the movie Aliens, I mean that he definitely references some specific scenes from the movie, but these references are not literal nor are they necessary to enjoy or understand the song itself but are instead an added bonus to those who are familiar with the movie and catch the references. They are there to give reference point for the general tone and emotional base of the scenes during the song. Much like the movie itself, the song is about being scared and feeling alone in the deep dark of outer space and confronting fears and demons within that lonely expanse.
While many people will argue that the song’s first line opens with Coheed and Cambria still sedated and asleep in their cryogenic chambers on the Gloria Vel Vessa transport ship and the entire song is a dream, I actually think they are indeed asleep at the very beginning of the song and Coheed wakes up at the point where the music becomes heavy and we hear a scream. That scream is in fact a shortened and distorted version of the scream in “Hearshot Kid Disaster”, leading me to believe that the screams are placed to let us know that both songs begin at the same time in terms of the overall timeline of the story, meaning this song and ‘H.K.D.’” happen simultaneously.
Back to “Delirium Trigger”, though; the song begins with a repeating guitar phrase very much like the music on a carousel, which is reinforced by a lyric towards the end of the song. The phrase repeats, getting slightly faster each time before the drums and second guitar break in. When the music breaks and becomes heavy, then that is when Coheed begins to awaken and become lucid. When we hear the scream, he opens his eyes for us to see they are bloodshot and enraged. At the next crash, when the whole band joins in, that is when Coheed shatters the glass of his chamber and Cambria wakes up and begins her own escape. This is when the actual lyrics start.
-----------------------
”We're now up here alone
terror on the intercom.
Can someone save us?” - (This is in the actual reality of the universe. The alarms have sounded and the communications officer has been alerted that Coheed and Cambria have escaped their Cryo-chambers and he can hear the frightened guards being killed over the intercom and coming for help. He can hear their terror and begins to call in a mayday for help.)
”Systems malfunction, blast it, this damn machine!” - (He’s getting no reply from the mayday call and thinks the communications computer has malfunctioned and he curses the machine for not working. We do not know if the machine is actually broken, or if Cambria is only making him believe it is broken. It’s also possible that someone does hear the cry for help and is under orders from Admiral Crom to not answer.)
”Over and out, Captain.” - (The comm. officer gives up trying to use the machine and tells his Captain that the mayday isn’t working and closes the communicator channel.)
”Something lurks, creeps on the counter top
somewhere behind you.” - (Coheed and Cambria have begun to move toward the bridge. As Cambria’s induced delirium sinks in, the officer begins to gain a warped perception of Coheed and Cambria. He begins to see Coheed as a literal Beast, similar to the Alien from the movie. He can hear them fighting as they get closer, in a sense, lurking, towards the bridge. He looks at the door, and, in his delirium seeing as alive, says to it that they’re coming from behind it.)
”Parasitic cyst; I can't stand to watch.
It's coming up and out of your chest.” - (As our officer looks on, he see’s the energy bubbling up and heating the door as Coheed blasts at it and tears at it with his blades. He sees the middle of the door give way and instead of seeing the door burning away and Coheed shove his bladed arm through and rip the door open, he see’s it as some kind of monstrous parasite ripping its way through the blast door’s “chest”.)
”Remember when we were young?” - (This is Cambria talking to Coheed telepathically. She’s asking Coheed how far back he can remember now that he dreamt of the past while in the cryo-chamber. The reason the line is so quiet, drawn out and echoed in the song is because the point of view shifts from the crew member to that of Coheed. As he begins to remember, he shifts into his own delirium within the memory. )
”Sit up right on the table.
A photograph of Earth feeding me a way back. - (Recalling his dreams from the chamber, Coheed remembers back as far as he can. He remembers sitting on a table, most likely an operating table in Hohenberger’s lab, and looking at a photograph of Silent Earth III. He feels strongly attached to the photograph in the memory, as though by remembering it, it can present him a way to regain all of his memories.)
”Frightened I tear alone,
or maybe not the only one there.” - (Coheed is frightened and feels very alone. We can assume that this is right after he learned that the Monstar virus is implanted inside him and was forced to kill Hohenberger and that right now he’s waiting to have his memory erased. Brought on by his strong emotions of fear and sadness, the virus begins to activate stage one [the increased strength and the blades] and he can feel it shifting within him, coursing through his veins. He then wonders if maybe he’s not as alone as he thought, but that maybe the virus may be in some way alive; that maybe he’s not alone at all.)
”Hello, hello...when it rings will you answer?” - (This is actually Coheed imagining the virus talking to him. It is asking him that when “it” [being the trigger for Stage Two] is shown to him [rings], will he answer the call and transform into the full Monstar?)
”There, a corner; tall, short stance:
it's you! Come on kill me!” - (Feeling threatened by its presence within him as well as its intention, Coheed [both past and present], in his delirium, begins to visualize the Monstar as some form of actual monster and imagines seeing it standing in the corner of the room, crouched and ready to strike. He screams at it in his mind, tell it “Come on, kill me!” so that it can be over and done with and he can be release of the burden of carrying the Monstar.)
”You made a good friend to me
but while you were outnumbered
and torn you made us do things.” - (This is Coheed talking to Hohenberger in his mind. He remarks that Hohenberger was a good friend to the IRO-bots and was like a father to them for nearly two years, but when the Prise and the spies of Wilhelm Ryan found out about the K.B.I. program and the IRO-bots and Ryan ordered the project terminated, Hohenberger became torn between his obsession with defeating Ryan and protecting the Keywork. He saw no way to defeat the Ryan without destroying the Keywork and decided that the defeat of the Mages was worth such a price and thus created the Monstar virus and implanted within Coheed, the Trigger with Cambria, and the Ciache in Jesse’s keeping [how Ryan obtained it is not known]. Upon learning of his creation of the Monstar virus, the Prise saw Hohenberger and the K.B.I. as a Man-made threat to Heaven’s Fence and thus they felt it as their duty as defined by God’s Riddle to eliminate that threat. Seeing himself targeted, Hohenberger panics and orders the IRO-bots to fight the Prise, who were previously allies of the IRO-bots in the war. This is probably how Jesse came to be known as the Prise Fighter, since he is the only surviving IRO-bot still possessing knowledge of fighting the Prise.)
”Oh dear God, I don't feel alive! “ - (As Coheed experiences the sudden resurgence of lost memories and comes to full realization of his existence as an IRO-bot and not a human, he cries out inside his mind.)”
”When you're cut short of misery
will you pray it be the end?” - (This is Cambria, who is watching all of this telepathically, asking Coheed that since he was deprived of his chance to properly lament and feel guilt for the crimes he committed in the past if he would rather have died back then.)
”Give a look, surprised wide eyes to me.
Then you'll know just what I am:
the scare that triggers your fear.” - (Coheed hears Cambria and her harsh reply to his pain, he looks at her and suddenly comes to a full understanding of what she is and what her given purpose as an IRO-bot is: she is the trigger to his greatest fear: becoming the Monstar. She phrases it as “scare” because the transformation into Stage One is triggered by strong feelings of fear and anger.)
”Come know me in a different light now.
Come know me as God.” - (Cambria asks Coheed if he sees her differently now. She asks if he understands that in a way, she is his God, for it is her existence and her presence that defines whether he is Human/IRO-bot or Monster/Monstar. If Coheed is introduced to the Ciache, Cambria is the only one who can define his existence.)
”You made a good friend to me,
but while you were outnumbered
and torn you made us do things to you.” - (Like earlier, Coheed is talking to Hohenberger, but this time he’s referring to the fact that when Ryan’s forces found the lab and they began to assault and destroy it, Hohenberger ordered the K.B.I. to kill him. In the end, Coheed was the one who wound up killing Hohenberger, after orders were given to Hohenberger’s associates to wipe the memories of Coheed and Cambria and to give Jesse the key to unlocking the Virus. This way, once Jesse escaped Ryan’s forces, the K.B.I. would no longer be an immediate threat to the Keywork and the Prise would no longer hunt them.)
”Run sand hourglass, it's my time. Will I be worth?” - (This is basically Claudio accepting the years he lost when his memories were erased. He’s telling the hourglass to go ahead and let that time pass, because now if his time; now is his second chance to repent. But is he worthy of that chance? Will he be able to live up to the task given him?)
”Spin 'round carousel when your horse isn't screwed in.” - (This is one of the most beautiful metaphors in all the Coheed and Cambria albums. This is Coheed basically saying “Come what may, let this thing keep going. I’m going to keep riding this thing and finish this, no matter what the danger, even if it kills me.” He’s comparing life as a whole and this endeavor of trying to stop the virus to riding a carousel with the horse not screwed on. He may fall off and get hurt or even die, but he’s going to stay on until he’s finished this.)
{during the final chorus, in the background}
”(Raise forth lost cause!” - (This is basically Cambria and all her mind-controlled crew reinforcing Coheed’s conviction to continue his cause, even if it is a lost cause.)
”Then you'll know just what I am (subtle demise the legitimate cry)” - (In the song, you the primary lyric and them immediately after that you hear “subtle demise, the legitimate cry” sang melodically and somewhat sadly in the background. ‘Subtle demise’ is essentially a subdued, peaceful death, such as dying of old age. This is a legitimate cry because in the back of their minds, Coheed and Cambria regret not being able to live a long life and die a subtle death. They feel justified in wishing that they could have avoided this chaotic end and could’ve instead died peacefully. Though they will gladly give their lives in fire and violence to save the Keywork, deep inside they’d rather not die this way.)
”Come know me as God (raise forth lost cause).” - (Once again, Cambria is making the controlled crew shout their support for Coheed and herself as a reminder that as far as the crew is concerned, she is indeed their ‘God’, as well as Coheed’s, to an extent.)
Delirium Trigger is very suited to its title because the entirety of the song takes place during a delirium suffered by both the Communications Officer and Coheed. During Coheed’s delirium, he remembers a massive portion of his past and finally grasps an understanding of Cambria’s existence as the trigger for the Monstar.
I’ve decided to do in-depth analysis’ of all of Coheed and Cambria’s studio tracks in chronological order so that myself and others might have a better idea of the story line of the universe and how the songs and the comics connect to each other.
I'm going to give a line-by-line (omitting repeated lines) of my interpretation of each song and explain how it corresponds to the comics.
"Delirium Trigger"
”We're now up here alone terror on the intercom. Can someone save us?” - (This is in the actual reality of the universe. The alarms have sounded and the communications officer has been alerted that Coheed and Cambria have escaped their Cryo-chambers and he can hear the frightened guards being killed over the intercom and coming for help. He can hear their terror and begins to call in a mayday for help.)
”Systems malfunction, blast it, this damn machine!” - (He’s getting no reply from the mayday call and thinks the communications computer has malfunctioned and he curses the machine for not working. We do not know if the machine is actually broken, or if Cambria is only making him believe it is broken. It’s also possible that someone does hear the cry for help and is under orders from Admiral Crom to not answer.)
”Over and out, Captain.” - (The comm. officer gives up trying to use the machine and tells his Captain that the mayday isn’t working and closes the communicator channel.)
”Something lurks, creeps on the counter top somewhere behind you.” - (Coheed and Cambria have begun to move toward the bridge. As Cambria’s induced delirium sinks in, the officer begins to gain a warped perception of Coheed and Cambria. He begins to see Coheed as a literal Beast, similar to the Alien from the movie. He can hear them fighting as they get closer, in a sense, lurking, towards the bridge. He looks at the door, and, in his delirium seeing as alive, says to it that they’re coming from behind it.)
”Parasitic cyst; I can't stand to watch. It's coming up and out of your chest.” - (As our officer looks on, he see’s the energy bubbling up and heating the door as Coheed blasts at it and tears at it with his blades. He sees the middle of the door give way and instead of seeing the door burning away and Coheed shove his bladed arm through and rip the door open, he see’s it as some kind of monstrous parasite ripping its way through the blast door’s “chest”.)
”Remember when we were young?” - (This is Cambria talking to Coheed telepathically. She’s asking Coheed how far back he can remember now that he dreamt of the past while in the cryo-chamber. The reason the line is so quiet, drawn out and echoed in the song is because the point of view shifts from the crew member to that of Coheed. As he begins to remember, he shifts into his own delirium within the memory. )
”Sit up right on the table. A photograph of Earth feeding me a way back. - (Recalling his dreams from the chamber, Coheed remembers back as far as he can. He remembers sitting on a table, most likely an operating table in Hohenberger’s lab, and looking at a photograph of Silent Earth III. He feels strongly attached to the photograph in the memory, as though by remembering it, it can present him a way to regain all of his memories.)
”Frightened I tear alone, or maybe not the only one there.” - (Coheed is frightened and feels very alone. We can assume that this is right after he learned that the Monstar virus is implanted inside him and was forced to kill Hohenberger and that right now he’s waiting to have his memory erased. Brought on by his strong emotions of fear and sadness, the virus begins to activate stage one [the increased strength and the blades] and he can feel it shifting within him, coursing through his veins. He then wonders if maybe he’s not as alone as he thought, but that maybe the virus may be in some way alive; that maybe he’s not alone at all.)
”Hello, hello...when it rings will you answer?” - (This is actually Coheed imagining the virus talking to him. It is asking him that when “it” [being the trigger for Stage Two] is shown to him [rings], will he answer the call and transform into the full Monstar?)
”There, a corner; tall, short stance: it's you! Come on kill me!” - (Feeling threatened by its presence within him as well as its intention, Coheed [both past and present], in his delirium, begins to visualize the Monstar as some form of actual monster and imagines seeing it standing in the corner of the room, crouched and ready to strike. He screams at it in his mind, tell it “Come on, kill me!” so that it can be over and done with and he can be release of the burden of carrying the Monstar.)
”You made a good friend to me but while you were outnumbered and torn you made us do things.” - (This is Coheed talking to Hohenberger in his mind. He remarks that Hohenberger was a good friend to the IRO-bots and was like a father to them for nearly two years, but when the Prise and the spies of Wilhelm Ryan found out about the K.B.I. program and the IRO-bots and Ryan ordered the project terminated, Hohenberger became torn between his obsession with defeating Ryan and protecting the Keywork. He saw no way to defeat the Ryan without destroying the Keywork and decided that the defeat of the Mages was worth such a price and thus created the Monstar virus and implanted within Coheed, the Trigger with Cambria, and the Ciache in Jesse’s keeping [how Ryan obtained it is not known]. Upon learning of his creation of the Monstar virus, the Prise saw Hohenberger and the K.B.I. as a Man-made threat to Heaven’s Fence and thus they felt it as their duty as defined by God’s Riddle to eliminate that threat. Seeing himself targeted, Hohenberger panics and orders the IRO-bots to fight the Prise, who were previously allies of the IRO-bots in the war. This is probably how Jesse came to be known as the Prise Fighter, since he is the only surviving IRO-bot still possessing knowledge of fighting the Prise.)
”Oh dear God, I don't feel alive! “ - (As Coheed experiences the sudden resurgence of lost memories and comes to full realization of his existence as an IRO-bot and not a human, he cries out inside his mind.)”
”When you're cut short of misery will you pray it be the end?” - (This is Cambria, who is watching all of this telepathically, asking Coheed that since he was deprived of his chance to properly lament and feel guilt for the crimes he committed in the past if he would rather have died back then.)
”Give a look, surprised wide eyes to me. Then you'll know just what I am: the scare that triggers your fear.” - (Coheed hears Cambria and her harsh reply to his pain, he looks at her and suddenly comes to a full understanding of what she is and what her given purpose as an IRO-bot is: she is the trigger to his greatest fear: becoming the Monstar. She phrases it as “scare” because the transformation into Stage One is triggered by strong feelings of fear and anger.)
”Come know me in a different light now. Come know me as God.” - (Cambria asks Coheed if he sees her differently now. She asks if he understands that in a way, she is his God, for it is her existence and her presence that defines whether he is Human/IRO-bot or Monster/Monstar. If Coheed is introduced to the Ciache, Cambria is the only one who can define his existence.)
”You made a good friend to me, but while you were outnumbered and torn you made us do things to you.” - (Like earlier, Coheed is talking to Hohenberger, but this time he’s referring to the fact that when Ryan’s forces found the lab and they began to assault and destroy it, Hohenberger ordered the K.B.I. to kill him. In the end, Coheed was the one who wound up killing Hohenberger, after orders were given to Hohenberger’s associates to wipe the memories of Coheed and Cambria and to give Jesse the key to unlocking the Virus. This way, once Jesse escaped Ryan’s forces, the K.B.I. would no longer be an immediate threat to the Keywork and the Prise would no longer hunt them.)
”Run sand hourglass, it's my time. Will I be worth?” - (This is basically Claudio accepting the years he lost when his memories were erased. He’s telling the hourglass to go ahead and let that time pass, because now if his time; now is his second chance to repent. But is he worthy of that chance? Will he be able to live up to the task given him?)
”Spin 'round carousel when your horse isn't screwed in.” - (This is one of the most beautiful metaphors in all the Coheed and Cambria albums. This is Coheed basically saying “Come what may, let this thing keep going. I’m going to keep riding this thing and finish this, no matter what the danger, even if it kills me.” He’s comparing life as a whole and this endeavor of trying to stop the virus to riding a carousel with the horse not screwed on. He may fall off and get hurt or even die, but he’s going to stay on until he’s finished this.)
{during the final chorus, in the background} ”(Raise forth lost cause!” - (This is basically Cambria and all her mind-controlled crew reinforcing Coheed’s conviction to continue his cause, even if it is a lost cause.)
”Then you'll know just what I am (subtle demise the legitimate cry)” - (In the song, you the primary lyric and them immediately after that you hear “subtle demise, the legitimate cry” sang melodically and somewhat sadly in the background. ‘Subtle demise’ is essentially a subdued, peaceful death, such as dying of old age. This is a legitimate cry because in the back of their minds, Coheed and Cambria regret not being able to live a long life and die a subtle death. They feel justified in wishing that they could have avoided this chaotic end and could’ve instead died peacefully. Though they will gladly give their lives in fire and violence to save the Keywork, deep inside they’d rather not die this way.)
”Come know me as God (raise forth lost cause).” - (Once again, Cambria is making the controlled crew shout their support for Coheed and herself as a reminder that as far as the crew is concerned, she is indeed their ‘God’, as well as Coheed’s, to an extent.)