Claudio Sanchez: Coheed and Cambria frontman, prog-rock pioneer, and yes, comic-book author. Sanchez and his music have always been highly conceptual, but now he is taking it to a new level. The band's upcoming album, "The Afterman: Ascension," is the first installment of a double-disc affair whose storyline follows "The Amory Wars," the title of the series of comics that Sanchez has penned. The deluxe version of the record will also include a coffee-table book intended to give its reader, and "Afterman" listeners, a song-by-song experience of the album. Despite all of the ancillary hullabaloo, the real Sanchez experience still lies in C&C's music. The band's sound follows a sweeping narrative arc of its own, incorporating elements of progressive and alternative rock, post-hardcore, and even pop, punk, and soul. If you have always wanted to experience the quirky thrills of a science-fiction rock opera, attending a Coheed and Cambria concert is probably a serviceable substitution.

Coheed and Cambria performs Friday, September 21, 8 p.m. at the Water Street Music Hall, 204 N. Water St. $30-$35. 325-5600, waterstreetmusic.com.