Coheed and Cambria has never been a band to follow the rules. They didn't cash in on the sounds of their contemporaries; they never tried to be "cool" or funny and they released a series of albums that loosely followed the story arc of graphic novels that only their most dedicated fans ever dared to touch.

That might be the exact reason they're still around and better than ever these days.

Following their October release of The Color Before The Sun, the prog-rock experts have been busy touring the world, currently traveling the US with Glassjaw, I The Mighty, and Silver Snakes. Myspace caught up with Coheed's drummer, Josh Eppard, while all four band members were individually busy writing and creating music on their tour bus.

You're on the road right now with Glassjaw and a couple of other bands, how's the tour going?

I don't want to overdo it, but this is probably the best headlining tour we've ever done. The whole show—Silver Snakes, I The Mighty, Glassjaw and Coheed—is probably the best tour we've ever done, and certainly in recent memory. Beyond the numbers, it's just a really great package, and it's great from start to finish. It's an eclectic group of bands, and the number of people coming out is just a byproduct of what a great show it is. It's been an absolute thrill and a real blast for us. It's been unbelievable.

Coheed's latest album seems very different from the previous records, does that have to do with it not being a part of the same story arc that the others have followed? 

In that sense, it is different, but I think every Coheed record is musically different as well. We've never gone in the studio and said, "Let's make the same record again." I think with the two Afterman records before The Color Before The Sun, there's definitely some Coheed DNA intertwined, but there are also some new places that we went. Songs like "Number City" and "2's My Favorite 1" had that Coheed DNA in them, but they're also very much on the pop side of things. This record was definitely different. We recorded it in Nashville, which was different, but I think it's all in the name of art and carving out something new for yourself. We've made a bunch of records, and I think the goal is to always try to do something new and capture what it feels like when we're just four guys playing together. I think we did a good job, and it was kind of a badge of honor. We recorded it live, so everybody was getting their takes that are going to live on the record for the rest of your life all at once. It was very challenging, but I think we captured what we were going after, which was that thing that happens when four guys play together.

With every Coheed album being so different, how do you think the band's evolved along with the music?

I think it's just the natural evolution of any musician. You get better at creating, you get better at using your instrument, you become a better player. I think we're all very different players than we were when we made Second Stage Turbine Blade or In Keeping Secrets or Good Apollo. That's just the natural evolution of the band. We've all grown as writers, but that's just what happens.

But there's another side to it. When you've played together for a long enough time, you're going to have some of those days where you have a rough morning or things aren't going your way, but then something happens and there's a gelling when you get on stage and play with those guys. We do this every day, and we live together on the bus, so a byproduct is that we grow together. We've grown in so many ways, and hopefully we'll continue to grow. I always say that the day I feel like I've done everything there is to do in music is the day that I'll pack up my stuff and go home. I enjoy learning and growing as a player and as a writer. That's what makes this fun. Hopefully I'll be 50 years old here and talking about how we're all growing together.

Aside from drumming, you also rap under the name Weerd Science. Considering that it's not a combination you hear too often, what are some of the similarities and differences between the two?

People were not ready for that in 2005 when my first record came out. People were like "Wait... You're a drummer in a rock band? There's no way you could be a credible hip-hop artist." Now, I think the lines have been blurred and softened a little bit. I still think most people probably do feel like that, but they're similar in a lot of ways. It's a creative extension of your feelings and of yourself. Every Weerd Science thing that I've done, I take things I've learned from Coheed records. But every record I've ever made, I walk out of there having learned something or taking away something from the experience. Whether I'm writing a little love song or writing a rap song about punching God in the face, there's always something that I've taken from my experience. It's still music, we're still talking about melodies, rhythms and cadences. There's a lot more similarities than you would think at face value. I'm proud to do something that makes people say "What?!" I get laughed at and goofed on for it, but I think that's just perfect. I love it.