I am fond of music that leaves space and really let you take in the movement that you have just heard (much like an orchestral arrangement), and I have found none of that here.

 

Now, I'm not trying to be mean about this, blease don't bash me, I really am trying to like it, but as of right now, I feel like I have wasted a good $15. :(  Maybe I should give it time to grow on me...? I can always change my mind, but with these guys, I feel it will take quite a while.

 

Anyone else agree? Dissagree? Please, any TMV lovers out there, help me to try and look at this from another perspective; you see, I don't want to hate The Mars Volta, but I am fearing that I will end up doing just that.

 

I think you just started with the wrong album to start with.

 

I'd recommend trying De-Loused before you give up on the band (it seems like it fits the bill of what you're looking for, and if you don't like it, probably won't like the band itself).

 

Good luck!

 

However, I plan on giving it at least another spin before I write it off, as the fifth song I actually really liked once it got into the groove a bit. But one good song does not a good album make, so if I still find myself not understanding what the big deal is, then I'm picking up their first album. Then if that too dissapoints me then I'm done buying TMV albums for good, I feel.

However, I personally feel it's their weakest yet, but still great. It's been growing on me. If you want space, go for Frances. Lots of more ambient passages there that many see as a flaw but you might enjoy.

Ghost Rider wrote: I really don't get it... There are lots of bands around I don't like, even if people praise them to high heaven.  I'll give you a  personal example: many members here consider Scenes from a Memory by Dream Theater an absolute masterpiece. I bought it, listened to it once, and was so underwhelmed I never wanted to put it on again. Is there anything wrong with me?  Of course there isn't.... It's called individual taste, and trying to force ourselves to like something that goes against the grain is useless. Liking TMV (or DT for that matter, or Genesis, or whatever) is not mandatory, far from that. I do love them, but I also recognize they are not for everyone. @ Laplace: perhaps you should write that bad review. It may be that the album grows on you with time, but then again it may not.... I rarely write bad reviews, but if you check my 2-star reviews, half of them at least are of albums many consider to be masterpieces.

 

No, no. You misunderstand. I am just wanting to give this band a fair chance to grow on me.  Laplance descirbed exactly what I was looking for in TMV:

 

 

 

laplace wrote: GoldenSpiral wrote: Yeah, dude, it's pretty much a matter of taste.  If you don't like their kind of music, you don't like it, you just have different priorities in music.   There is very little 'space', as you say, in TMV's music.  Basically what they do it throw a ton of music in your face and make you deal with it.  The new album is particularly aggressive, so you might want to try earlier stuff.... but the basic style is the same.  I fully recognize that what TMV does is 'too much', but I think that's what they're aiming for. like kibble_alex said, maybe try putting it on when you're ready to just rock out with abandon.  It's what they do, and I for one think they do it well lol I love The Mars Volta but my "rock-out-with-abandon" music is noise, or doom played as low and as slow as possible. There are other reasons to like this band, and I think that what the original poster was looking for is among them. ;)

 

Yeah, exactly. I mean, I'm not trying to simply 'force' myself into liking something that goes against my personal taste, but simply listening to something once and disregarding it is also not good. Most of the bands I now consider to be essential to my collection was a band that at one point or another I didn't like at first, but guess what? I allowed the music to grow on me, and now I love it. So me simply wanting to find something to like in TMV is not going against anything I wouldn't normally do in the first place. It's what I do alot, and usually I find something to like in a band, but sometimes I don't. Seems I have already done the former with TMV, even though no one seems to have noticed my last post yet:

p0mt3 wrote: Okay, so, I have listened to the "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" song available on here about five times in a row now, and love it even more each time I do. I have a feeling I will like the early Mars Volta stuff; I just wish they could have progressed in that direction rather than a completely different one as evident on the new album. Very tragic.

 

See? I LIKE what I'm hearing from the first record. Had I just moved on after disliking TBIG like you suggested, Ghost Rider, I may have not given that song a chance, and now I'm glad I did. :)

 

Of course I'll listen to the whole album once I can find it and then that should determine for good whether or not TMV is for me. AT that point, if I dislike De-Loused as well, I will indeed do as you have suggested, GR, and simply accept that this band isn't something I can relate to. But I wanna give them a fair shot before I just write them off based on a first impression.

 

Damn dude, can I have my head back now? I bought it because at the moment I don't have access to hgih-speed net, so listening or downloading any portion of the new album was not possible, and I didn't feel like waiting when the newest CD from a highly acclaimed prog band was right in front of me in the store. I took a risk, forgive me.

 

As for your advice, if you would read the entire thread, you would already know what I am planning to do. Hopefully I won't look like an idiot as much to you now because I actually decided to wait for like an hour for "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" fully load on here.

 

Now I'm going to have to go out a get Deloused, which I've not heard.

 

Bedlam is the first one from MV I liked the first time I heard it (I knew it was good because my wife said, "What's that white noise"), but she's never heard Frances. 

 

I still find Frances to be far more of an aural challenge and would have never imagined suggesting that as a better alternative to Bedlam for someone not familiar with the band.

 

 

 

Oh no, it's okay. I just wanted to make sure you understood where I was coming from. I admit, I did jump the gun a bit with Bedlam, but luckily I wasn't dissapointed with my second TMV venture; I bought De-Loused this evening, and I LOVE IT! LOVE IT, LOVE IT, LOVE IT!

 

Makes me wanna write a loving review about it! How the hell did this band get so bad? This is great, great psychedelic stuff! It sounds like Pink Floyd meets King Crimson to me, and it rules! My God, the slower, more atmospheric parts were just goregous! I truly can't believe that this is the same band, truly wonderfull. It has what I love about prog rock: space! Room to breath! Which was sorely lacking from TBIG. Yep, I must say I haven't been this happy with a purchase since Porcupine Tree's FoaBP last year.

 

well it seems you're not alone in the camp of not liking Bedlam though it seems to be better recieved than their last album  for closeness to Deloused (if at all) look up Frances the Mute....although there is a lot of ambience that some people find difficult to digest

 

 Glad to see someone is reading my work,  

 

Yeah, well, I was a little harsh I admit, but I suppose I was waiting on reviewing it until I could sit down and listen to "De-loused" all the way through and compare the two. The absolute perfection that was ''De-loused" gave me enough insentive to never listen to "Bedlam" again. I mean, why listen to that when I can enjoy a far superior record from the same band? It's like choosing between CTTE and Union in terms of Yes albums; the choice is clear.

 

Ya never know, years from now I may give it a spin and completely change my mind, completely contradicting every bad thing I said about it in that review, but as of right now, I don;t see myself listening to it in any forseeable future.

 

Absolutely. Well, I think it really depends on what aspect of the record you focus on. I'm sure a certain aspect of this drummer (probably his hopped-up-on-speed style playing) seems great to some poeple, while others (like myself) miss the old guy, who seemed (at least based on what I've heard on this record) to have a much more creative take on rhythm and backbeat.

 

Same thing with everything else; one could argue that the different style of singing Cedric is doing here is fantastic, but I certainly don't feel that way.

 

Meh...I'm probably being too hard on it .

 

For me Bedlam takes the best of FTM, the best of Amputechture, throws out any type of filler and adds more focus to the compositions.  That's saying alot seeing as how The Mars Volta don't ever really sound like they have a focus.

 

Ilyena is tightly written and performed.

Metatron and Goliath are two epics with shifting time changes and rhythms.

Soothsayer is very hypnotic

Even Tourniquet Man is great in my opinion.

 

Bedlam will have to grow on you, but then again all TMVs stuff needs time to grow.  I have been listening to it non-stop since I picked it up and I am still uncovering little details.

 

Realy it is one of the most creative bands in terms of Progressive Rock...They are great in terms of new sounds and odd signatures...By the way...They have 70's spirit in concerts and you can realy feel they're albums are Progressive and Hypnotic at the same time, as well thay have great solos and the vocals are amazingly worked out on the studio...Man ,Mars volta are pure and true...Not that alternative rock mixed up with prog you hear now a day...Although I love that kind of Neo-Prog...I guess we needed a band like THE MARS VOLTA a long time past the seventies, but that is just my opinion. 

 

 

I haven't reviewed any MV albums yet, because I've only been listening to the band for about a year and their music is so dense and multi-faceted (more of the former, less of the latter on Bedlam) that I've not been able to get a real handle on it, to the point where I could post an intelligent review.  But then that's why I listen to this stuff.  If I wanted something non-challenging I'd pick up Rod Stewart's latest album and be done with it.  (By the way, that last comment is not meant as a knock on those who don't like Bedlam...it's just why I'll continue to listen to Bedlam and reserve final judgment on it for a later date.)

 

Be wary, as it really doesn't compare with their first album (that isn't to say it's bad, though). It all depends on what you didn't like about the last two. If you didn't like the ambient noise, then this album might be for you, since there is little to no ambient sections. If, however, you didn't like the unfocused, ongoing nature of the songs, you might not like this album. Same goes for Cedric's voice - if you thought it was annoying on Amp, it's probably even worse this time around.

 

That said, I love the basslines, drumlines, and complex layering of the music, but I do wish it was a bit more focused.

 

Well, I've only listened to "De-loused" additonally, but from what I heard on there I have to say, yeah, "Bedlam" really is THAT different.

 

Remember that ratings malipulation is a SERIOUS breach of site rules here.

 

...absolutely, Raff...

 

get help...seek counselling..or talk to others on PA about your problems before its too late...

 

Oh, no I didn't, but either way that wasn't what I was implying Laplace was doing, or even I wanted to do, I was just commenting that now that the hysteria over this album is appearing to die down a bit, the ratings are beginning to balance out, and we now have a much more realistic overal number for it, that's all.

 

Hope I made myself clearer this time around, as I don't want anyone to think I am trying to break the rules.

 

 Why do you enjoy hurting me? You've done this in two threads now.

 

Possibly I missunderstood your meaning, as I am feeling personally attacked at this point and could be missunderstanding what you meant.

 

You say it wasn't personal, but rather than simply giving me constructive advice from the getgo, you went out of your way to insult my review, then laugh about my writing abilities (or lack thereof). You have taken shots at me twice now that I can remember, and all I was doing on both occasions was voicing my own opinion. If I seemed like I was being rude or unfair in either case, I am truly sorry; can you please be a little less of a bully to me? I don't think I deserve to be insulted and jumped on for voicing an opinion.

 

Well, I truly did not mean to insult anyone. As far as I can recall, I simply told the person on the Opeth thread that he can have his opinion of what he hears in them, and that was fine, but at the same time, Opeth and PT's leaders have stated in the past that there are similarities. Personally, I think it depends on one's interpretation of that statement to conclude on what I meant by it, and while I admit after having it pointed out to me that it could have been taken as if I were insulting that person, I assure you I was not. I don't that, at least not intentionally, because I know what it feels like to have it done to me (especially on forums, and by people like you). So, again, I explained myself in that forum, and I have explained myself here, yet you seem to be getting a real charge out of picking on me, and frankly, I think I will take your advice and ignore you from now on, because you are clearly a mean-spirited bully who looks for excuses to throw out personal insults to people. While what I said was merely a misinterpretation, the things you have said to me were clearly meant in a hateful way. So, as far as I am cocnerned, I consider the matter closed; I know what kind of person you are now, and know how to react to whatever you may say. Have a nice life.

 

Again, don't missunderstand me on this, either: I'm not wanting to sound like a prick to you, but I am simply saying that I have pretty much summed up the situation: I can't win, even if I explain that my intentions were not to be mean to others, because you want to keep scouting out posts I make and insult them.

 

If I am making an unjust claim about you, then I guess all I can say is: prove me wrong. If we run into one another on another thread at another time and you actually aren't hostile towards me, maybe then I'll take back my judgement about you, but as of right now, I feel like you are someone who I can only ignore, because making peace won't work, and I am sorry for ever making that post back in the Opeth thread, because I sure didn't want to make enemies on this place, but I guess that can't be stopped now.

 

My reviews suck, and I know it. That really isn't the point, although I already admitted to laplace that the one for TBiG was especially horrible, and I also admited that I probably gave it too hard of a time.

 

Now that you have explained why micky got the way he did with me, I suppose I now understand why he jumped to conclusions as to what I meant by the comment I made (He must be one of those overely-protective, jump-the-gun types). I thank you for explaining in an intelligent, flame-free manner exactly what the problem was with my review, it is much appreciated, and I will make sure to do better the next time I give something a negative review.

 

 

 

 

However, sometimes giving one star is fully justified. You bought the latest album by a highly praised, modern prog band, with whom you weren't yet familiar, and were badly disappointed. This means your reaction is perfectly understandable - nevertheless, your review came across as extremely virulent, as if the band had hurt you personally. If you use the adjective 'horrible', I think once is enough to convey your meaning - seven times is, in my humble opinion, overdoing things just a little bit.

 

That said, I do understand where you're coming from in your response to the album. TMV are definitely not for the faint-hearted, and TBiG is their densest album to date. If you want breathing space, you're not going to get much there - and I do agree with those who wrote that it is perhaps a bit too long. Anyway, I know I want to listen to it again and again, which is always a good sign, even if I don't think it will become my favourite TMV album (that is still De-loused..). There is something about the bandt that captured my attention from the first time I listened to Frances the Mute, and I still believe they are the best modern prog act around. They are young, they have a lot of ideas, and even if TBiG may be considered as a relative failure by someone, I think the best for them is yet to come.

 

I'm I the only person who thinks they're a bit of a poor-man's Ephel Duath...? Copyists....?

So are we all invited to the wedding?    I expect to hear and exerpt from "And You And I" or something.  (I actually requested it to be played in the background at my reception.)  We definitely at least need to start a wedding thread for you guys, so we can wish you luck, and I can give advice on what NOT to do in a marriage.

 

But, to contribute to the topic at hand (and repeat myself): All I seem to hear is vocals and drums!  It drives me crazy trying to hear the other instruments.  Are my ears going crazy?  Do others agree, or is my taste just off?  I find it incredibly odd that the album could get released like that--as if Cedric and the new drummer were the only people who attended the mix sessions.  "Yeah, turn me up some more in the mix.  Turn us both up...yeah...yeah, that sounds good."

 

 Yeah, I realize that seven 'horrible's in a row is a bit much, but since I'm not a pro, I didn't really think anyone would care, . Hopefully based on my other reviews, however, you can see that when I want to take the time to review something in detail, I do so. I love "De-loused", so it isn't that TMV are bad in my eyes, it's just that they are headed in a direction now that I don't particularly care for.

 

Anyway, I hope everything is cool with Micky now; don't wanna have bad blood with anyone on the forums,

 

The ironic thing is, I just got through reviewing a DT album, then I come on here and read this

 

Well, with me (as I say in the review, actually), it's alwaysbeen a double-edged sword with me when it comes to DT. At times they can really move me, and others it just seems like they are keeping score amongst themselves as to how many notes they each played within a milisecond. Truly a love-hate relationship for me.

 

Yeah . . . Dream Theater's biggest error I think is that they wear their influences too close to the surfece of everything. If they were a bit better at burying their influences and losing them within the music itself, it would be fine, but more often than not I will hear something in their songs that completely leaps out of the music and beats me over the head with the name of whatever band that EXACT riff was originally from. Pink Floyd and Yes are the two bands that I hear the most when I listen to them, but I know there are more.

 

Amen.  DT for me is, to paraphrase Shakespeare, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.

 

Some will argue that's true of TBiG, but that's another thread, or actually this thread.  I've actually listened to TBiG a few times now.  I swear there's one passage that just reeks of Crimson's Sailor's Tale, mellotron (or whatever passes for that these days) and all.

 

One other point: I don't get why posters rush to be the first to review any given album.  Particularly for progressive music, I find it often takes weeks/months to come to terms with what's being presented.  If I dismissed any album based on a handful of listens, man, there would have been a lot of great music I would have missed out on.  But then I'm an old fart still trying to write a decent review of Another Green World...