DE-LOUSED IN THE COMATORIUM

Well, The Mars Volta released this album five years ago, I finally stopped lurking through PA and decided to get an account. This sort of musicianship was unheard of in 2003. (For mainstream) When this came out, it sort of showed that the state of prog is healthier than ever.

The line up for this super trippy prog band is:

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Guitar (Songwriting) Cedric Bixler-Zavala - Vocals (Lyrics) Jon Theodore - Drums Jeremy Michael Ward - Sound Manipulation Isaiah Ikey Owens - Keyboards Lenny Castro - Percussion Flea - Bass John Frusciante - Guitar, Synthesizer on Cicatriz ESP

Oh cool, an all star line up.

The first song(s) is Son et Lumiere, which in french means Sound and Light. Which is basically the song too. It's a great combination though and it leads perfectly into... (9/10)

...Inertiatic ESP, which by all means is the poppiest of all the songs on the album. Also easily one of the best. Starts off immediately with the most obscure lyrics and overall great musicianship. Now, I can go on for hours about the great musicianship, so I'll just say this now: EVERY SONG HAS GREAT MUSICIANSHIP After the halfway point, the song goes into this intense riff and then returns. The ending is one of the trippiest endings in music, just the funkiest thing I've ever heard. (8/10)

Getting right back into it, Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of), starts off pretty heavy and straightforward, but it doesn't last very long. The phasing vocals, constant guitar echoing, amazing bass lines. This song is pretty awesome! Then suddenly, it goes into this quiet vocals section, and right when you think the song is done it pops back into a heavy number. This heavy section also features one of the most obvious references to Larks Tongues In Aspic in the album. (The record's full of them) The song continues into it's on/off phasing of emotions. Then, slowly begins to end. (9/10)

Furthering more into trippyness and complete madness is Tira Me a las Aranas. Just a total trip from start to finish. Leads into...(9/10)

Drunkship of Lanterns! This percussion driven caucophony really sets the mood for the coming tracks. One of the best parts of the songs is the vocals. They're absolutely ravishing. They're so different and unique. This song transitions from some weird freaky prog to one of the best jams. Toward of the song, they're really cooking. Just, pure musicianship. The ending, I found using Audacity, is just the beat of the next song, slowed down. Overall one of the best songs on the album. (10/10)

Eriatarka! Or as I affectionately call it, Tarka! This tracks starts off really well, with riffage rissing and falling like Demented Aliens replicating Pink Floyd. Then...suddenly...the drama builds into this fiesta of riffing with one of the oddest time signatures I've heard in a while. Then, we get a break with what sounds like old motorcycles from a Meat Loaf song. Then the song starts up again, like an old record player fighting to stay alive. Overall, an awesome intro to the Floydian madness that is to come. (9/10)

Cicatriz ESP. THE track from The Mars Volta. Every band has an it track. This is it. Starts off with a starightforward, mainstream, At The Drive In like beggining. But this doesn't last much longer, the minute the song freezes, and gets broguth back to life by this drum beat hitting like a techno beat. The song reforms back, to blast an awesome chorus into your ears. Then it continues to stop into this slow King Crimson beat/jam thing. Then, that slowly degrades into this Welcome To The Machine, water dripping slab of prog. Which slowly, beats back into what sounds like Drunkship of Lanterns's jam again. Then the song catches up with itself and finally ends. WHAT AN EPIC! (10/10)

This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed. The title is beyond me. A great prog ditty, sonically, it's amazing. It has some of the weirdest guitar sounds and effects in the entire album. The ending, is somewhat annoying, but still a great track. (8/10)

Televators, a nice little ballad, really is one of the best songs by the band. The ending of the song is amazing and the lyrics and singing are beautiful. There's not much to say, as it's basically the same song for six minutes straight. Great song (8.5/10)

Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt, is the best song off the album. It starts off with amazing rhythm and great guitar riffs. The singing is amazing as usual. This song also features song of the oddest lyrics in the record. Overall straight ahead rhythm then it gets tricky and complicated once the first chorus kicks in. I say the first chorus, because the second is so emotionally charged, it's amazing. After the first part finishes, the song goes into this sort of looping, which is slowly overturned by the oddest guitar riff. EVER. That is then followed by the most incromphensible section of music, EVER, WRITTEN. I am still trying to figure how to play the drum parts. Then, that is followed by an insane bass solo, which is then followed by an insane funk jam. The song ends in an emotionally charged finale, which left me stunned the first time I heard it. Best song on the album, hands down. (11/10)

In the end, this was easily the best record of 2003. It was a nice thign to know prog is still popular among the young people. Of course, I was only about 11 years old at the time of its release. The musicianship is stellar, the writing is amazing, the lyrics are wacked out beyond recognition and the overall feel of the album is a mix of Floyd and King Crimson. These guys are definitely one of the best artists to come out in the 2000s.

An absolute masterpiece, without flaws.

High Points: Record

Low Points: N/A

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