DE-LOUSED IN THE COMATORIUM

I remember sitting in the hallway outside my chemistry at 7:30 A.M. after getting a lot of new music from a friend of mine. I came across The Mars Volta, a band I certainly had not heard of before, and played the first of only two tracks that she gave me: Son et Lumiere. It was spacy, had crazy lyrics, and weird, aggressive distorted guitar attacks; I was hooked. Intertiatic ESP came next, and things really kicked into high gear. This was the most aggressive music I had ever listened to by this point, and it completely defied any conception I had about heavy music. By the time I discovered this band, Frances the Mute had just recently come out. I actually listened to that album before I completed the rest of Deloused, and in comparison, Deloused sounds almost mainstream. To me, that is an abhorrent term to use when describing this band because nothing about their chaotic style smacked of anything I'd ever heard, but this album is still very accessible. I think the best track on this album is the closer Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt. It has so much energy, the drums are nothing short of genius, the jam it becomes is sublime, and it ends with such force as to rip your head off. Televators is another favorite of mine. It just has a depressingly beautiful guitar line and great chorus as well. When I want to get pumped up, I put on Roulette Dares. I don't know of a louder, more aggressive opening to a song than that; it gets me every time. How could I forget the unbelievable Eriatarka or Cicatriz ESP, which has an insanely trippy interlude and an ending with about as much force as a 50-ton wrecking ball crashing down on your nuts. While I think Frances the Mute is a superior album, this album is brilliant as well. Every modern day prog rock fan must listen to this album. My entire perception of music was changed by this band, and I will never grow tired of listening to their stuff.