AMPUTECHTURE

So far I have thoroughly enjoyed every release TMV have put out. Their albums tend to be vast expanses of spacey to just plain wierd soundscapes that I really enjoy. And while their albums have their flaws, I can overlook them for the most part if I keep in mind the moments of pure genius. Amputechture, however is rather sub-par compared to the previous studio LP's Omar and the boys have put out. There are still great ideas, but they require more searching to get to and in the end one wonders whether or not it was worth the effort.

This album also suffers from a lack of flow, not necessarily between songs but in them. Like I mentioned there are great moments, but this album seems to be a collection of great ideas that at times seem like they have nothing to do with each other.

1. Vicarious Atonement: (7.5/10) A good solid opener that I wish was a reflection of the mood of the rest of the album. Features some nice guitar work and ends with a nice jazzy feel.

2. Tetragrammaton: (5/10) This is where the problems start. One of the problems I failed to mention earlier was the focus on vocal melodies rather than good song- writing. This song starts of on what is an attempt at organized chaos but just ends up sounding like a mess. It calms down and for about 5 mins. sounds like it's going places. Unfortunately the transitions in this song bring it down and this eventually sinks the song. And while Cassandra Gemini from Frances the Mute opened with amazing intensity, drifted for a while, and eventually camme back to melt my face off in the end, this song starts out strong, drifts for a while, and then makes a rather unsuccessful attempt to come back.

3. Vermicide: (6/10) This song would be better without the cheesy chorus, but is saved by a nice guitar solo and generally erie mood.

4. Meccapmutechture: (7/10) A strong song that would have been stronger had it not been so repetitive. It features a great hook though.

5. Asilos Magdalena: (7.5/10) An acoustic track that's completely different from the rest of the album. A nice change of pace too that features some great acoustic wor from Omar.

6. Viscera Eyes: (8/10) This song is Volta sticking to what works best. Some straight ahead rocking leads up to a truly intense ending that captures the band at their best. While it may come off at first as a L'Via wannabe it is actually a very unique song in its own way.

7. Day of the Baphomets: (9/10) It starts of with a nasty bass solo courtosy of Jaun and doesn't let up from there. All I can say about this track is that it does what the rest of the album can't, and that is capture the sound of the album in a coheisive manner while still advancing the overall sound of the band.

8. El Ciervo Vulnerado: (8/10) This track has seemed to get a bad rap so far, but it actually deserves a lot of praise. It is truly haunting and is a chilling end to the album, and if viewed as a slow let down from the previous adventure of Baphomets it can be quite enjoyable.

People new to The Mars Volta should definitely start out with De-Loused in the Comatorium and go from there.