AMPUTECHTURE

I don't chime in too often here on the archives, but some albums just need the praise heaped on if you ask me. This album came out on saturday here in Australia and I haven't stopped listening to it yet. That's only 5 or 6 spins, really, but so far it's still improving with each one. And I liked it from the beginning!

This is an insane powerhouse of an album. For those of you not already into the Mars Volta it may not be the place to start, but for Goodness' sake, don't let it pass you by. There's a bit of everything on here. There's even a little acoustic ballad (I didn't expect that!) to give you a break from what is generally a very challenging listen. Man, these guys get so loud and hard it feels like your headphones are melting your earwax....in a good way, of course!

I think a track-by-track for this album is a somewhat insufficient because words can't properly describe the effect created by the many wild shifts in mood and tempo these songs will throw at you. This is an album of highlights with nary a low point, as far as I'm concerned.

I think if you enjoy King Crimson's heavier, more experimental work (ie, Larks' Tongue, Red, Thrak et al) there is a big chance you'll find something to enjoy here. If you have any sort of appreciation for drumming, you owe it to yourself to hear this, as Jon Theodore proves himself to be an animal, and a highly technical one at that.

There some argument to be made that The Mars Volta deserve extra points just for sounding so unique. They really have gone out of their way to avoid riding on the coat tails of their influnces, which is not only admirable, but also goes straight to the core of what progressive music is about. Their dedication to making music which is so staunchly uncommercial is appreicated as well.

On an individual level, Omar deserves praise as well. He is a strong song writer, but what he truly excels at, I think, is arranging and producing. This album is a technical bloody marvel and the arrangements are astonishing once you consider how many instruments are being played at any given time.