The bedlam that is the Mars Volta.
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Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation
Forum Description: Discuss specific prog bands and their members or a specific sub-genre
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=67319
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Topic: The bedlam that is the Mars Volta.
Posted By: The Monodrone
Subject: The bedlam that is the Mars Volta.
Date Posted: May 10 2010 at 18:09
I was checking around on the PA forum and, to my amazement, couldn't find any topics about the Mars Volta appreciation... so I decided to create one  . Well, if you enoy the Mars Volta as I do, feel free to talk about anything involving them that you want to talk about, such as concert performances, albums, songs, etc... I love the Mars Volta and I believe they're one of the best, and certainly one of the most eclectic, newer prog bands of today. Omar and Cedric make such a great and experimental duo and have provided me, and hopefully many others, with a lot of great music over the last.
Alright, I'll start it off by giving my favorite albums by them in order:
1 & 2. De-loused in the Comatorium/ Amputechture (Tie)
3. Frances the Mute
4. Octahedron
5. The Bedlam in Goliath
PS: I would really like to hear about any live performances!
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Replies:
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: May 10 2010 at 18:27
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Hi,
It was weird .. you know what turned me off from wanting to hear these guys? ... their turning down of an album cover that was done by Hipgnosis!
I trust the "editorial" that Storm always offers with it, and somehow, I thought that in the end, this was slightly over blown stuff ... and in 40 years, I have to tell you that there are maybe 2 or 3 covers in that time where they might not be "with it" ... even if weird. Even the ones that are the least appealing, still tell you something about the music ... ie. UFO for example!
Most "artists" understand the form and theory and have enough understanding for what others think. I find it weird that Storm was so stuck up and monumentally wrong about another band ... I suppose it can happen ... sooner or later ... but I am more inclined to believe that it is sort of like that Wayside NY bar bash Frank Zappa copies! Some people have this idea that dexterity in an instrument is the definition of music, and that's when you know some people are too full of themselves! And the music is too! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Kashmir75
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 18:52
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I only have Deloused... so far, but I've heard some of the later ones. I quite like the new one Octahedron. ------------- Hello, mirror. So glad to see you, my friend. It's been a while... |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 22:08
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Yeah, Octahedron surpassed my expectations. It was very mellow but was very beautiful as well. I really like the songs "Copernicus" and "Cotopaxi."
On another note, does anyone know about their new drummer? I wonder what he's like compared to Jon and Thomas... -------------
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Posted By: UndercoverBoy
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 22:17
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I love The Mars Volta. The best modern Prog band in my opinion. I have a DVD with a 20-minute live version "Cygnus... Vismund Cygnus" that came with The Bedlam in Goliath.
My order of their albums:
1. Frances The Mute (5 Stars)
2. De-loused in the Comatorium (5 Stars)
3. The Bedlam in Goliath (4.5 Stars)
4. Amputechture (4 Stars)
5. Octahedron (4 Stars)
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Posted By: TheClosing
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 22:24
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1. Frances the Mute 2. Octahedron 3. Amputechture 4. De-Loused 5. The Bedlam in Goliath |
Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 22:38
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My order is
1 Frances the Mute
2. Amputechture
3. De-loused in the Comatorium
4. The Bedlam in Goliath
I have not heard Octahedron. Is it really worth getting . I have heard mixed reactions........ that they merged into acoustic territory and its not very prog. Is that true?
. ------------- 
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Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 22:41
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For their first two albums, The Mars Volta were one of my favourite bands on earth. For the next two they were pretty good but the sheer shock of what they did on Frances The Mute wasn't and probably couldn't, be recreated.
I think Octahedron is easily their worst album and judging from what I read on The Comatorium, their own message board, many fans feel the same way.
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 22:43
A DVD.. hmmm... is this still available?? I've been looking for any kind of live Mars Volta footage, and they haven't officially released any yet... I really wish they would...  -------------
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gottagetintogetout wrote:Posted By: TheClosing
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 23:02
Great record for those who just want quality music, and could care less about labels.
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 23:25
They definitely did venture into acoustic territory, but in a very tasteful way. They created a very transitional album with Octahedron, and I very much like the album. If you're a fan of softer prog, definitely check out Octahedron.. I really don't think you'l be disappointed. "With Twilight as My Guide" is a great and mysteriously dark song with some very good and concentrated vocals by Cedric. "Halo of Nembutals" and "Cotopaxi" are some of my favorite songs by the Mars Volta, and I see them as being pretty prog. Yeah, definitely check this album out! -------------
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 11 2010 at 23:29
Yeah, "Luciforms" is such a great song!! It sounds like something from Frances.. to me. -------------
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Posted By: Kojak
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 02:21
That would be my order too, I think.. As for Octahedron - it is worth getting - it has some beautiful moments on it, Cedric's vocals are so tender and feminine in some of it, and there's some great lyrics, get it, I'll give it to you if I can..... |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 02:43
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So far, I only have 'Frances the Mute' and 'The Bedlam in Goliath' Both 3 star albums for me. Every now and then they pull something brilliant out of the bag, but sometimes I find them unlistenable. I also think they waste too much time on long passages of just atmospheric noise. I find this really irritating on FTM. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: tamijo
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 09:17
Was in Copenhagen last november, did a great show, mixing up tracks from diffrent periods, starting out with the first 6-7 min of "De-Loused In The Comatorium"
Had people with me not even into nither Metal nor Mars Volta, but even so, everyone was happy, and it was
clear, this was a bunch able to PLAY.
Only sad thing to say, a few Accustic guitar parts was pre. recorded, not a great way to deal with that, would be better to just leave 'em out, if not able to do it live.
But with the quality of the set in general, a minor problem. ------------- Prog is whatevey you want it to be. So dont diss other peoples prog, and they wont diss yours |
Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 09:25
All of their studio albums are four stars for me, some more so than others. 
------------- https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 09:33
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Since this is an appreciation thread I don't wish to disparage the band here, but I do have a difficult time listening to them. When I first heard about them, it was reading a review that said that they would appeal to fans of Rush. I'm not quite sure why that is, except for being heavy prog bands and having vocalists with strange high pitched voices which take time or fortitude to get use to. At any rate, I've read where many people don't like Rush because they don't like Geddy Lee's voice. I had the same problem at first but got over it and now generally, I don't have a problem with it. Right now with The Mars Volta I am still at the stage where I do not like Cedric's voice and it detracts from me enjoying their music. Because of this I don't listen to them all that often, but I am hoping that over time one of these times I will play an album and his voice will click for me, or at least I will be able to tolerate it. I'm pretty sure that I will be able to get it to grow on me eventually, but until then, I have a hard time listening to them. ------------- 
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Posted By: AtomicCrimsonRush
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 09:39
i will get hold of a few tracks to listen to this week and see how I feel. I guess i just dont want to be disappointed as I was slightly on thir previous album 'Bedlam...'
I love the band really but they are an acquired taste
Cheers -------------
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Posted By: harmonium.ro
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 09:43
Great post  BTW, you were exploring Omar's solo output sometime in the last couple of months, did that lead anywhere? |
Posted By: rushfan4
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 09:46
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 12 2010 at 15:55
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Omar has some really good solo stuff... Try The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange for some awesome craziness! I believe it features some members of the Mars Volta as well, but no Cedric so you might like it more. -------------
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Posted By: zerothehero76
Date Posted: May 13 2010 at 02:57
| I love the first two albums, and also like some of ORL's solo stuff (probably "Se dice bisonte" is my favourite one). And I've seen them twice, two great shows with tons of improvisation and fun! |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 13 2010 at 15:52
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^^ That's awesome! They actually played about 2 hours away from where I live last year but I wasn't able to make it... I wish I could have, I know it would've been great
Also, in a different topic, Does anyone know if TMV have any plans on releasing a DVD any time soon? Their website is not very up to date... -------------
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Posted By: Sckxyss
Date Posted: May 14 2010 at 07:59
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These guys are definitely a modern favourite of mine. My kind of predictable order of their albums: De-Loused (5) Frances the Mute (5) Octahedron (4) Amputechture (3.5) The Bedlam in Goliath (3.5) I've seen them twice live too. Once was after Bedlam and a lot of their songs were played out into extended jams which was awesome. The second time was after Octahedron, and it was much more of a typical song-oriented rock concert, but they did sound very good and Cedric's vocals sounded a little better. |
Posted By: Oliverum
Date Posted: May 16 2010 at 15:15
The Mars Volta is a band of great character. I am realitvely new to their music but i must say, Octahedron is my favourite. Earlier albums are a bit eccentric for my taste
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Posted By: javier0889
Date Posted: May 16 2010 at 17:06
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Octahedron isn't as crazy as the earlier albums, but if you compare them with those records, you may notice a sense of continuity between all them. Every album seemed to go in a different direction, but Octahedron works like a "missing piece" in TMV's sound, in my opinion. They are just getting better. |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 16 2010 at 19:31
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Yeah, I definitely think we'll see a much different album next time, with Octahedron being very much a transition album... I'll even go as far as to say that I believe their next will be their best... Let's wait and see what happens, though...... I really want to hear want kind of a drummer Dave is. I've heard he's the middleground between Jon and Thomas, and that sounds potentially great. -------------
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Posted By: Synchestra
Date Posted: May 17 2010 at 06:28
 ------------- 'Yeah, thats.. Whatever you're talking about for ya' - Zapp brannigan |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 17 2010 at 10:27
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hmmm... I seem to personally prefer Jon over Thomas... I believe he had more style and sublety -------------
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Posted By: Synchestra
Date Posted: May 17 2010 at 18:52
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Oh yea Jon is still my preferance, but you can't deny that Thomas' drumming fit like a glove on Bedlam. And he also did a fantastic job on Octahedron ------------- 'Yeah, thats.. Whatever you're talking about for ya' - Zapp brannigan |
Posted By: Nightshine
Date Posted: May 18 2010 at 13:14
 Right after Frances the Mute was released, The Mars Volta (as embodied by Harrison Ford) was looking around its kitchen one day. Then all of a sudden, there was the countdown for their next album... |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 18 2010 at 16:56
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Posted By: av
Date Posted: May 24 2010 at 04:36
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First of all, awesome band! The interesting thing is that through this band I found progressive music (probably something to do with my rather young age)!
First time I heard them was their debut De-Loused in The Comatorium somewhere in 2004, I was fourteen at the time. All those long, obscure songs left me a bit confused on first couple of times but there was still something that made me feel excited, now I realize that it was probably the hectic rhythm aspect and Cedrics over the top vocal parts that hit so hard, i was sold! I kept listening Comatorium all over again and I was amazed how everytime I found all those new little things inside the big picture and how the album just kept growing and growing! This is (beside the great music) probably the biggest reason why I look TMV so high, the fact that as young band as TMV is, their music led me to a whole new world of progressive music, I found all of those "Great Old Ones" as Yes, King Crimson, Rush, Camel, Jethro Tull etc. as well as all kinds of newer bands such as Dream Theater, Opeth, Circus Maximus, Pain of Salvation, Seventh Wonder.
Old school prog fans are probably eager to dislike this kind of younger and wilder prog band but The Mars Volta changed my life big time and probably has done and will do the same to many other music fan!
Since the release of Frances The Mute I have bought all of their records immediately after release and will do the same in the future.
Below the list of my Five:
-Amputechture
-De-Loused in the Comatorium
-Frances The Mute
-Octahedron
-The Bedlam In Goliath
Geez, squeezed a lot of praise on the page, hopefully someone is interested enough
 Cheers and rock on!
-av
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Posted By: Pekka
Date Posted: May 24 2010 at 04:51
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^Welcome to the forum I too found TMV early enough to build huge expectations for the release of Frances the Mute. It didn't disappoint and the same has happened with every release along the way, except the at times painful Scabdates. The Bedlam In Goliath was a really tough one to get my head around, but in the end it revealed itself to be another great entry to the TMV saga. I really love the calmer approach of Octahedron, that's my second favourite from them after Comatorium. Order of preference:
1. De-loused in the Comatorium *****
2. Octahedron ****½
3. Amputechture ****
4. Frances the Mute ****
5. The Bedlam In Goliath ****
6. Tremulant EP ***
7. Scabdates ** ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=42652" rel="nofollow - It's on PA! 
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Posted By: av
Date Posted: May 24 2010 at 05:18
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^Thanks !
Yeah forgot to mention Scabdates (rather chaotic experience
 ) and Tremulant which haven't found their way back to my player after the first few listenings...Edit: If i remember correct there's still a little bit of At the Drive-in vibe on Tremulant, (Cedrics and Omars previous band. Awesome stuff too!) ------------- Breathe in Breathe out http://www.myspace.com/constantineoffinland |
Posted By: Pekka
Date Posted: May 24 2010 at 05:23
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^Yeah, it can perhaps be seen as a bridge between AtDi and the full blown TMV style heard on Comatorium. Relationship of Command is indeed a pretty great album, haven't heard the other stuff.
Now make your way to this sub forum and tell us something about yourself: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=43 - http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_topics.asp?FID=43 Always happy to have new Finns here, but very few seem to stick around... ------------- http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=42652" rel="nofollow - It's on PA!
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: May 24 2010 at 16:24
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^ It's great to hear some people talking about the Mars Volta again! -------------
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... What a wonderful and strange band they are and I just had to start this appreciation thread... I can't believe no one else had previously done so...
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 07 2010 at 16:22
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Just wanted to let anyone interested know: TMV have entered the studio for pre-production! I expect to see an album by early next year!
Let's hope it's something fresh and different, and I believe it will be with Omar's new way of producing the songs:
http://stereokill.net/2010/05/the-mars-volta-begin-work-on-album-six/ - http://stereokill.net/2010/05/the-mars-volta-begin-work-on-album-six/ -------------
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Posted By: av
Date Posted: June 08 2010 at 01:04
Cool! I'm eager to hear the new drummer (and the rest of the record of course )! As brilliant drummer as Pridgen is, he was a little bit too much for me at times, I could really use some more of that amazing Jon Theodore vibe on the new record!------------- Breathe in Breathe out http://www.myspace.com/constantineoffinland |
Posted By: MaxerJ
Date Posted: June 08 2010 at 01:34
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TMV has been the best modern progressive band, at least for Deloused and Frances. I think the next two albums lost a bit of direction, but I also believe that was most likely studio pressure. Bedlam in particular sounded like a very safe album - bit of latin, bit of metal, lots of loud. But I know some people think it was very interesting and chaotic. Octahedron was at least a change to something new, and although I haven't heard much of the album, it seemed an interesting new direction. Omar is really the modern day Fripp in my eyes. He's bringing back that KC spirit... the 'Dionisiac' as some musicians call it. I just hope they can continue to move forward with new albums. ------------- Godspeed, You Bolero Enthusiasts  'Prog is all about leaving home...' - Moshkito
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 08 2010 at 12:17
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Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 08 2010 at 21:29
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This is my favorite band by far and i don't dislike any albums they've put out. I can't wait for them to finish the next album, it's gonna be way better than octa. I also really like Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's solo releases. His newest release Sepulcros De Miel is amazing. 1. Frances The Mute < I consider this album a masterpiece
2. De-loused in the Comatorium
3. Amputechture
4. Tremulant 5. The Bedlam in Goliath
6. Octahedron I think dave will make things a little less heavy than thomas yet still keep it heavy rock |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 08 2010 at 22:58
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^ I agree. I like all of their albums immensely.. though some are clearly better than others. Bedlam... (which recieves the most flack) was very good, I just kind of dislike the latter 3rd of the album. .. it gets a little too out of control and dissonant for me.
I'm not sure if anyone here has checked out http://www.TheComatorium.com - www.TheComatorium.com . It's a Mars Volta fan forum... it's pretty interesting. -------------
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Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 08 2010 at 23:03
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Yeah, there are some scary people on The Comatorium. Scarier than here even. It seems to attract a lot of people who listen to EVERYTHING EVER and they're very aggressive. Still, a lot of knowledge being dropped in the general music forum if you can get past the baptism of fire. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'VE NEVER BOUGHT A BLOOD BROTHERS CD, GET THE **** OUT! and so on.
I kind of agree about Pridgen. He was almost "too" good if that makes sense, like he kept on fighting for attention in songs that were so busy in the first place, it was inappropriate for the dummer to be stealing the spotlight. And Octahedron was apparently, in part, a middle finger to Pridgen because he and Zavala can't stand the sight of each other so they went for something with minimal drumming.
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 08 2010 at 23:54
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^ They can't stand each other? Haha -------------
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Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 09 2010 at 00:05
| Yeah, apparently it was personal differences, not musical ones, that lead to Pridgen's departure. Zavala is something of a dickhead according to some sources, and I've even heard it suggested that if it were not for Lopez, who is the leader and everyone respects, having Zavala's back, the rest of the band might've lynched Zavala long ago. |
Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 09 2010 at 00:19
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yeah i'm on the coma quite frequently, were just hard headed. Bedlam was written for thomas' drumming style. Omar definitely held him back on Octahedron for some reason. if i had a drummer with that kinda talent, i would utilize him to the fullest. Apparently cedric has some kind of restaining order against him or something idk haha. i dont look into the bands personal life. if there were no cedric tho, why even continue the band. the band is Omar and Cedic and the rest are the Mars Volta group. It's not confirmed that dave will drum for the next album though. it would be awesome if he did, but some think deantoni parks will join. i dont think that would happen though, why would it? jon theadore has been playing with juan lately which hopefully could mean he joins again!highly unlikely though. |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 09 2010 at 00:23
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Posted By: Kojak
Date Posted: June 09 2010 at 02:28
| Ah man, I love Deantoni Parks' drumming, that would be amazing, but I heard he may only be working on Cedric's solo output, but obviously, if that was going well, he could be invited to play on TMV's next album...?? |
Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 09 2010 at 02:50
| I'm pretty sure Jon's not coming back. He has said that he doesn't like their music. |
Posted By: Synchestra
Date Posted: June 09 2010 at 03:25
Sort of comparable to Bruford leaving Yes I suppose. But I agree I highly doubt hes coming back (pity, he has such flair, and his style matched TMV so well!) ------------- 'Yeah, thats.. Whatever you're talking about for ya' - Zapp brannigan |
Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 09 2010 at 06:10
| Yeah, that's why everyone was shocked when Jon said that. (He never made the comment until after he'd left.) Everyone was puzzled that someone could play material and mesh that well when they thought it was crap. How does he play when he's really into it? |
Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 10 2010 at 15:49
| Yeah, it's not super likely he'll come back, but I'm still super excited for lp6. there working on it right now, and apparently Omar is gonna let everyone collaborate this time. so it's gonna be good. |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 10 2010 at 16:58
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^ Yeah, the full collaboration will definitely make the next album something different (I think we can all agree on this), and hopefully something special. When do you all think the next record will drop?? -------------
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 11 2010 at 20:25
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Almost forgot: A new live DVD is in the works! Can't wait for it! -------------
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Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 05:07
| i have no idea, but i'm guessing they're probably gonna start advertising late fall/early winter. |
Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 14:16
| ^and i'm not sure about that dvd, they've been talking about it since amputechture. jon theadore is playing with juan and omar in japan w/vato negro. does that mean they made up? |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 15:21
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^ Oh really?! I hope they made up! I was just listening to l'Via l"Viaquez earlier today and that has some exceptional drumming from Jon. I do hope the DVD comes to fruition sooner than later. On Wikipedia it talked about a few Bedlam performances that were filmed for the "upcoming live DVD," so yeah, it's been scheduled to come out for a while but still hasn't.
Hopefully we see its release soon!
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Posted By: Kojak
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 15:53
| I haven't seen an interview with the guys since just after Bedlam came out 'cos they got all quote samey, but he said something about the dvd is being saved for when the have come to an end, not sure if that was an tease though..... |
Posted By: The Quiet One
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 18:01
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I'm really getting into this band, certainly one of the most creative ones from the new millenium and because of that alone it deserves all the respect they have. Can't say I'm a fan yet, I still need to get used to Cedric's vocals, but I get a lot of enjoyment from Frances the Mute, and I absolutely love 'The Apocalypse Inside of an Orange' solo album by Omar.
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Posted By: Synchestra
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 18:24
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If you aren't used to cedrics vocals, The Bedlam in Goliath probably isn't for you yet, he spends half the albums manipulating his voice in all kinds of fun ways ------------- 'Yeah, thats.. Whatever you're talking about for ya' - Zapp brannigan |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 19:32
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I was just listening to Bedlam and that album definitely doesn't at all deserve the crap it usually gets. It was a lot different from what they had previously done, but it's a finely crafted conceptual album; the music can sometimes seem overly-chaotic but it's just so good! Actually, if you check out Bedlam's page on Wikipedia, it got pretty great reviews.-------------
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Posted By: Synchestra
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 19:49
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Oh Bedlam is definately a great album, though the concept is a bit... I mean, its awesome but so weird. Wonder if their next album will be conceptual, I'd like it to be, I think their highly ambiguous lyrics plus a concept gives you hours and hours of possible meanings ------------- 'Yeah, thats.. Whatever you're talking about for ya' - Zapp brannigan |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 20:13
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Another concept would be pretty cool... that is, depending on what it is. -------------
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Posted By: JROCHA
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 21:11
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I like all the Volta albums alot, i have seen them live 5 times. My first time seeing them was in 03 when deloused first came out. It was their fist tour in support of their first album, and the played all of deloused!
Since then i have been a die hard volta fan. Its cool to have a have band that also incorporates their latin roots into their music. Being that i am Mexican american its cool they represent their heritage well at their live shows with mexican flags in their amps. great band! ------------- Somewhere out of a memory of lighted streets on quiet nights... |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 22:46
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Yeah, definitely a uniquely inspired band. Their Latin influences fuse well with their rock, metal and ambient styles. -------------
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Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 22:51
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Omar has suggested that it will never be released, but I hope that one day Frances The Mute II (which does exist) leaks out in some form. What happened is FTM was going to be 2 discs but the label wasn't really all that keen and there was a lot of band talk about how the album would suffer from a disc change anyway so it ended up confined to one, though the title track which couldn't fit on was released seperately. But they still had a whole disc of stuff left over so Omar went to work on it dressing it up as a sequel but apparently became a bit disturbed by the whole process and lost interest and nobody in the group really seemed into the sequel thing to begin with so it died and they recorded something off the cuff with no concept for a change in pace- Amputechture. |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 13 2010 at 23:09
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^ Holy sh*t! I never knew that! That would be awesome to hear. Yeah, Omar makes a lot of unreleased or trashed records... kind of a shame as I would love to hear them.
BTW: Anyone know how to Download Mars Volta bootleg mp3 or video shows? -------------
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Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 14 2010 at 15:53
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yeah love their latin/punk/prog influences. I've heard interviews where they make fun of metal music so i'm not sure if they're into that or not. the only reason it would've been a double album is if they released the title track on the actual record. FTM would be an hour and 30 min which doesn't fit on a single disc so they would have had to split it in 2 somewhere. they are gonna re-release a double vinyl with the title track, can't wait for that!!!!! if you want some amazing bootlegs you should check out this thread in the comatorium http://forum.thecomatorium.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=114276 - http://forum.thecomatorium.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=114276 . i recommend: 2003 - BBC, Maida Vale, London England 2004 - Club Quattro, Tokyo, JP 2005 - Santa Barbara Bowl, Santa Barbara, CA 2006 - Enmore Theatre, Sydney, AUS 2006 - The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA 2007 - Troubadour, Los Angeles, CA 2008 - Bren Center, Irvine, CA 2008 - Detour Festival, Los Angeles, CA I've seen them twice and i consider them the best live show i have ever seen |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 14 2010 at 18:48
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Awesome, thanks nevbox -------------
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Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 15 2010 at 04:42
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no problem man. those are just audio, probably a lot of flac's and mp3's. there is some great videos out there though. the coma has a lot to offer in that department, but watch out for douche bags. i video taped some of the detour fest show! I think the best videos are Nissan Live Sets, Lowlands 2003, The Troubadour 4/24/2003, Pukkelpop Festival 8/30/2003, Terminal 5 1/14/2008. i almost forgot, check out http://themarbleshrine.net/ - The Marble Shrine , it's the volta show gold mine. it's brand new and has everything completely organized. |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 15 2010 at 15:34
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Thank you again nevbox! The Marble Shrine is amazing, I just went to it. It's a very well organized site like you said... better than most sites in fact. I think I've found my new time consumer . Thanks again dude. -------------
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Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 16 2010 at 22:45
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haha no problem man, I'm glad you dig it. those guys at the coma have put so much work into The Marble Shrine. i think they've been working on since like 04 or 05 or something. I never really got good use of it cause i had everything when the site launched. I have a blog where i use to put volta shows but tms came out and i was like, why even bother. so i'm just putting the shows i record on the blog now. tomorrow i'm seeing and hopefully taping Juan Alderete's band Vato Negro with Jon Theadore on drums! and hopefully Omar plays, he has in the past. i'm stoked! |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 17 2010 at 12:06
That sounds awesome! I'd like to see it on your blog but too bad where I live high-speed internet is unavailable... so watching videos is pretty much out of the question for me... But Juan, Jon and possibly Omar sounds like a classic all-star lineup! Hope you enjoy the show.  -------------
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Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 17 2010 at 17:02
| Nevbox: No, there actually is an Frances The Mute II disc with additional songs. It's been mentioned in several interviews and in one Omar physically shows it to the interviewer but declines to play it. |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 18 2010 at 11:15
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Hmmm... I wonder if he'll ever release it; I have a feeling he won't. -------------
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Posted By: The Truth
Date Posted: June 18 2010 at 12:37
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The great thing about the Volta is that they get better the more you listen to them, they don't get boring. ------------- http://blindpoetrecords.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow">  
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 18 2010 at 13:00
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^ Very true. I was listening to Frances... the other day, and it really does get more interesting every time you hear it; there's just so much depth to their music. The Cassandra-suite is probably my favorite overall TMV song. -------------
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Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 18 2010 at 21:52
Really!? that's interesting. i wouldn't be surprised. some of omars solo stuff is scrapped volta stuff like old money. yeah i almost hated volta at first, but they grew on me super heavy. and almost every time i listen to any of their material i find something i havent heard |
Posted By: Synchestra
Date Posted: June 19 2010 at 04:46
)
Cassandra Gemeni in context with the whole album is a mindf**k and a half too ------------- 'Yeah, thats.. Whatever you're talking about for ya' - Zapp brannigan |
Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 19 2010 at 05:12
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Yeah, Omar has suggested that Frances The Mute II will never be released at all. I think the reason is partly that they were not that enthusiastic about it in the first place and partly that the band made a conscious decision to not do any more biographical works about dead friends. Julio's whole life got raked over by people who didn't know him as a result of Deloused In The Comatorium and while TMV tried a smoke screen with FTM it didn't entirely work. (In case you didn't know, the thing about FTM being based on a diary Jeremy found is complete codswallop. It's simply about Jeremy himself, his attempt to find his birth parents and his death of a heroin overdose. They pretended it wasn't in order to save him and his family the scrutiny Julio got for DITC.)
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 19 2010 at 09:44
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^ Hmmm... that's interesting. Yeah, I never really knew what Frances was about, but I remember hearing something about it being based on a diary or a journal, or something like that.
BTW: I wish TMV would update their official page once in a while..... There's also a ton of spam under the comments for their albums; it really sucks.-------------
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Posted By: The Truth
Date Posted: June 19 2010 at 09:55
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Sad part is... Their two best albums were about dead friends and now they've really dropped in quality... ------------- http://blindpoetrecords.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow">
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Posted By: warrplayer
Date Posted: June 20 2010 at 11:06
Sounds like the makings of a great crime novel. |
Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 20 2010 at 16:49
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Yeah, like they decide to arrange for John Frusciante's death or something because they can't record good albums without someone close to them dying. Or they're actually sacrificing them to Satan who rewards them with the power to rock.
*gets film rights*
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 20 2010 at 17:06
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^ Like in that god-awful movie Jennifer's Body lol. -------------
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Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 22 2010 at 20:46
| I have only heard the story that jeremy ward found a diary in a repossessed car. and it was his idea to make it into a concept album. he then died and tmv still made the album and dedicated to jeremy. I'm sure a lot of it might be about jeremy's od, but the concept itself is riddled with death after death, torture, rape, kidnapping, etc. What songs do think are about jeremy's death? |
Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 22 2010 at 23:16
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Discussing it in detail would involve me sharing things The Mars Volta themselves have asked people not to. The reason they disguised it in the first place was to protect Jeremy's memory, while still letting people view it as a tribute to him. But the entire thing is about Jeremy and the diary is Jeremy's own, not one found by him. |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 23 2010 at 09:25
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How did you find these things out? -------------
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Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: June 23 2010 at 16:13
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I got a bit obsessed with Frances The Mute and myself and some other people investigated.
Don't worry, I view the whole thing as foolish now. We had some idea that once we understood what Frances The Mute was about, some sort of "grand truth" would be revealed to us. We found some things out but there is no "big revelation" and never was one, it's just an album of music. I've never taken an album so seriously again, looking at the energy/time wasted on that was kind of a wake-up call. All we ended up doing was poking around into some very personal matters and then deciding maybe it was better not to know after all, we felt like a bunch of guilty pryers. Which we were I suppose.
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Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 23 2010 at 18:46
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Frances the Mute does seem like an album one could delve too deeply into... a very cryptic album. I've heard the title track and I wish it would have made it to the album; it really is a great piece of music. I've been reading a lot of interviews with Cedric and he seems to be a very liberal person. ...makes him even cooler in my opinion!-------------
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Posted By: Synchestra
Date Posted: June 23 2010 at 19:03
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The lyrics of Frances.. Really are fantastic, they're cryptic but you can actually get alot of meanings from them. Thats a quality I don'y find too often in their other works (though I do enjoy the way the words sound, which I believe is half the reason they're written that way anyway) ------------- 'Yeah, thats.. Whatever you're talking about for ya' - Zapp brannigan |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: June 23 2010 at 19:14
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^ Yeah, it's all a result of Cedric's writing and singing style... he ad-libs vocals at first to perfect the 'feel', then he adds the lyrics that make (more) sense later on. Brilliant guy. -------------
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Posted By: nevbox
Date Posted: June 26 2010 at 22:11
| ^yeah "Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo"and "La Tirania De La Tradicion" by omar are great examples of that. it sounds like he's singing words at first but he's not |
Posted By: progger7
Date Posted: October 28 2010 at 15:46
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i'm willing to give these guys a second chance. i recently heard a song from them and thought it was pretty good. it had like a psychedelic latin vibe to it. i'm not sure what turned me off on these guys the first time around. i might have heard some stuff from octahedron and i just checked that for some reason it's not as well received as their other stuff and some fans are losing hope for them for going in that direction. idk though... ------------- 
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Posted By: JLocke
Date Posted: October 28 2010 at 16:58
Who cares? If it's good music, that's all that matters, right? I myself am curious about that album, but have yet to really plunge into it mainly because I hated Bedlam. Octahedron is supposed to be mellow as you said, so perhaps It will change my mind about the band. As of right now, however, let me just say that I think they started out incredibly strong with their debut, then gradually got more insane and unlistenable as time went on. |
Posted By: Epignosis
Date Posted: October 28 2010 at 17:29
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Octahedron is a great album. Love every track. It shows TMV can be quiet and rock at the same time.
------------- https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays" rel="nofollow - https://epignosis.bandcamp.com/album/a-month-of-sundays |
Posted By: The Monodrone
Date Posted: October 28 2010 at 17:34
This. Nice to see this thread going again. -------------
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Posted By: Synchestra
Date Posted: October 28 2010 at 18:06
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Octahedron is a great mellow album, it takes its time and only really goes a little crazy once or twice (although when it does, it definately feels like a lesser version of any song on Bedlam)
Still, I can't help feeling its the weak link in their discography so far. Maybe I just prefer the Volta all crazy ------------- 'Yeah, thats.. Whatever you're talking about for ya' - Zapp brannigan |
Posted By: Textbook
Date Posted: October 28 2010 at 18:38
| Really? I thought most people agreed that Octahedron sucked. |