|
Taken from HubCitySPOKES (Jan 22, 2022)
THE MARS VOLTA - De-Loused In the Comatorium/Frances The Mute/Amputechture/The Bedlam in Gotham
[Limited LP pressing] (Clouds Hill)
by MIK DAVIS
The Mars Volta Vinyl Collage |
All hail the rule breakers. All hail the bands who alleviate their so-called "boredom" by creating music that sets them to fever pitch in the hope that others will follow. El Pasko's At The Drive-In were on the cusp of a breakthrough with their Hardcore meets Post Rock. Several memorable TV performances (still on YouTube) made them the band of the moment. Pressure, a van accident and general dissatisfaction deflated ATDI too quickly.
However, the band's core duo Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala had something else in mind. A completely new sound. Brash and Progressive. The latter could bring up comparisons to Seventies bands like Yes and ELP taking things so over the top it could be discerned as self-indulgent. Over these four albums, The Mars Volta made music that was, if anything, more self-sacrificial. As monstrous as their riffs could be and as loud as they could howl and shred over it, there was a different form of release for those who listened. Their lyrics still read with total abstraction, but Cedric Bixler-Zavala delivered them with the force and passion of a singer who made you believe.
"De-Loused" was frenetic and enigmatic mixing the slam of Punk with labyrinth Latin rhythms. It was not afraid to Rock or simply churn away at you like a King Crimson album would. "Frances The Mute" remains their masterwork. Written in tribute to a fallen member, it is both mind-blowing and poignant. Like a modern Alternative/Punk/Metal version of Yes' "Close to the Edge," it adds so much to their multi-layered sound (most notably Dub and Ambient.)
However, it never sounds threaded together. Side One ("Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus" and "L'Via L'Viaquez") plays to their superhuman tendencies but always sounds human. "Amputechture" even pushes Jazz Fusion into the mix, while "The Bedlam in Goliath" incorporates more Funk. Their sound over these four albums stays as dense as Metal yet really allows you to hear all the music the band is drawing together. In the end, the legacy of The Mars Volta is contained here. Four albums that still have no comparison and still reveal musical mysteries and lyrical wonders to be unraveled.
|
