67. The Mars Volta – De-Loused in the Comatorium

 

The Mars Volta was formed after the breakup of  the band At the Drive-In and remains to me, one of the most difficult to classify bands of all time. De-Loused in the Comatorium is probably best classified as some type of progressive rock with some jazz and latin influences. This concept album deals with a man battling his evil self while lying in a coma and is based on a real life artist and friend of the band. I’m going to be honest, the strangeness of Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s vocals and the barely coherent lyrics have made it almost impossible for me to ever get into the concept behind the album. I have no idea what any of the songs are about. Similar to System of a Down (actually a fitting comparison in a lot off ways) I can sing along to most of the lyrics on the album while understanding virtually none of them. There is an insanity about the music on this album that you seriously cannot find anywhere else. It also has an up and down momentum that keeps you constantly guessing whether the next note will be intensely violent and fast, or groovely passive and slow. It sounds like the instruments are often at war with one another trying to out-noise every one else. This album will sing you to sleep before slapping you back awake consistently for an hour. Even more so than System of a Down, the album can sound like nothing more than chaos and people banging on things and yelling for the first listen. However, with each subsequent listen, little sections start to stand out. A guitar part will take away your breath for 30 seconds and you WILL become addicted to these moments eventually falling for the entire album. The album also contains huge sections of ambience amid the chaos. For a long time I wondered why this was until I realized: They need to play this live! The lulls provide a bit of rest for the band and for your ears. Speaking of which, Cedric’s voice is definitely one that takes getting used to and can initially feel like a dying parrot imitating Matt Bellamy yelling. Once you warm up to his voice though, it really is some beautifully violent vocal work. In fact, I love his vocals so much on this release, it permanently lowered my love for all their more recent releases when he alters his vocal style. The album was coproduced by Rick Ruben and Cedric had this to say about working with him:

“He’s got this thing about representing the common man’s ears—I’d rather jab the common man’s ears. If we don’t, we’ll never get to a place where future music exists.”

In this sense I think the album perfectly succeeds at both jabbing the common mans ears and creating a completely unique form of “Future Music” that I believe has yet to be duplicated even by the band themselves.

Fun fact #1: Flea of the Red Hot Chili Peppers plays bass on 9 out of 10 of the tracks on the album

Fun fact #2: When I first met my fiancé, it was a mutual love for this album that was considered a first step towards a possible relationship! So get to know your Mars Volta. It will get you a wife.

What does it make me feel like?

 

Like I’m bashing my head against the wall and (maybe its just the head trauma) but I’m strangely loving it

What to Listen for Track by Track

 

– 1:14 of Son Et Lumiere when the sharp of rhythm guitars start stabbing you in preparation for the first real track

– That shocking first second of Interciatic ESP that completely JOLTS you awake! Everything is on top of its game here. Cedric’s vocals are chilling. The lighting drums rolls make you wanna headbang harder than ever and the guitar and keyboard parts are mesmerizing. I must also mention the carnival part at 3:18. A masterpiece of a song!

– When Cedric just starts YELLING over the first verse of Roulette Dares, and the song completely slows down for some chill sections before bringing it back to 11! The chorus is also one of my favorites on the album.

– Drunkship of Lanterns…. This song probably most clearly represents the content of the album as it constantly speeds up and slows down with some addictive danceable drums and Cedric going back and forth between cooing and belting insanely over the most intense bass parts on the album. Specifically 2:31 is my favorite moment on the entire album as the song’s energy bursts forth at 100% assaulting your ears with its hypnotizing melody.

– The first minute of Eriatarka may trick you into thinking the band has finally decided to tone it down but its aggressive chorus and insane drumming will quickly convince you otherwise. The song continues with this back and forth constantly keeping you on your toes.

– This leads directly into the behemoth almost 13 minute Cicatriz ESP. The song definitely has a more traditional structure for the first minute and a half with a more verse chorus structure and instruments that are more toned down (for them). Then all the sudden, everything drops out, and things once again step towards insanity. This album will make your ears bleed on first listen as you just cannot anticipate when the album will go from quiet to loud. The song has the albums most ambient moments but makes sure to end in chaos once again.

– The distortion of Cedric’s vocals are my favorite part of This Apparatus Must be Unearthed with my favorite vocal moments happening at the 3:49 mark.

– Things FINALLY slow down for real on the hypnotizing Televators with beautiful results

– Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt is a fittingly chaotic ending to the album devolving into a long experimental electric jazz fusion guitar performance. The last minute and half EXPLODES back for some of my favorite moments on the album before literally ending a cliff hanger! Those last 30 seconds are INTENSE!

Example Track

73. Porcupine Tree – In Absentia

 

Porcupine Tree… Such a beautiful picture comes into my brain when I hear that. The same probably does not happen to you if you’ve never heard the band. That sounds like a tree you would not want to get near. Porcupine Tree actually started out as a joke. Steven Wilson and Malcolm Stocks created a fictional band called The Porcupine Tree including an elaborate back story that aped psychodelic rock bands of the ‘70’s that they loved including Pink Floyd. Think Spinal Tap without the movie. Instead Steven recorded several hours of music that served as evidence of the bands existence and they continued to develop insane stories to further the hoax. Steven started to realize that the music he was making might actually be able to make some real impact and started releasing material as Porcupine Tree. You can find a fuller version of the story on Wikipedia but lets just say that they went from a fake band in the time period of Pink Floyd, to an actual band that started making music that sounded much like the music Pink Floyd should be making and gathered quite a following. In Absentia is the first album by Porcupine Tree that I was exposed to and also my favorite. At this point the band was taking strides away from psychedelic rock and more towards progressive rock and metal.  I can best describe In Absentia as a mix of Pink Floyd and Cold Play’s neglected love child raised by Opeth. The album is full of deep eerie sounds, ethereal falsetto vocals, whining guitars and some seriously kick ass bass and piano. It can get pretty dark and heavy at times. This is mostly due to the fact that Steven Wilson befriended Mikael Åkerfeldt of Swedish metal band Opeth at this time. In Absentia is definitely the softer sister album to Opeth’s Blackwater Park(my favorite Opeth album, which Steven Wilson helped write). The similarities in sound of the two albums are pretty astonishing. In Absentia is a very loose concept album that focuses on people on the fringes of society; from serial killers to child molesters to wife beaters. Like I said, the album has some pretty dark subject matter. That being said, the album holds up because of its varied sound. One song will have a light pop melody and sing-a-long chorus while the next will devolve into 4 minutes of eerie drums, bass and ambient noise while guitars shriek over the top. This is not an album to be missed.

What does it make me feel like?

 

A scavenger in a post-apocalyptic world, just trying to survive. One Minute I’m witnessing the beauty of a landscape behind and abandoned city, the next I’m being attacked by cannibals.

What to listen for Track by Track?

 

– The first crashing of overwhelmingly powerful guitars 20 or so seconds into Blackest Eyes

– I love Trains! The acoustic guitars are beautiful. And the way Steve Wilson sings the opening verse. I love that slightly twinged accent. When the bass and drums fill out the song, and he says “Sixty ton angel, falls to the earth.” And the chorus! So beautifully catchy! And then 2:56! Thos vocal harmonies! Could it get better? Yes! At 3:18! The clapping! Did I mention I love Trains?

– Lips of Ashes…. Once again there is just SO MANY GOOD PARTS! The opening chimes and the guitar kind of swirling into the sound getting louder and clearer. The whole song just has this amazing build. The way Steve keeps building vocal harmonies on top of one another, and then this amazing guitar solo starts to join in before taking over the rest of the track!

– The Sound of Muzak has a chorus that is just a wave of beautiful vocals.

– Gravity Eyelids  seven minutes of haunting beauty and the instrumental part that starts a little after the 4 minute mark is absolutely perfect heavy angst.

– The bass line of 3 sets the mood for the whole song. And the way Steve’s vocals kind of flutter in and out always gives me chills.

– Heartattack in a Lay By continues the beauty streak on the album with some amazing and chilling vocal harmonies.

– Collapse the Light into Earth is the perfect closing track. It takes a more musically apathetic and peaceful tone than anything else on the album and is a truly beautiful break up song. The piano captures the emotions of the lyrics perfectly. When I had my first breakup, this song was on repeat.

Example Track

Song of the Day 01/16/13: The Mars Volta – This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed

If you’ve never listened to The Mars Volta, it can be a bit shocking to the ears. However, once you let it get into your head, there is just no escaping its allure. This song perfectly encapsulates the kind of crazy sound I love about the Mars Volta with its constantly changing style and its all over the place vocals. The vocal are I think what maintains its status as the best Mars Volta album. Later albums settle for some more normal vocals(for the Mars Volta, not for any other band) that just never capture the shrieking heights they achieve on this album. A funny story about thie Mars Volta. When I first hung out with my fiance years ago, I asked her what bands she was into. She responded with “The Mars Volta” in a voice that was all, “Dont try to get to know me, you are nothing like me and could never listen to the cool obscure music I’m into”(but in like a sexy way, not a bitchy way). My response was “REALLY??? I LOVE THE MARS VOLTA!” And do you know what she said? She said she didnt believe me! She thought I was making it up to get closer to her. I actually had to pull out my Ipod and show her that I had the band on there to get her to believe me. But it was the first strike as I chiseled away at her iceberg of defense against suiters. And the story has a happy ending!

Song of the Day 11/02/12: Scars On Broadway – Babylon

Ive been listening to a lot of Serj Tankian (Frontman of System of a Down) over the last couple weeks and Ive still yet to find a single song that blows my mind like System of a Down did. I can only come to the conclusion that it is because he no longer has this man at his side. Daron Malakian’s side project Scars on Broadway has faired a bit better and I might say that Babylon is the only song to come out since their hiatus/break-up that I’ve fallen in love with. Seriously guys. We need a new System album.