Jueves 31 Ene 2008, 10:01
Epic, bombastic, enigmatic, manic, elaborate, all these words aptly describe The Mars Volta's sound. Their music has a methodical way of throwing you for a loop, standing you on your head, and eventually placing you back, not on earth, but whatever planet The Mars Volta came from. Each song, either live or recorded, encapsulates this phenomenon. A firm groundwork, a groove even, is laid. Then, before long, the floor is ripped asunder as you fall through their chaotic world of mysticism and hallucinogenic sights and sounds.
Their din is unrelenting. Yet what seems to be in disarray is actually highly structured. That's not to say that improvisation doesn't occur. Contrary, they execute much like a jazz troupe. Each is vigilant of the other. If one meanders a dark mysterious path, whether it be blistering guitar work from Omar, a frenetic drum solo, an interlude from the latin percussion, or moans and squelches from Cedric, the others release themselves from their mediative state to join in the voyage of uncharted waters.
These elongated voyages last quite a while, but they never seem to wear out their welcome. Patience, concentration, a sort of discipline, is demanded of the listener as to not get lost in the group's frenzied, oracular and dense creations.
Overall, this is what a The Mars Volta show is all about. It's the voyage. It's the seemingly linear route that ends up being anything but. Ultimately, recovery occurs when solidity takes hold again. When that shred of familiarity from the beginning is brought back. Live, each song is a microcosm of this event, and it happens over and over. It's like an epic spin cycle of uncompromising fervor and cryptic intensity.
Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of), Tetragrammaton, Ilyena, Wax Simulacra, Goliath, Cygnus...Vismund Cygnus, Drunkship of Lanterns, Meccamputechture, Day of the Baphomets, Metatron