hippy
ONE<br>love, blood, life
<img src="http://forum.interference.com/gallery/data//585/16762Bedlam_sml.JPG" alt="" />
<strong>By Luke Pimentel
2008.01</strong>
The Mars Volta rang in the New Year by ? of all things ? going acoustic.
During a self-organized bash at San Francisco?s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, lead guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and rhythm guitarist Paul Hinojos sat down for an intimate forty-minute set that included songs both old (?Televators,? from their debut LP) and new (an as-yet untitled song still in development). It was an unprecedented treat for longtime fans, but also a reminder that the band is capable of some truly impressive melodies, when it wants to be.<!--more-->
You won?t find much in the way of melody on their latest, though; <em>The Bedlam in Goliath</em> is all about rhythm and musical interplay. Continuing a path laid out by 2006?s <em>Amputechture</em>, they?ve all but abandoned traditional song structure with their new album; it?s a non-stop blitzkrieg of riffs designed to show off the band?s considerable technical prowess, with little in the way of respite from the storm.
I suppose it was inevitable that the Volta would make an album like <em>Bedlam</em>; certainly, the events surrounding its creation do not suggest a collection of peppy love songs. Much of it was inspired by a difficult year-long period in which the band switched drummers three times, had its studio flooded, and had fully-completed tracks mysteriously disappear from its computers, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bedlam_in_Goliath" target="_blank">among other things</a>. Ringleaders Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez blame the trouble on an ancient Ouija-style board purchased in Jerusalem, which they say released tortured spirits that proceeded to wreak havoc on the band and themselves.
Uh <em>huh</em>.
Whether or not you believe the supernatural explanation for the wild events, the story is certainly not out of character for a band whose history has been fraught with turbulence.
<img src="http://forum.interference.com/gallery/data//585/16762Bedlam.JPG" border="0" alt="" />
It is good news, then, to report that <em>Bedlam</em> finds the band sounding as tight and together as they ever have as performers. New kit basher Thomas Pridgen ? a 24 year-old prodigy who could exhaust a drum machine ? is the perfect counterpart to longtime Volta bassist Juan Alderete, and together, their rhythm work owns much of this album. For his part, Rodriguez-Lopez has trimmed back his penchant for epic-length guitar soloing, and the jam freakout interludes that punctuated prior albums are not as prevalent here. Isaiah ?Ikey? Owens ? who, in the past, often seemed to be playing in a band of his own with his keyboard fills - here provides a more organic sonic texture to the music, while still throwing out enough spacey sound effects for a dozen Pink Floyd albums.
All this musical evolution belies the fact, though, that <em>The Bedlam in Goliath</em> is the least accessible record they?ve ever cut. They?ve taken the progressive elements of the band and pushed them past 11 to about 18 or so; everything about <em>Bedlam</em> is dense and difficult. It?s also <em>loud</em>, and <em>heavy</em>; Pridgen?s thundering kickdrums make them sound mere degrees away from crossing over into metal territory. Add in layers of psychedelic guitar noise, malevolently distorted growls, and Bixler-Zavala?s high-pitched, double-tracked vocals, and we?re a long way from the Morricone trumpets of <em>Frances the Mute</em>. It?s easy to imagine some sixteen year-old who fell in love with ?The Widow? scrambling for the door when this snarling, shrieking beast of an album proceeds to devour their stereo speakers. Make no mistake, kid ? this ain?t your slightly-older-brother?s Mars Volta record.
One has to admire the band for being willing to risk their commercial hides in following their own path, but it is also a bit frustrating to see them sacrifice tunefulness as they turn increasingly inward with their creative process.
Still, <em>Bedlam</em> has great moments. It is not a dull listen. Certain passages are strikingly ornate, and it contains some of their finest work ever as performers. Many of the licks are memorably crunchy, particularly on early tracks like ?Aberinkula,? ?Goliath,? and lead single ?Wax Simulacra.? But as actual ?music,? it all-too-often seems lost in its own cacophony. Perhaps - like Mr. Bungle?s <em>Disco Volante</em> ? the album will reveal its own twisted logic with the repeated listening it demands.
One thing?s for sure: it certainly won?t change any existing opinions on the band. Supporters will continue to view them as envelope-pushing visionaries who challenge the conventions of rock while still putting in appearances on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH11YFqMoB0" target="_blank">Letterman</a>;others will ostracize them as indulgent wank artists who are one step closer to a future of cultist exile, like fellow prog-rockers Yes and King Crimson before them.
Let?s see what the New Year brings.
<em>For more information about The Mars Volta, please visit the band?s official website at <a href="http://www.themarsvolta.com." target="_blank">http://www.themarsvolta.com.</a></em>
<strong>By Luke Pimentel
2008.01</strong>
The Mars Volta rang in the New Year by ? of all things ? going acoustic.
During a self-organized bash at San Francisco?s Bill Graham Civic Auditorium, lead guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and rhythm guitarist Paul Hinojos sat down for an intimate forty-minute set that included songs both old (?Televators,? from their debut LP) and new (an as-yet untitled song still in development). It was an unprecedented treat for longtime fans, but also a reminder that the band is capable of some truly impressive melodies, when it wants to be.<!--more-->
You won?t find much in the way of melody on their latest, though; <em>The Bedlam in Goliath</em> is all about rhythm and musical interplay. Continuing a path laid out by 2006?s <em>Amputechture</em>, they?ve all but abandoned traditional song structure with their new album; it?s a non-stop blitzkrieg of riffs designed to show off the band?s considerable technical prowess, with little in the way of respite from the storm.
I suppose it was inevitable that the Volta would make an album like <em>Bedlam</em>; certainly, the events surrounding its creation do not suggest a collection of peppy love songs. Much of it was inspired by a difficult year-long period in which the band switched drummers three times, had its studio flooded, and had fully-completed tracks mysteriously disappear from its computers, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bedlam_in_Goliath" target="_blank">among other things</a>. Ringleaders Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez blame the trouble on an ancient Ouija-style board purchased in Jerusalem, which they say released tortured spirits that proceeded to wreak havoc on the band and themselves.
Uh <em>huh</em>.
Whether or not you believe the supernatural explanation for the wild events, the story is certainly not out of character for a band whose history has been fraught with turbulence.
<img src="http://forum.interference.com/gallery/data//585/16762Bedlam.JPG" border="0" alt="" />
It is good news, then, to report that <em>Bedlam</em> finds the band sounding as tight and together as they ever have as performers. New kit basher Thomas Pridgen ? a 24 year-old prodigy who could exhaust a drum machine ? is the perfect counterpart to longtime Volta bassist Juan Alderete, and together, their rhythm work owns much of this album. For his part, Rodriguez-Lopez has trimmed back his penchant for epic-length guitar soloing, and the jam freakout interludes that punctuated prior albums are not as prevalent here. Isaiah ?Ikey? Owens ? who, in the past, often seemed to be playing in a band of his own with his keyboard fills - here provides a more organic sonic texture to the music, while still throwing out enough spacey sound effects for a dozen Pink Floyd albums.
All this musical evolution belies the fact, though, that <em>The Bedlam in Goliath</em> is the least accessible record they?ve ever cut. They?ve taken the progressive elements of the band and pushed them past 11 to about 18 or so; everything about <em>Bedlam</em> is dense and difficult. It?s also <em>loud</em>, and <em>heavy</em>; Pridgen?s thundering kickdrums make them sound mere degrees away from crossing over into metal territory. Add in layers of psychedelic guitar noise, malevolently distorted growls, and Bixler-Zavala?s high-pitched, double-tracked vocals, and we?re a long way from the Morricone trumpets of <em>Frances the Mute</em>. It?s easy to imagine some sixteen year-old who fell in love with ?The Widow? scrambling for the door when this snarling, shrieking beast of an album proceeds to devour their stereo speakers. Make no mistake, kid ? this ain?t your slightly-older-brother?s Mars Volta record.
One has to admire the band for being willing to risk their commercial hides in following their own path, but it is also a bit frustrating to see them sacrifice tunefulness as they turn increasingly inward with their creative process.
Still, <em>Bedlam</em> has great moments. It is not a dull listen. Certain passages are strikingly ornate, and it contains some of their finest work ever as performers. Many of the licks are memorably crunchy, particularly on early tracks like ?Aberinkula,? ?Goliath,? and lead single ?Wax Simulacra.? But as actual ?music,? it all-too-often seems lost in its own cacophony. Perhaps - like Mr. Bungle?s <em>Disco Volante</em> ? the album will reveal its own twisted logic with the repeated listening it demands.
One thing?s for sure: it certainly won?t change any existing opinions on the band. Supporters will continue to view them as envelope-pushing visionaries who challenge the conventions of rock while still putting in appearances on <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BH11YFqMoB0" target="_blank">Letterman</a>;others will ostracize them as indulgent wank artists who are one step closer to a future of cultist exile, like fellow prog-rockers Yes and King Crimson before them.
Let?s see what the New Year brings.
<em>For more information about The Mars Volta, please visit the band?s official website at <a href="http://www.themarsvolta.com." target="_blank">http://www.themarsvolta.com.</a></em>
