Scorpeze explains it all…

The Mars Volta – De-loused In The Comatorium (2003)/Frances The Mute (2005)

Some would say that it would be extremely unfair to call The Mars Volta the Led Zeppelin of the new millennium. So we wont say that. But goddamn if the shoe dont fit.

The Mars Volta is a rock band consisting of vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and mastermind/composer/producer/guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. The whole thing is Rodriguez-Lopez’s brainchild. Omar is a tiny Latin man whose creativity knows no bounds. After breaking up their critically acclaimed band At The Drive In, Cedric and Omar created The Mars Volta so that they could stretch out musically. It was also a way to deal with their newfound drug-free lifestyle. After many years of abusing heroin and crack, the duo decided that if they wanted to live they had to get clean. At least for Omar, this new musical freedom replaced the drugs. Omar writes music constantly. Seriously. He has released about 10 solo albums in the past 5 years alone all while doing albums with The Mars Volta.

Coming from the El Paso, TX punk scene, it can be said that Omar and Cedric are very weird dudes. They are all about abstract art, mysticism, and what lies beneath the surface. Cedric frequently writes and sings Spanish lyrics that are largely just made up words (check the song titles for reference). Even though there are loose themes, no one really know what Cedric is talking about, including Cedric himself. Most of it is just poetic free association designed to keep the listener searching for a meaning until they ultimately make up the meaning for themselves. Omar is even more far out than Cedric. But the real point to it all is that their music grooves harder than a motherfucker.

The thing that separates TMV from its peers is that the hardcore rock that Omar writes is armed to the teeth with Latin soul and complex funky rhythm. The easiest way to put it would be to fuse Santana, Fania Records, and Led Zeppelin–what you have will be pretty damn close to The Mars Volta. Im sure they would hate for it to be that easy, but its the truth.

Even though you couldnt call them retro, you cant help but to be reminded of the groove laden rock of the 70’s when listening to TMV. Yes, the guitar is the core, but you will just as often hear marimba, congas, organ, and piano. Instead of just power chords, you can hear Omar scratching out a funky ass lead guitar line.The icing on the cake is Cedric’s voice. Vocally, he is the son of Robert Plant. He emits a soulful high-pitched howl that reeks of a classic rock vocal tone. Dude is a bad ass singer, seriously. For these albums, the drummer was a Haitian brother by the name of Jon Theodore. If Omar’s funk psychedelia under Cedric’s soul wail wasnt enough to get you thinking about hedgrows and black dogs, Theodore’s rhythmically serious pounding pretty much excuses you for wanting to bust out Physical Graffitti after these albums are done.

Dont get it twisted, TMV are definitely not biters or clones. The soul they spill is far more authentic than Zeppelin, and much more dirty and dangerous than Santana’s Latin rock brew.

With all that these boys have going for them, they do suffer from one Achilles’ heel. They. are. pretentious. as. fuck. The wigged out concepts, the 15 min songs, the psychedelic babbling, the made up words, the dungeons and dragons nerdiness of it all can easily put one off. And it has for me. These first two albums are as good as they get in my opinion. The albums that have followed see the boys becoming far too indulgent in their weirdness. The focus is on being strange now rather than rocking the shit out of you. Its what happens when the artists takes themselves way too seriously and spend too much time trying to think above their audience’s heads. The success of De-loused and Frances gave Omar license to pump out loud mystic drivel that only makes sense to him and Cedric.

The rest of the band is along for the ride. Surrounding themselves with top-notch musicians such as the aforementioned Theodore, bassist Juan Alderete, keyboardist Ikey Owens and whoever the hell else is around (which includes Red Hot Chili Peppers Flea -who played all the bass on De-loused and John Frusiciante-who appears on every TMV album, and Theodore’s replacements Deantoni Parks and Thomas Pridgen), TMV albums are a clinic of fine playing. After De-loused and Frances, the grooves went missing and messy weirdness was left in its place.

Despite all of that, TMV has hardcore devoted fans. Some feel that the subsequent albums are improvements. Let them enjoy. For me, when I want to hear some truly exciting, soulful, funky, and blistering rock music, these are the albums I will reach for.