Mars Volta -- De-Loused in the Comatorium
Universal Records; 2003

It's been said that from destruction comes creation. On De-Loused in the Comatorium, Mars Volta puts this phrase into practice. Born from the loins of the late At the Drive-In, Mars Volta created a huge buzz based solely on one EP and their live shows. If there is a time to believe the hype, it's now, as De-Loused in the Comatorium encapsulates all the fury and creativity Mars Volta can offer in album form.

De-Loused in the Comatorium runs the gamut of musical genres in order to narrate the story of a friend in a coma. Through the course of its ten songs, the album provides frantic avante-rock, bombastic Latin rhythms, sprawling ambience, and programming that could make lap-toppers jealous.

Vocalist Cedric Bixler provides his most astounding vocal performance to date with a delivery that varies from crooning to shouting in your face. His raging falsetto gives his cryptic and strangely poetic lyrics like "Exoskeletal junction at the railroad delayed" the punch they need to be convincing. Guitarist Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez provides blazing guitar lines that are equal parts classic rock riffing ("Roulette Dares [The Haunt of]") and punk rock pummeling ("Drunkship of Lanterns"). The outrageous rhythm section provided by recruited bassist, Flea, and drummer, Jon Theodore, ensures that hips will be shaking and heads will be nodding. Not be forgotten is sound manipulator James Ward (R.I.P.) who put his unique twist on each song to create a curiously epic feel.

In fact, De-Loused in the Comatorium feels like one ambitious voyage the whole way through -- each song containing several movements (of sorts) to keep the listeners' interest. This epic feel is only aided by the smooth transitions from song to song. With tracks that span upwards of 12-minutes, it's incredible how Mars Volta rose to the challenge to keep their sound fresh and repetition to a minimum. De-Loused in the Comatorium is a musical masterpiece that captures the soul of Mars Volta in a way the hype could only imagine.

posted by Steve at 9:30 PM