The Mars Volta

[Muff Wiggler]

haven't seen much discussion about them here at KVR

am I the only one who is just blown away by this band? best 'heavy and loud' thing to come along in ages (at least since the last TOOL album anyway) in my opinion

man those lyrics are dense and I'm trying to make sense of it... having read the Deloused storybook it's making a bit more sense....

also it's got me looking up all sorts of terms like 'auto da fe' and using babel fish to translate stuff from spanish

this is cool from a band....it's usually only Umberto Eco and Thomas Pynchon books that send me off to do research.

Anyway, I have to say that I find Frances the Mute more 'mind blowing' and 'impressive', however I listen to Deloused a lot more often, as it doesn't require as intense dedication of the ear to get into.

How is the Tremulant EP? I haven't heard that one.

Any other fans? Man I would love to see these guys live. I like heavy and loud music when it is this good, but in my experience that is very, very very rare, so i don't usually listen to heavy music.

i sort of feel like The Mars Volta arrived just in time to save heavy music and kick ass again....which is long overdue. f**k, I just can't get enough of this band

thanks

[Hovmod]

http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic ... mars+volta

[Jason Brian Merrill]

I have the albums, I still have to really digest the music, but i think i like them, its one of those bands you definetly cant just load up and say "wow I like this alot" in my opinion. Very deep stuff. Like a non-anal dream theater, but more intelligent. (Love DT btw, just my observations)

Im gonna put that cd on now... come to think of it...

[herodotus]

I love this band, as I also love At the Drive In (my wifes fave band recently). They are very different from each other, but they both have that manic edge.

Man can Cedric sing!

Its a shame about the mastering of 'Frances The Mute'. If you get a chance look at some of that album in a wave editor.

One long two by four.

Shame, really.

[The Chase]

I dont like their CD's much, but they throw down a KICK ASS show...

[MacQ]

I saw them open for System of a Down ... and honestly, it was just one long prog-rock jam session. Which I guess is okay for people who like that (like lots of people here), but System totally wiped the floor with them. And that from a 4-piece, verses Mars Volta's ... um ... 11-piece. Sure, it looked cool, but there's only so many meter changes and break-downs that you can take in 45 minutes, you know?

Don't know their records, so I can't really comment. It was loud, though, and skillful ... just ... pretentious.

~MacQ

[herodotus]

Sure, it looked cool, but there's only so many meter changes and break-downs that you can take in 45 minutes, you know?

Actually, there are way more meter changes in the 35 minutes of Stravinsky's 'The Rite of Spring'.

And that was written over 90 years ago.

[Katanaman]

I love this band, as I also love At the Drive In (my wifes fave band recently). They are very different from each other, but they both have that manic edge.

I haven't heard Mars Volta yet, but At the Drive-in are one of my favourite bands. It's funny, I was listening to Relationship of command when I saw this thread.

Man can Cedric sing!

And this is what drew my attention. He kicks ass. I love his vocals. He really takes the music to another level. Also, he's god on stage, it appears. BUT... I don't think he can actually sing. He usually does better at screaming. He tends to have trouble with singing in tune... I'm speaking from listening to At the Drive-in, by the way, maybe his vocals have an entirely different character in Mars Volta...

[herodotus]

He tends to have trouble with singing in tune... I'm speaking from listening to At the Drive-in, by the way, maybe his vocals have an entirely different character in Mars Volta...

They have a TOTALLY different character.

It is actually kind of shocking. He is absolutely on pitch over a bizarrely big range of like three octaves.

[Muff Wiggler]

i've never listened to ATDI - what's a good album to start with if you are coming from being a big TMV fan?

[Reverse Engineer]

i've never listened to ATDI - what's a good album to start with if you are coming from being a big TMV fan?

Vaya or Relationship of Command.

I bought Frances the Mute, but have yet to listen to it completely (bought it when it was released too ) DITC is pure class though as is the Tremulant EP.

[mojogigolo]

when im in the right mood, MV are great but when im not, i never make it through a whole cd. much respect to them and their haircuts though.

edit - and i personally think cedrics voice is pretty spot-on pitchwise, at least in the mars volta stuff (i have no drive in music)

[ghost666]

Yeah they rock but as others mention above... they're an aquired taste I think... & not something thats on my stereo often.
But then - I own a record store & nothings been on my stereo more than once in ages!
I just got Scab Dates which is cool.
Looking forward to seeing them in January at the Big Day Out Festival.

[thisdude]

good cd band. not so great live. if you look at deloused in an editor, you can tell why they're so loud. they just compressed the sh#t out of the whole thing. it looks like a solid bar with zero dynamic range. it hurts my ears when one of their songs comes up in my cd changer following any other heavy band. bad mastering imo. shame.

[Voidoid Surrealist]

If I really hate ATDI, would it be a waste of my time to check them out, or are they so far apart from that sort of thing that I would never even make the connection?