The Mars Volta - Octahedron
An admirable new direction...
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Apart from their resemblance to Mos and Richmond from The IT Crowd (Errr, what? – obviously-not-blind Ed), everything about The Mars Volta is very serious.
They have a wonderful sense of the fantastical, and are able to convincingly use fanciful stories from their own lives as an influence, both on their lyrics and music and as an exciting melodramatic backdrop to their already bombastic progressive rock albums. Take last effort ‘The Bedlam in Goliath’ for example: its recording was riddled with disasters and weird tomb-of-Tutankhamun-esque happenings, all attributed to a ouija board the band picked up in Jerusalem. Whether the stories are true or not is unimportant, as they add a vital element of gravitas and mysticism to the music that the band seems to be constantly looking for.
While there's no amusing back-story, the same is definitely evident in ‘Octahedron’ – a title that brings to mind mystic cults, or Kenneth Anger films. Speaking about the release in an interview last year, Cedric Bixler-Zavala said: "It's more mellow. It's a little more of what we consider our 'acoustic' side." And it does seem to be as close as the band will ever get to acoustic – while ‘…Goliath’ opened with the face-melting ‘Aberinkula’, ‘Octahedron’ opens with several seconds of silence, slowly building with weeping guitars and fiery vocals, which, perhaps as always with prog-rock, run a fine line between passionate and laughable.
Things run in a similar vein through the first handful of songs, with some menacing lyrics carrying most of the weight over some pretty standard compositions from the usually experimental outfit, with the creeping, cosmic introduction to ‘Halo of Nembutals’ providing the only real highlight. Fifth track ‘Cotopaxi’ kicks out the jams with a characteristically leaden riff; at the one-minute-thirty mark, just as the song seems about to explode into a solo, comes a fantastic switch around of reverb and guitar wash.
Unfortunately things don't really hold at this high point, and while ‘Octahedron’ as a whole is passably interesting, it just doesn't reach a level of experimentation that we've come to expect from the band. It's certainly admirable to take things in a different, musically ‘mellower’ direction, but The Mars Volta simply haven't dragged themselves far enough down their chosen path.
Words: Steven Garrard
6/10
The Mars Volta - Octahedron
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They look JUST LIKE THEM.
They look JUST LIKE THEM.
This summer, The Mars Volta
This summer, The Mars Volta is giving a handful of lucky fans the chance to check out Octahedron before it is released on June 23rd!
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This summer, The Mars Volta
This summer, The Mars Volta is giving a handful of lucky fans the chance to check out Octahedron before it is released on June 23rd!
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Omar's new label, Rodriguez
Omar's new label, Rodriguez Lopez Productions, is now accepting preorders for the vinyl version of Octahedron. Available as a gatefold, double white vinyl LP, it will begin shipping in early August.
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If you’ve not met Moss,
If you’ve not met Moss, Jen and Roy before, then here’s as good a place to start as any. As the IT Crowd of the show’s title, the trio find themselves relegated to the basement, only called upon when the company above them has a computer problem that needs solving. And as viewers of series one and two can testify, this provides a superb setting for one of the best comedy shows currently running.
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Any one of these tracks may
Any one of these tracks may have been an incongruously beautiful respite in the midst of a more hyperactive collection, but en masse the cumulative effect is dispiriting.
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They have a wonderful sense
They have a wonderful sense of the fantastical, and are able to convincingly use fanciful stories from their own lives as an influence, both on their lyrics and music.
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The Mars Volta played an
The Mars Volta played an epic five-song set at T In The Park today (July 10), showcasing their back catalogue to a buzzing audience on the NME / Radio 1 Stage.
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This may have taken place in
This may have taken place in the idyllic environs of Somerset House, and the band might describe their latest album, Octahedron, as "acoustic", but reports that the Mars Volta are now all about mellow vibes are exaggerated. Apart from the smartly dressed silver-haired man playing frantic air guitar and the young couple freaky-dancing, almost everyone else here stood stock-still, focused on the music.
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The Mars Volta is a Grammy Award-winning American progressive rock group formed in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala.
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The Mars Volta have announced a string of dates in the US, kicking off August 29 at Outside Lands Festival in San Francisco.
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As the IT Crowd of the
As the IT Crowd of the show’s title, the trio find themselves relegated to the basement, only called upon when the company above them has a computer problem that needs solving. And as viewers of series one and two can testify, this provides a superb setting for one of the best comedy shows currently running.
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Thanks for the review it
Thanks for the review it certainly makes it easy for us to judge new bands and see if they are worth our money.
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I have heard some positive
I have heard some positive feedback from those who know Mars Volta. But I myself haven't seen them nor are familiar with their music styles. I guess I'm just too backward in music. alvin at folding chairs | metal folding chairs
Their music is excellent. I
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Using lyrics from their own lives to influence the music is a refreshing change from some of the the dross that is around the market now. It gives the tunes some depth, i'll give them a listen, thanks.
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Despite the stunning
Despite the stunning open-air surroundings, a thick fug of weed smoke hangs in the air. Beards, skaters and scenesters cluster to the front of the stage and thins out to the back. This is not a packed house. Being a fan of The Mars Volta’s first album, the proggy masterpiece De-loused at the Crematorium, public interest in them has faded over the years as each successive album has disappeared further and further up someone’s arse - theirs presumably. As the six-strong band strode onto the stage and key members guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala took centre stage, it seemed for a brief minute that they would rock the house so to speak. Bixler-Zavala oozed alpha male confidence.
And then they started playing. And Bixler-Zavala began convulsing, gyrating, spitting, body popping and mic kicking, thrashing around like a dying eel, wailing over guitar wanks and staccato drums to unimpressive effect. Was this a parody? If it was, it wasn’t funny.
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The Mars Volta wrapped day
The Mars Volta wrapped day two at Outside Lands’ Twin Peaks stage with a thundering and delirious 90-minute set that drew Metallica’s Lars Ulrich and Robert Trujillo and their U.K. tourmates Mastodon to the side of the stage to gawk.
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For as much attention as the
For as much attention as the Omar Rodriguez-Lopez- and Cedrix Bixler-Zavala-led band affords the recording studio, the Mars Volta also has a stout reputation as a live act
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The Invisible’, at its
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Mars Volta albums don't come easy. The band makes thistly music, often with breakneck tempos and odd time signatures, stopping and starting with devious alacrity. The process behind the band's recordings has often been labored.
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He is known for his smooth,
He is known for his smooth, rich tone as well as his considerable virtuosity, including a cello recording of Niccolò Paganini's 24th Caprice for solo violin, Zoltán Kodály's cello sonata, and other demanding works.
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To many people in many
To many people in many cultures music is an important part of their way of life. Greek philosophers and ancient Indian philosophers defined music as tones ordered horizontally as melodies and vertically as harmonies.
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He noted that music has an "excellent power ...to expel many other diseases" and he called it "a sovereign remedy against despair and melancholy". He pointed out that in Antiquity, Canus, a Rhodian fiddler, used music to "make a melancholy man merry, ...a lover more enamoured, a religious man more devout."
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