A PERFECT TRANSITION BETWEEN STYLES // The Mars Volta - Eriatarka // Composer Reaction & Analysis

[@pechondelgado]

Brian, you gotta just do the whole album already my guy!

[@crystalskunk3658]

The riffs can't be denied

[@ericnowak9497]

Oof, that is some serious teasing hearing the outro cut out instead of going straight into Cicatriz. Can’t wait for him to get to that groove.

[@michaeledwards6683]

i instinctively sang “do you recall its name?” as the song ended

[@SanskarWagley]

this whole album is amazing

[@ignoblesavage5559]

The drummer is Jon Theodore, currently playing for Queens of the Stone Age, since 2013. Bloody brilliant drummer, & TMV regrets letting him get disgruntled bc of the authoritarian way they ran the band. If they could have found a way to challenge him without being condescending, they could have continued the hot streak they were on over the 1st 3 full length albums indefinitely. So yes, "the drummer's absolutely killing it."

[@snarfbomber298]

You’ll also notice he’s the drummer up until Bedlam in Goliath. Look up the backstory on that one and it becomes clear why he might have had enough.

[@greggerypeccary]

Real sad to see him wasting his time in Queens of the Crap Age... he was great in Golden, too.

[@ignoblesavage5559]

@greggerypeccary oh, I'm a huge QOTSA fan. Especially the albums Like Clockwork, Songs 4 the Deaf, & In Times New Roman, but basically all of it. It isnt nearly as experimental, but since JT joined in 2013 he's slowly been able to have more & more freedom to create. He's less jazzy & proggy & more groove-oriented, but if you see them live, he still cuts loose with some TMV-era stuff on the kit.

[@OTProd]

This was the first song I heard from TMV wayyyy back in the day. I couldn’t understand how a single drummer could play that chorus. It felt inhuman. Now I play this song all the time and still love it every time. This album is a masterpiece. One of the greats.

[@SpeedOfThought1111]

yeah cedric is one of the most interesting lyricists i've ever heard for sure. brilliant abstract subconscious poetry type stuff. he even invents new words sometimes.

[@DavidWilliams-ic1nn]

first full album you got it. they had an EP before this and i LOVED it! Tremulent EP I believe.

[@--Spooky--]

Really need to do "take the viel carpin taxt" off this album

[@Ilyena225]

Awesome review as always! I figured this would be a bit more digestible (I knew how you'd react to the ending LOL). You'd enjoy Wax Simulcra from their Bedlam in Goliath album. It's 3.5 minutes and probably their most straight forward song with a more metall-y(?) sound. Once again, awesome review dude keep it up! I generally share the same thoughts and opinions as you, even though this is one of my favorite bands. I prefer the more natural feeling post-hardcore vibes in their songs.

[@DavidWilliams-ic1nn]

way more digestible. a good starter album for people to check em out...doesnt hurt that it is just brilliant, too

[@ronaldmcdonald8168]

Check out De Facto! That's Omar and Cedrics dub project they were doing at the end of at the drive in and right before the mars volta. Cedric plays drums. Very cool stuff! Great reaction by the way!

[@educostanzo]

Their song Vesica Pisces is completely bonkers

[@Sir_Blobfish]

I’m a TMV homer. So I am biased. But I LOVE the evolution of this band (and Omar solo for that matter). Their most recent album is nothing like anything else they did and I love it just as much.

[@bachache9833]

theres a bit of interpretation of this album storywise but heres what ive gathered from being a fan for so long. the main character apparently is depressed and abusing substances in mass, the first song (inertiatic esp) lets us know of pock marked skin and grafting which indicates heroin overdose and stuff like that. anyways when this song plays in the album, its the main character overdosing in the hospital as he is literally tripping balls while the surgeons try to impulse his pulse back into him, he thinks they are monsters and that's probably why alot of the lyrics seem superficial and trippy because it's what the main character is seeing lol. anyways i dont want to spoil what happens later in the album incase you wanna do a full album review thatd be very nice for this band!

[@CriticalReactions]

That makes a lot of sense and grounds the lyrics a little bit more.

[@andrwarrior]

I read somewhere that it's best to just interpret the lyrics as a cacophony of words that fit the music. I've been listening to them for years, and never stressed about trying to understand or interpret anything but a grand narrative. Delving into each line might just pound out the wrinkles of my brain

[@Koncs86]

Read the De-loused storybook and they'll make a lot more sense... if you're willing to put in the interpretive work. Which is anything but a casual undertaking, to be fair.

[@progrockplaylists]

goosebumps and uncontrolable headbangs. recipe for success

[@mickjager]

I will never get tired of that drum fill at 5:26 (in the video, 4:06 in the song). Such a fun song to play! The album is indeed a concept album, and while all the lyrics make very little sense on the surface, those nonsensical lyrics are a perfect stylistic fit for the story being told. The story is actually very moving, especially if you follow along with it musically instead of only lyrically, just like you seemed to grasp the story of this track more from the music, rather than the lyrics. I highly encourage you to check the album out in full, it's a classic!

[@gonzalodavidvazquezgonzale5796]

Great to see you coming back! even tho you dont like them😂 I think deep inside you are starting to grow on you❤

[@voiceofshade]

first ever song of them I listened to on some random rock radio station around 20 years ago. I`ve been a TMV fan ever since :)

[@taterhamster]

I've always felt that last chorus variation viscerally. Every chorus prior in the song has a very jerky spasmodic feel from the other instruments (especially the drums). Then the final chorus comes in and the drums are in a more rigid form (to use your term) and the guitar is doing a normal strumming pattern. All of a sudden the chorus is very *smooth* feeling. Kind of like the difference between staccato and legato. It's like frantically stumbling around in the darkness and then you emerge into the light. Possibly there is a lyrical thematic reason for that happening, I'm not sure--but I always appreciated how they were able to translate that into the feeling of hearing it.

[@drosera88]

The dog heads for hands is another reference to Pavlov, known for using dogs in experiments and studies on conditioning.

[@Kev-Bone]

You will be SHOCKED when you learn about the whole concept of this album

[@communionshaped]

wait until he finds the entire book written alongside it

[@big_bunga]

yeah do more volta

[@sapperlott]

When ATDI split, some other members formed Sparta who also have some pretty nice stuff out there

[@makjak111]

I am shocked we haven't done this yet

[@progperljungman8218]

But we have - now 😊

[@marcusedwards8283]

I was/am a big ATDI fan and Mars Volta fan, but the band with the other members from ATDI called Sparta, might be my favorite of the three. Highly suggest checking out their first album "Wiretap Scars". There albums "Porcelain", and "Threes" are also great. Great vid as always man!

[@michaeledwards6683]

there are some good emo tracks on that debut

[@l3p3rM355i4h]

The At The Drive In song you did was Quarantined IIRC, if you really want to hear the genesis of The Mars Volta sound you should check out At The Drive-In's Vaya EP, really you should do a react to the whole EP. It seems like the further back in their catalogue the more you like their music and Vaya came out between In/Casino/Out (also a banger of an album) and Relationship of Command so I think you'd really dig it.

[@Sir_Blobfish]

In 2005… their shows were unreal. Jon Theodore would play most of this album and most of Frances. Finishing with Cassandra. How he did it. I still don’t know.

[@feintcircles]

The first time I saw TMV after Frances came out they played for almost 3 hours. It was incredible ! Made me a fan for life.

[@thequadglaser1983]

This is one of the best songs from this album in a sea of great songs. I saw them live, it is definitely one of my top five concerts. There was no opening band so they played for almost 2 hours, it was amazing! May I recommend a song for a reaction even though I'm not a patron? No Dog by Esben and the Witch is a really great song by them.

[@varisfinndesign]

There is a short story book that can be downloaded for free to accompany the album that is just called De-loused In The Comatorium. Since this is a concept album and the lyrics are so overindulgent in cryptic detail, it will help you follow along with the story. Cedric, the singer, is a chicano and said that it plays into how he writes, kind of an identity crisis which creates difficulties in clarity, especially with the conjoined words to explain an idea. Also, Cedric tends to make a Shakespearian attempt in word salad to explain a simple phrase or idea to where it is easy to get lost. Omar, the guitarist and the idea man behind the music tends to write the music in a very emotive and initial reaction state. He says that he tends to write music out as he feels in the moment and not manipulate it too much from what he felt and the music meant at the time it was made. It's his personal diary entry, if you'd like. P.s. Paul Hinojos, the Bassist from ATDI eventually joined TMV to do rhythm guitar work and I believe some sound engineering and/or manipulation work.

[@damn_fiddle]

i agree with points, tho they americans that knows their heritage language, Cedric in Asilos Magdalena is sooooo good

[@varisfinndesign]

@damn_fiddle Cedric said that growing up he knew a little Spanish, but he didn't speak it as well as a Mexican living in Mexico would. He eluded to the fact that the Mexicans he knew didn't really consider him Mexican, and the Americans would typically identify him as Mexican. So one group lumped him into another group that didn't except him, and he said that the stigma at that point in time where he lived made it difficult to be a Chicano, especially based off his looks.

[@communionshaped]

actually they had a Dub Reggae band called De Facto that they did immediately after breaking up At The Drive In! I would highly recommend checking out some of their stuff off of “Legende Du Scorpion A Quatre Queues”

[@JC19667]

The 3 song Tremulant EP was their first recording after At The Drive In.

[@michaeledwards6683]

after de facto**

[@JC19667]

@@michaeledwards6683 We're talking about Mars Volta recordings.

[@michaeledwards6683]

@@JC19667 i meant as far as cedric and omar’s career goes

[@JC19667]

@@michaeledwards6683 I understand that but during his reaction he said that Deloused was Volta's first release.

[@michaeledwards6683]

@@JC19667 i understand

[@schi7m0]

hoping for a whole Bedlam in Goliath album reaction!

[@michaeledwards6683]

cedric has an accelerationist philosophy towards language

[@Hornswoop]

You should also check out Antemasque, the band Cedric and Omar formed after The Mars Volta ended. It's a bit of a revert back to the sound of At the Drive-In. They only released one album, allegedly there's another one recorded but still unreleased to this day.

[@eulerianpath6355]

The mars Volta actually has a 3 song EP they dropped before this album which has even more “ At the drive in “ within it

[@Sir_Blobfish]

Including my all time favorite song by them Concertina.

[@varisfinndesign]

The Post Tremulant Version of "Concertina" is amazing and highly recommended for a reaction.

[@greggerypeccary]

There was also the version of Cut That City on the split CD with The Apes and Les Savy Fav (which I have buried somewhere in the closet...).

[@coolvad3r]

Eunuch Provocateur blew my mind open in 2002. LOVE that first EP.

[@aagloworks]

My friend described Mars Volta in 2004 like this: "take Carlos Santana's band, give them Speed (the drug), and put Björk (Icelandic musician) on vocals"

[@eatingtrees9077]

You might come to appreciate the noise outro as you get used to hearing it lead into the next song. I was SO ready for Cicatriz ESP, but of course it didn’t happen.

[@joseluna6890]

I think the best way to listen to or get into The Mars Volta is to listen them in chronological order Tremulant EP, De-loused, Frances, Amputechture, Bedlam, Octahedron, Noctourniquet , and TMV.

[@nrran6835]

I was SHOCKED at how much I enjoyed the last one. It isn’t anything like what I thought it’d be, but an honest almost bedroom pop album about some real life shit in plain English was super refreshing from them

[@progperljungman8218]

When they emerged, I just thought they were a great and truly original modern prog band. Didn't know then what Post-hardcore core was... 😅 That said, I do believe they've become more closely associated with prog/art rock and this was what settled that (although I've come to realise they had some different expectations on them)

[@greggerypeccary]

That's strange, because I got the impression everyone who was a fan early on knew them because of ATDI... we knew them from the demo and looked forward to the album coming out (and got to see them live at the Astoria, just before they got big and started doing festivals).

[@michellelee3379]

Man I'm gonna sound mean but I've followed you for a few years now. This is my favorite reaction. I've followed you listening to my favs like karnivool. You ain't ready for volta baby

[@michellelee3379]

They're so interesting signature time wise but also IDK I've been obsessed since I was 18 and I'm 37. 🥺

[@michellelee3379]

Please check out John frusciante next bc he works with Omar alllll the time. Froosh is on tmv albums and also Omar is all over John's albums.

[@michellelee3379]

I would recommend uhhhh acoustic Wednesday's song or 666 (which I can hear Omar in) or cut-out. Omar is all over his album "inside of emptiness"

[@CriticalReactions]

To be fair, I don't think I'll ever be "ready" for TMV because they're not really my jam. I can appreciate them from afar, and I enjoy aspects of their work, but I don't think I've heard a song from them that's totally clicked with me. And that's fine. We all have different tastes and that's what makes humanity great. I'm in my late 30s too and, while I hate to say it, I can feel my tastes locking into place. Maybe one day I'll come back to TMV and be blown away, really getting it. But I also have a hard time envisioning that given how drastically my music preferences would have to shift for me to find their music consistently enjoyable. With that said, I kinda hope this comment ages terribly :)

[@michellelee3379]

@@CriticalReactions heyyy it took me years to even enjoy tmv. Music is different for everyone. I appreciate your take on my favs. Volta is very hard to acclimate to but they're so good. Please watch blacklight shine, tourmaline and equus 3 🥰

[@Chris-ko7ov]

Production was made by Rick Rubin. Omar and Cedric really had trouble with Rick's direction, mainly because of Rick's obsession with perfecting the voice in the mix. They don't have positive things to say about Rick even after this album skyrocketed and is one of the best productions from them (according to people). Omar got into the production as well because they didn't like Rick's approach, so I believe it could be a clash between two different mind sets over one mix lol. I don't think the weird choices were a side effect of this, but probably just Omar and Cedric being Omar and Cedric. They released the original unfished mix of this album when they got the rights to this tracks after years of fighting for them for some legal issue I believe. It's called "Landscape Tantrums".

[@crouchingtiger9108]

This album was produced by Rick Ruben.

[@JC19667]

The outro leads into the next song.

[@jeffreyletourneau299]

This album and Frances are the peak of prog.

[@iroveashe]

It's amazing that like half of their songs are in 3/4

[@slimefudge]

BoI WHERES Cicatriz esp??=??

[@Sir_Blobfish]

Hilarious that KZbin wants to translate this to English. 😂

[@neilpatrickhairless]

The OR-L bullfighter gallop riffage is strong on this one

[@Koncs86]

As you have surmised, this is a concept album telling an overarching story. De-loused is actually based on a story written by Cedric, which the album essentially retells. It's no wonder nothing makes sense to you, you've been dropped into the middle of a story that's being told in the most esoteric way possible... 😂 Only when you get a sense of the story's subject and the way they go about telling it do the lyrics even begin to become digestible (and even then only by methodically looking up and cross-referencing the myriad symbols and metaphors). All things considered, you have actually made some reasonably insightful comments! 💪👍😂

[@themadcow71]

Flee on bass!

[@CriticalReactions]

For real? That's wild!

[@l3p3rM355i4h]

@@CriticalReactions Flea does almost all the bass on this album, and I think John Frusciante plays guitar on Cicatriz ESP? I know he did a lot of guitar for Frances The Mute and Amputechture. He's also the reason why Omar and Cedric got back together to create music after they had a split.

[@ivanmendoza5767]

@@CriticalReactions Flee also plays trumpet on Frances The Mute

[@bigwengz914]

yep, this was the shit. this song got me into hardcore drugs lmao

[@educostanzo]

I don't think the lyrics are meant to make sense, it's more surrealism than poetry, to create more a vision in your mind than a narrative. Same thing with the noisy parts, it's more ambient music than anything else, like the structure of the song dissolving into something abstract before coagulating into the next.

[@alibabaschultz352]

This album sounds a lot like other records of its time... which is what drove me away from the band initially. They became much more original and unique as time went on, which seems to be your kryptonite. A true artist understands the rules and breaks them intentionally.

[@CriticalReactions]

I don't think originality is my kryptonite but I do value moderation of experimentation in my casual listening. I like music that pushes the boundaries of what music is but usually just within the perspective of sheer knowledge. I value TMV for exploring new grounds but so far there's little that I would listen to for enjoyment. I put them in a similar group of eclectic music creators like Autechre or most avant-garde jazz.

[@alibabaschultz352]

@@CriticalReactions Thats fair. Sorry for the presumption.

[@Mark_Moody]

Is this not deja vu?