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The Mars Volta
- Thread starter Limelight
- Start date
most definitly, delouced is my favorite cd by them by far, but francis is up there too
+1!Mars Volta is great!
most definitly, delouced is my favorite cd by them by far, but francis is up there too
Is it worth the buy? I've always heard Frances is more experimental.
or just plain made up
De-Loused was produced more for pop/radio, due to Rick Rubin's involvement in it. FTM and Amputechture are much more "personally responsible" albums.
Amazing band. Deloused is a good starting point for new fans, but after 3 or 4 years of listening to both frances and deloused, FTM is growing on me in a huge way. Once you get into the second half of that album, it is incredible.
oh, and awesome lyrics aswell, it's a shame they always come from some sort of tragedy in omar's and ced's lives.
ATD-I rocked aswell
oh, and awesome lyrics aswell, it's a shame they always come from some sort of tragedy in omar's and ced's lives.
ATD-I rocked aswell
The Mars Volta is one of my favorite bands. All around an interesting band. Every member adds something special to their sound. I am seeing them in a month. I've heard its rare if they play even a few recorded songs. And it's pretty common that they spend their whole set just jamming. Personally I don't care what they play, it should be amazing, and I'm very excited.
I've maintained that I liked At The Drive-In more than The Mars Volta, but I like TMV as well, especially if I'm in the right mood. I respect that they (primarily Omar) are following their own muse, and I'm always in favor of a band on a big label that pushes boundaries.
That said, they strike me as a bit overwrought and pretentious at times.
As for seeing them live, I saw them when they opened for RHCP in Oakland and was really disappointed. A big, boomy arena is certainly not the right venue for them, but even taking that into consideration, it was still pretty bad.
The mix was just complete mush. Cedric's vocals cut through a bit, but not enough to really hear any of the words to the songs. I think it would be cool to see them in a smaller club with a better mix, but that night it wasn't good. It didn't help that the majority of the crowd really didn't seem to dig them.
That said, they strike me as a bit overwrought and pretentious at times.
As for seeing them live, I saw them when they opened for RHCP in Oakland and was really disappointed. A big, boomy arena is certainly not the right venue for them, but even taking that into consideration, it was still pretty bad.
The mix was just complete mush. Cedric's vocals cut through a bit, but not enough to really hear any of the words to the songs. I think it would be cool to see them in a smaller club with a better mix, but that night it wasn't good. It didn't help that the majority of the crowd really didn't seem to dig them.
i like the mars volta great band but ive always been more of a fan of deloused over frances but maybe thats because i prefer flea's bass playing 
I was a fan of TMV back when De-loused was first released. FTM was a little too ambient for me, but I liked it for the most part.
Then I saw them live.
It was undoubtedly the worst show experience I have ever had. They were headlining the bill at Roseland Ballroom in NYC about 2 or 3 years ago with no bands to open for them. I was excited, but after standing around waiting for a solid 2 hours for them to hit the stage, I began to get a little impatient. They come on and the impatience subsides. That's about when my ears started bleeding. I do not know who does their level checks, but the mix was so loud that even with earplugs, it was painful to listen to. The guitar was far too loud, the drums sounded like banging on cans, and the vocals were incredibly shrill. Every other member of the band was inaudible, which is a letdown because I am a big fan of Juan's playing.
I still gave them the benefit of the doubt however because I have seen other bands at Roseland receive a lousy sound setup. I watched for about 2 hours. In that time frame, they played no more than 3 "songs" that were basically extended ambient sessions of noise embedded at certain points of their recorded work.
The moment they left the stage (I assume they did an encore), I bolted out of Roseland. Prior to that, I had never left a show early, let alone a show I paid about $40.00 for.
Every now and then I throw on De-loused when I am on a flight or taking a long drive, but I would never see these guys live again.
Then I saw them live.
It was undoubtedly the worst show experience I have ever had. They were headlining the bill at Roseland Ballroom in NYC about 2 or 3 years ago with no bands to open for them. I was excited, but after standing around waiting for a solid 2 hours for them to hit the stage, I began to get a little impatient. They come on and the impatience subsides. That's about when my ears started bleeding. I do not know who does their level checks, but the mix was so loud that even with earplugs, it was painful to listen to. The guitar was far too loud, the drums sounded like banging on cans, and the vocals were incredibly shrill. Every other member of the band was inaudible, which is a letdown because I am a big fan of Juan's playing.
I still gave them the benefit of the doubt however because I have seen other bands at Roseland receive a lousy sound setup. I watched for about 2 hours. In that time frame, they played no more than 3 "songs" that were basically extended ambient sessions of noise embedded at certain points of their recorded work.
The moment they left the stage (I assume they did an encore), I bolted out of Roseland. Prior to that, I had never left a show early, let alone a show I paid about $40.00 for.
Every now and then I throw on De-loused when I am on a flight or taking a long drive, but I would never see these guys live again.
I used to be really into Francis The Mute. I remember quite vividly when I bought it (the first week it came out, the local record store had it on sale for like 7.95), brought it home, put it into my cd player, and right after the intro to Cygnus melted away to the sort of spastic onslaught they do so well a ****-eating grin appeared on my face and wouldn't go away. (As a side note I remember being introduced to the Dillinger Escape Plan with Under The Running Board and thinking that D.E.P. does in seven minutes what T.M.V. do in seventy)
I saw them live in 2005, sandwiched between Bad Acid Trip (awesome band, sounds like grindcore/powerviolence on, appropriately enough, acid) and System Of A Down for SOAD's Mezmerize/Hypnotize tour at some arena in Worcester, Mass. They sounded great, they were the only band I've ever seen whose sound was actually enhanced by the fact that they were playing in an arena, so the sound had all kinds of space to reverberate and echo around. They came out to the Mexican, or maybe the Spainish National Anthem, promptly cut into the first three cuts from Francis and blew us all away. That was a hell of a show, actually. All three bands were on their A-Games. If all goes to plan, I'll be seeing them the second time on the 9th (at Higher Ground, In Burlington, VT), so I'll post back my feelings on seeing them in a much smaller venue.
I saw them live in 2005, sandwiched between Bad Acid Trip (awesome band, sounds like grindcore/powerviolence on, appropriately enough, acid) and System Of A Down for SOAD's Mezmerize/Hypnotize tour at some arena in Worcester, Mass. They sounded great, they were the only band I've ever seen whose sound was actually enhanced by the fact that they were playing in an arena, so the sound had all kinds of space to reverberate and echo around. They came out to the Mexican, or maybe the Spainish National Anthem, promptly cut into the first three cuts from Francis and blew us all away. That was a hell of a show, actually. All three bands were on their A-Games. If all goes to plan, I'll be seeing them the second time on the 9th (at Higher Ground, In Burlington, VT), so I'll post back my feelings on seeing them in a much smaller venue.
ATDI was epic.........but for The Mars Volta...i gotta give it to their Deloused work. Because it reminds me of going to iraq. And because musically its top notch.
Planet Boulder
Hey, this is a private residence...man
- Nov 10, 2001
- 4,014
- 65
- Disclosures
- I once had impure thoughts. Oh, and I pluck my ear hair.
"The Bedlam in Goliath" to be released 1/29, but, as expected, it's been leaked (and no, I don't download leaked music).
Supposedly, this one is a bit of a departure for TMV, which doesn't bother me because I'm pretty much convinced that I will like virtually anything that Juan & Co. do (EXCEPT for the crying baby at the beginning of Scab Dates ).
The reviews I've seen thus far (well, they aren't really "reviews" as much as "comments" by downloaders) have been all over the map, but most have said that it may take longer to get accustomed to this one.
Supposedly, this one is a bit of a departure for TMV, which doesn't bother me because I'm pretty much convinced that I will like virtually anything that Juan & Co. do (EXCEPT for the crying baby at the beginning of Scab Dates
).The reviews I've seen thus far (well, they aren't really "reviews" as much as "comments" by downloaders) have been all over the map, but most have said that it may take longer to get accustomed to this one.
