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The Mars Volta

#21
de-loused got me good. it's a great and cohesive (very important with this band) album.
i remember gettin frances the mute and listening to it for the first time. i was on the train, and when cygnus hit, i nearly started screaming on the subway. :D still is my favourite song.

yeh, their live shows are kinda hit or miss. i've seen them twice in a smaller venue (avalon, R.I.P.), and once at the Garden w/ RHCP. their garden show was awful, sound-wise. plus jon theodore wasn't there (jury is still out on pridgen).
i told one of the sound engineers that the mix was awful, and that omar's guitar is always waaaay too loud.

can't wait for bedlam.
 
#22
I really enjoy both The Mars Volta and At The Drive In.

IMHO the best way to listen to them is through a good set of head phones since there is SO much going on in the mix... very cool.

I have seen them on TV (Henry Rollins show I think) and though they were fun to watch they sounded like ass...

Had been keeping tabs on where TMV were playing next so I could maybe catch em live someday but after reading the reviews here of their live shows I think I'll pass and just use the money for the next TMV releases!!
 
#26
I love their CD's and I love them live. Seen them twice. Their live show is so increadible, its like one long song that doesnt stop, and every now and then you'll shout "Holy ****, thats drunkship of lanturns!" etc. They really are epic, there has never been a band like them, and there is unlikely to ever be a band like them again!
 
#27
I love all of TMV's work. My favorite songs are Eriatarka and meccamputechture. Incredible stuff.

However when I saw RHCP a year back, they opened and I just could not tell what was being played. I recognized two songs but the rest was just indescernable. However, it wasn't a wall of sound, just kinda muddy, but I still enjoyed it. However, unbenounced to me my drummer was at the show too, near the front (I had crappy seats) so the sound issue probably got worse for him. Unfortunately, he believed TMV to suck intensely after that and now refuses to listen to them or acknowledge them as brilliant musicians, which is a shame becasue there is some incredible drumming on all of these records.
 
#29
I love Deloused, and really really liked Frances the Mute. I can't get into Amputechture, though... I didn't find it as original or creative as some had suggested... just more formulaic and incoherent. That's just my initial impression, though every time I hear a cut from that album I don't enjoy it all that much.
 
#32
I saw them live before I knew who they were. They opened for A Perfect Circle when I saw them. Lacking a knowledge of their music at the time, I'm not sure which songs they played, but I can tell you it was amazing. I know it was Frances era stuff. However, they never once stopped playing. It was 45 minutes of straight music with zero pause.

I love all of their stuff, but Frances has some of my favorite tracks, particularly Cygnus... Vismund Cygnus and L'Via L'Viaquez. Day of the Baphomets on Amputechture has a really cool bass intro that you may want to check out.
 
#33
No one has mentioned their FIRST album

the Tremulant EP (might have spelled that wrong--the cd is at my office)

freaking awesome.

TMV aren't for everyone, and even get annoying for fans, but when you're simply in the mood for experimental wacky post-prog, they are this millenium's best choice.
 
#34
I'm listening to "The Bedlam in Goliath" at the moment. It's as straightforward as any Mars Volta record can be. Even though I still maintain that I like At The Drive-In more, I have to say that so far this is my favorite TMV album.

I like Juan's tone quite a bit this go round. I still see them having trouble getting a good mix live, but at least the recorded mix is a lot better without being overly polished. They go a bit heavy on the vocal effects at times, but still, I'm digging it for the most part.

The longest track on the album is 9:32 and two are under three minutes (Wax Simulacra and Tourniquet Man) showing that they are capable of distilling things down for greater impact.
 
#35
The Mars Volta is without a doubt my favorite band. I've missed only a select few of the shows here in Southern California...and I was lucky enough to have the chance to watch them during the SF New Years show.

Watching them live is what really hooked me to the band. But due to the extremely large size of the band, it's important to be closer to the sound board because the sound gets a bit muffled in other areas, but there are also other nice areas to listen to them live, just all depends on the venue really. I'm actually seeing them here in Soma (hopefully) on the release date of TBiG and again the next day (for sure) in Irvine.
 
#37
A couple of years ago I heard that Racer X's John Alderate plays in another band and I thought, "Wow, great. Have to listen to it!!" Of course I expected something like the Racer X metal (which is one of my favorite bands ever), man ......was I wrong.
I can't listen to TMV for too long, maybe 3-4 songs. Though I really like their uniqueness, they just sound to wierd for me.
 
#38
I remember seeing them open for the Chili Peppers in Portland. They were having technical difficulties, and at one point all of their instruments cut out in the middle of Drunkship of Lanterns. It was hilarious to hear this giant wall of cacophony suddenly stop all at once.
 

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