Breaking a decade of omertˆ, The Mars Volta reawaken from their lengthy hiatus with an eponymous album that radically reshapes their paradigm. Formed by guitarist/composer Omar Rodr’guez-L—pez and singer/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, The Mars Volta rose from the ashes of El Paso punk-rock firebrands At The Drive-In in 2001. On a mission to Òhonour our roots and honour our dead, The Mars Volta made music that fused the Latin sounds Rodr’guez-L—pez was raised on with the punk and underground noise he and Bixler-Zavala had immersed themselves in for years and the futuristic visions they were tapping into. The following albums were one-of-a-kind masterpieces, their songs breathtakingly complex and powerfully emotional immediacy. After the group fell silent, a legion of devotees (including Kanye West) kept up an insistent drumbeat for their return. Now a year after La Realidad De Los Sueños, a luxurious 18-LP box set compiling their back catalogue, sold out its 5,000 print run in under 24 hours Ð, the duo are back, accompanied this time by founder bassist Eva Gardner, drummer Willy Rodriguez Qui–ones and keyboard-player Marcel Rodr’guez-L—pez. This album shakes loose some of The Mars VoltaÕs long-standing shibboleths, and the dizzying, abrasive prog stylings of earlier albums are absent. Instead, The Mars Volta pulses with subtle brilliance, Caribbean rhythms underpinning sophisticated, turbulent songcraft. This is The Mars Volta at their most mature, concise, and focused. Their sound and fury channelled to the most significant effect; The Mars Volta finds Rodr’guez-L—pez's subterranean pop melodies driving Bixler-Zavala's dark sci-fi tales of the occult and evil governments. Distilling all the passion, poetry and power at their fingertips, The Mars Volta is the most accessible music the group has ever recorded.
