I can repost my post from "Best Albums"? Please? I don't think enough people saw it, and it took me a really long time, so I'd love for it to at least be acknowledged ;_;>

The Mars Volta's De-Loused in the Comatorium




Words alone cannot express how much I love this album. No matter whether you're into Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, At the Drive-In or even Radiohead, this album may appeal to you. I say 'may' because the Mars Volta are a very unique band -- their guitarist uses a gajillion different effects pedals and is very competent, their drummer has an impeccable sense of rythym and is amazingly creative, and their singer, who has a high pitched voice comparable to that of Robert Plant, except a bit more shriek and tone to it, is, in my opinion, the greatest vocalist at conveying the many emotions this album makes one go through, ever. While these guys are not for everyone, those who they are for can realise the power and raw, sheer emotion that this album goes through.

The album is based off of a short story that vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala wrote about a friend, Julio Venegas, who killed himself. The protagonist of the story is Cerpin Taxt, who puts himself into a chemical-induced coma, and upon waking from it, (Televators), deems that the real world is too much of a burden for him and kills himself. Understanding the premise can helpo one make sense of the lyrics and fully understand the emotion of the album.

Now to make sure EVERYBODY WHO GLANCES AT THIS knows how much I love this album, I'll do a write-up of each track. I apologize that most of the videos are amv's, damn weeaboos.


1. Son et Lumière [1:35]
The opener, isn't necessarily a full track in of itself (best paired up with the following track, Inertiatic ESP) is somewhat slow-paced, with drums and heavy guitar coming in to follow the beat (rather erratically) at about 1:15, whereas before a simple guitar accompanied some soft vocals. Son et Lumière is a French phrase meaning "sound and light."



2. Inertiatic ESP [4:23]
The first 'real track' of the album. Starts off with a chorus that is a perfect showcase of Cedric Bixler-Zavala's vocal ability, and turns into a downbeat verse powered by by chief guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala are the cheif members of the Mars Volta, with other musicians contributing frequently [drummer Jon Theodore, keyboardist Ikey Owens] and others occasionally [Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist Flea, who plays bass on all the songs of this album) 's wah-wah scales along with a somewhat panicked vocal delivery by Bixler-Zavala. The song codas into a soft, luscious (yes, I just used the word luscious to describe an outro) interlude-type thingy to end the song.



3. Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) [7:30]
Starts off with a furious riff and some great vocals. Segues into this very beautiful piece with some of the best drumming I’ve ever heard. Not too over-the-top, but is unique and fits the song and setting perfectly. All in all a good combination of fury and soft verses that are very ballad-like. Almost romantic. Almost.



4. Tira Me a las Arañas [1:28]
An interlude-ish thing, in the vein of Son et Lumière. Starts off with an acoustic, folky guitar bit, and eventually segues into just a tone until it blends in to the next song, Drunkship of Lanterns. Not much to say about it, not too long so I can tolerate listening to it until the next song.



5. Drunkship of Lanterns [7:06]
Starts off with a funky salsa bass (or what I think is bass), with Flea’s fingers flying all over the place. It slowly builds in pressure during the first verse, only to erupt during the chorus. It repeats this, allowing the listener to bask in the genius of the songwriting and finesse of the musicians. The formula falls apart at the 4:00 mark, and the ensuing final jam of the song that follows is a dizzying array of effects, rising scales, emotional crescendos and musicianship. The final minute of the song is an experimental soundscape, slowly easing the listener back into neutral after the rollercoaster effect of the song.



6. Eriatarka [6:20]
The beginning of this song is simply beautiful. Minimal yet effective (in both senses, full of effects and helping the nature of the song) guitar is the backbone to Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s soothingly emotional vocals. At 1:22, the song breaks out into an intense refrain, with Rodriguez-Lopez’s axe-shredding skills in their full glory, only to fall apart for the verse again. After a 25-second break, a guitar solo (in the loosest sense of the word) moves the song back into the beautiful verses. The mini-solos (they could almost be riffs, I just can’t think of a better word to describe them) that this song is chock-full of are, as I think, to be taken almost metaphorically, as a mediator between the softness of the verses to the chaos of the chorus (alliteration, **** yeah). A changeup into a very experimental bride, onto the chorus again, but with a bit of extra oomph to the guitar and the background noise. Chaos ensues, and ends the song leaving the listener exhausted. The outro gives the listener time to recollect themselves, similar to the previous song’s.



7. Cicatriz ESP [12:28]

Perfect.

Art in its truest sense. Pure beauty embodied in a song.

Somewhat slow-paced, the song is simply divine. The musicians gel as one, with the driving drums, the backbone of the bass and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s guitar (which seems almost as if he’s jamming along to the song instead of being a structure, but still makes it feel as if he’s an integral part to it and adds a sense of uncertainty to the song itself.)

And then you get to the chorus. Again, there is no word to describe the emotion packed into it, the sheer power of just listening to this. I cried when I first heard the chorus, after all the emotion in Eriatarka and just having recovered from itself. My first listen of this song, I literally went from my jaw being about 3 inches to the ground in the verse to a bumbling incompetent during the chorus. Tears of joy. The song is simply something that must be heard, an immaculate piece that could have only be written by two people who truly know each other, as is the case of Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez.

The song doesn’t overstay its welcome, however. You almost wish there was more of the concoction at hand but the song erupts in a triple-guitar solo at the 3:26 mark, and stays that way for a while, eventually slowing down to one or two guitars and a keyboard. Still, it is one of the most electrifying and life-changing things you’ll ever hear. The guitars are eventually stripped for a bare soundscape around the 5:45 mark, and the song slowly and agonizingly (in a completely good way) builds back up into a guitar solo, which is flawless, and then the beginning part of the song. Now what I think is key to understanding the beauty of this song in general is that the (admittedly rather long) soundscape provides the listener time to think about the music so far, and the sounds provide just the mood.

And then the verse kicks in after the great solo (seriously the most taxing one and greatest one I’ve ever heard) and the guitar takes a primary part in the uniqueness of this verse, with a great riff to accompany the vocals. A final chorus kicks in, the tears are dried, and the listener is blended into the odd start of This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed.



8. This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed [4:58]
After an odd intro that bugs me for some reason (akin to nails scraping on a chalk board, pretty much just an annoying sound), the song bursts into a furious chorus that is sure to get the listener energized. Seriously, if you need something to pump you up for a sporting event or whatever, next to Refused’s ‘New Noise’, this is something that really works. Eases itself into a soft verse with some of the best lyrics on the album. At the 2:45 mark, the chorus breaks into some minor wah-wah wankery (again that’s just because my vocabulary isn’t big enough to properly describe it) and goes into a bride that slowly builds in intensity until Bixler-Zavala’s mindblowingly emotional vocals are singing ‘and now it won’t be long’ over a furious barrage of sound that gave me shivers the first time I heard it and still does to this day. If you’re going to listen to two songs on this album, make it ‘Cicatriz ESP’ and this song. The two blend together seamlessly and are both absolutely magnificent.



9. Televators [6:19]
Somewhat of a buzzkill to me. From what I know they released this as a single, which in my opinion was a bad choice, but oh well. A ballad, but not the introspective kind nor the kind that’s particularily emotional. Serves s a good slow down between This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed and Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt, however.



10. Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt [8:42]
Epic song, truly epic. Most straightforward rock song here, but that’s not really saying much. What I mean is, if you want to rock out and air guitar, this is your song, but don’t expect it to sound like it came straight out of the classic rock radio station. It has Zeppelin-esque undertones but only in the loosest sense of the term. Very diverse, it starts off with a metal groovish thing with Bixler-Zavala urgently relaying his vocals. Eventually, everything stops and Rodriguez-Lopez plays one of the best riffs riffs I’ve ever heard, and the song morphs into a jazzy jam, and with about a minute-twenty left, just turns into the most absolutely epic things I’ve ever heard.

Seriously though, this song is so diverse you need to hear it to know what I’m talking about.






Closing Words: Listen to this album. If it’s your taste, you will, I guarantee it you’ll love it, and if it isn’t for you, oh well, it’s only an hour of your life and you can at least appreciate the dexterity and skill of all the musicians involved.

As for my final opinion, this album completely changed my standards for music, what it encompasses, the meaning of the word ‘art’ and basically every way I go about my life.


Buy this album and love it.



The alternate cover, found on the back of the album inlay and occasionally on the front of the album (I bought my copy with this cover because I thought it was special)





(this took me 3 days to write, I wrote it in Word, that's how dedicated I am ;_; so READ IT)