The Mars Volta

On their latest album, The Bedlam in Goliath, The Mars Volta erect epic, futuristic soundscapes, and then they obliterate them to hell. Such is the beautiful paradox at the heart of The Mars Volta's newest and best offering since their 2003 breakout debut, De-loused in the Comatorium. Instead of again venturing into the doldrums of the cosmos with the over-extended jams prevalent on Amputechure and Frances the Mute, The Mars Volta keep it simple. Well, "simple" is a relative term with this band—there are, of course, a few cuts that extend the nine-minute mark, but they have solid structures.

Album opener "Aberinkula" sets the dynamic vibe of the record with a frenetic, rollercoaster riff, a horn section and insanely complicated rhythms. "Ilyena" is catchy and hypnotic, allowing for some necessary noodling in between choruses, while the ethereal delay, military style drum build-up and epic guitar riffs of "Goliath" are bound to satisfy heshers, prog fiends and indie snobs alike. "Tourniquet Man" even showcases a somber clean line with a poignant chorus.

The Mars Volta have gotten better at flexing their instrumental prowess within the landscape of shorter tracks as well. Each song flows into the next, and the record has a natural cohesion. The Bedlam in Goliath works because the solos are as crazy as ever, but the hooks are back. In the end, The Mars Volta still rule the 21st century prog-rock galaxy.

—Rick Florino
01.24.08

It can't come as a surprise that the Mars Volta's fourth album opens with a bang -- sonic terrorism is one of the only things listeners can count on from the band -- but it's genuinely novel that The Bedlam in Goliath never lets go of its momentum, not even after a full hour's worth of unrelenting war on silence, the wrapping paper for a concept album about the power of the occult. On their first three proper albums, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez played games of quiet-loud-quiet (or loud-quiet-loud), sneaking around stealthily for minutes at a time before detonating another blast of thrash metal riffing and piercing screams. The Bedlam in Goliath is simply loud-loud-loud, virtually every song played at maximum volume and tempo. But, in fact, instead of being wearisome or exhausting, it's an oddly refreshing album. The band gets closer to its roots in thrash and funk-metal than ever before, avoids using electronics except where they can make a big impact, and finally lets semi-permanent guest John Frusciante occupy a readily discernible role. The "Goliath" of the album title is the name given to a spirit conjured by a Ouija board that Rodriguez-Lopez bought in Jerusalem; the band used the board heavily while on tour, and it supposedly brought bad luck to the entire recording process -- including reports of computer poltergeists, flooded studios, and a nervous breakdown for the album's first engineer (who may have simply been driven over the edge by the band's musical extremism). Musically, it's the funkiest work the band has ever done. No one's going to confuse them with James Brown (or even Red Hot Chili Peppers), but in a ten-minute streak that runs from the end of the third track, "Ilyena," through the single "Wax Simulacra," and to the end of "Goliath," an eight-minute extravaganza, the Mars Volta finally seize the mantle held by Rage Against the Machine for a dozen years (thanks in large part to Frusciante, as well as new drummer Thomas Pridgen). The band also exhibits more patience on The Bedlam in Goliath than it has in the past. No one who cares about the band should be interested in hearing a "maturing" Mars Volta -- you might as well ask for a sun that wasn't as hot -- but the band has shown the ability to mature in all the ways they can without losing what makes them unique. The album is as dynamic as ever (it seems to live perpetually on a knife's edge of tension), but it's more closely composed than Amputechture or even Frances the Mute. This should have been the album where the Mars Volta either wore their formula down to nothing or abruptly turned in a different direction, but instead the band created an album that nearly perfects what they've been working toward. ~ John Bush, All Music Guide