As a lover of music, I am constantly recommended new material
by my friends and peers. I do my best to experience these suggestions, but it
sometimes takes me years to finally give it a listen, even if the particular
act I’m being recommended is universally acclaimed by those whose opinions I
hold dear. For years, I had heard the name The Mars Volta spoken with reverence
and awe, but I had never allowed myself to delve into their catalogue, until a
few good friends urged me to pick up their first record, De-Loused in the Comatorium. And when this record finally did make
its way into my hands, I found myself immersed in a completely novel,
completely indescribable world of music that I have since come to revere.
My fresh fascination with De-Loused, and thus The Mars Volta, rises from the fact that I have
truthfully never heard anything like this before. The myriad of sonic pulses on
this record make it transcend the very idea of genre. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s guitar
work ranges from high-voltage punk thrashing to deft solos reminiscent of Led
Zeppelin to salsa-injected finger-picking, and being the main composer on the
record, the rest of the band is truly tailored to fit into his intense
compositions. Ikey Owens’ keys dominates any treble space left untouched by
Rodriguez-Lopez, while Flea absolutely tears apart his fretboard on the bass,
laying runs and rhythms that perfectly meld with the monster drumming of Jon
Theodore. Rounding out this chaos of intense musicianship is the sonic stylings
of Jeremy Ward, whose sound manipulation and effects loops allow for the
vibrations of the band’s music to form tangible environments that are downright
disturbing. Together, this group conjures a powerful tapestry of sound on a
scale to which few have aspired, which Tiny Mix Tapes calls “an earful of
flavourful, imaginative and cognitive music.”[1]
Where the instrumentation sparks a dark universe within De-Loused in the Comatorium, Cedric
Bixler-Zavala populates it with his emotional and erratic vocals. Cedric approaches
his voice as an instrument, with melodies that climb and dip and double-back
like the mind of a maniac. He often layers his vocals with heavy effects, or
spits small lines that Ward shapes into frightening moments to be incorporated
into his sonic nightmare segments.
Cedric’s lyrical
method is just as unique. He apparently houses a very poetic mind, for his word
choices are almost exclusively intense and vibrant. His incendiary vocal only
enhances their effect, as he wails through lines that raise the hairs on my arm
every time, such as with “Spector will lurk / Radar has gathered / Midnight
nooses from boxcar cadavers.”[2]
He relies heavily on metaphor, which is made only more interesting by the fact
that his lyrics unite the tunes of De-Loused
into a theme record, reflecting a short story written by Bixler-Zavala of the
same name (which you can check out here), loosely based on the life and death of
artist Julio Venegas.[3]
His style of writing reflects a stream-of-consciousness approach, which, while
keeping the original intent of the writing hidden, allows the listener to
thoroughly insert his own meaning into each line, and to draw his own emotional
connection from the story. Also, by taking the focus away from the specific
meanings of the words, Cedric zooms in on the sound of his lyrics, furthering his instrumental contribution to
the record. Though some of his phrases can come off exceptionally weak (for
example, “transient jet lag ecto mimed bison”)[4]
no one can argue that Cedric’s interpretation of his role as vocalist is both
progressive and interesting.
The approach to both composition and performance that this
band takes is a complete synthesis of energy and cognition, two very dangerous
ingredients to play with in music. Much of the songwriting is built on the idea
of tension and release, where the music creates an uncomfortable space before
resolving into something considerably more pleasing. While countless acts have
used tension before, none have taken it to the level that The Mars Volta does
on De-Loused, where the sought-after
resolving moment is often denied to the listener for most of the tune. This
tension is embedded in the compositions, as the band stutters between tempos,
rhythms, and time signatures, refusing to the let the listener find their
bearings often until the final moments of the song. For instance, the opening
riff of “Inertiatic ESP” is repeated almost randomly throughout, denying the
listener a foothold by removing the idea of a downbeat, and making Cedric
Bixler-Zavala’s declaration of “I’m lost” all the more poignant.[5]
Similarly, in tunes like “Cicatriz ESP” and “Drunkship of Lanterns,” the tunes
are built to collapse into the maelstroms of Jeremy Ward, which lull the listener
into dark corners of noise before exploding back into the song proper. All of
this madness works to reflect the true insanity embodied by the story, for a
man’s trip through his own mind must indeed be a dark one. While many might just
view such antics as obliviously poor musicianship, after spending a month with
this record on repeat, it becomes obvious that these are choices, not
accidents. Quite frankly, this band knows
what it is doing to you; every note has been sculpted to illicit not only
emotions, but impressions of the primal urges of fear and confusion.
Although some would argue otherwise, one listen makes it
apparent that some heavy responsibility falls on Jeremy Ward’s contributions. Omar’s
compositions are blatantly technical and emotive, but it is through Ward’s
soundscaping that the tunes reach their full height, connecting with the vast
continent of images into which Cedric’s short story unfolds. With a tumbling
drum sample and buzzing guitar bends, Ward creates an audio photo of the main
character’s tumble off of an overpass in “Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt,” while his
mixing of dub beats and guitar feedback evolve into empty lullabies into which
the listener can sink, before being surprised by the riotous beginning of the
next tune. His parts may seem superfluous upon first glance, yet without his
influence on the space of the tune, I doubt the story of Cerpin Taxt could be
so well translated into music as it is on this record.
As a collection of music, De-Loused in the Comatorium has a pretty sound hull; however, it
has been the subject of much critical scrutiny since its release, and not
without reason. Many find that the focus on tension and soundscaping leaves the
record as an interesting but ultimately flawed endeavor—Brent DiCrescenzo of
Pitchfork remarks that “The Mars Volta mistake sonic piling for complex
architecture,” and claims the technical approach “just isn’t fun,”[6]
while John Hanson of Sputnik Music condemns Cedric’s lyrics as “utter tripe.”[7]
Truthfully, while I do enjoy this band’s innovative audacity, it does sometimes
get in the way of the music. Many songs feature a lot of repetition and jam
without evolution, curbing my appetite for more rather than whetting it. And
while I adore the idea of lyrics operating as sounds as well as words, I find the
occasional moments when they devolve into incoherent drivel deprives the song
of depth, since it is apparent Cedric can create gorgeous phrases when he
applies even a hint of effort.
Despite this, De-Loused
is a largely solid and emphatic record, and a damn good listen, because it is complicated and
convoluted, and because, as Cedric puts it, “demands your attention. It demands
at least an hour out of your life, and with complete silence and with complete
devotion.”[8]
This record makes it apparent that what is most important to this act is
creative freedom, the ability to try new things without fear of rejection or
failure. According to the AllMusic biography, TMV exhibits a “willingness to
eschew conventional logic and push themselves into new artistic directions
instead of opting for the more marketable sounds,”[9]
an impressive move for a fledgling act, and one that sets them apart. With De-Loused, The Mars Volta adventures to
unexplored territories of music, and wrong turns ought to be expected along the
journey, because they are just as pivotal as the right ones.
Regardless of the small hiccups almost guaranteed by pioneering music,
with De-Loused, The Mars Volta
usurps the artistic throne and proves they have a right to rule. Their musical prowess
is ostensibly vast, and when these musicians do click, they create something
amazing. One such tune is “Eriatarka,” an excellent example of all elements coming
together in a perfect unison of emotion, energy, and importance. Featuring a
high energy chorus juxtaposed against gentle verses laden with lilting
melodies, this tune encapsulates the entire dark side of the human mind. Omar
utilizes time signature changes between sections to create his tension, taking
a step back from tritones and musical arrhythmia in favor of a more tender
touch of madness. Cedric’s vocal is simultaneously a caress and a stab, and his
lyrics wield poetry without becoming reckless, reflecting the energy the bands
exudes in each section. “Eriatarka,” though only a sample of the madness this
band is capable of, is a tune that rocks to its very core, and is easily my
favorite from this record.
With De-Loused in the Comatorium, The Mars
Volta found a way to translate into sound the senses of the body and the
impulses of the psyche. Though their tunes might not be readily accessible to
the average listener, there is no doubt that this band has accomplished an
incredible feat, and with their first full-length no less. As Cedric puts it,
the goal of The Mars Volta is to “jab the common man’s ears,” because “if we don’t,
we’ll never get to a place where future music exists.”[10]
Thus, De-Loused pushes the listener
to transcend the very thought of how music can and should be done, to explore
the vast universe of sound that until now has only been cursorily observed.
Consider this record then as a satellite launched into orbit with a purpose of
urging us to hammer the boundaries, to find out what humans are truly capable
of when they band together in heart and mind.
Tunes to Check Out:
1) Eriatarka
2) Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt
3) Drunkship of Lanterns
Tunes to Check Out:
1) Eriatarka
2) Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt
3) Drunkship of Lanterns
