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Rating:
One day I glance at the playlist of this site and I see something like "Mars Volta are too good."
The name rang a bell but I couldn't quite remember.
Google
Mars Volta
There you go...
...AAAAH, right, that's who they are, what's left of At The Drive In (Cedric Bixler - Zavala and Omar Rodriguez - Lopez) reformed into this new project.
I also belong to that school of thought that wonders: why did ATDI ever break up? Curious, I buy it.
From the booklet, I see that the producer is a certain Rick Rubin and that the album was recorded at his Laurel Canyon Studios. This is already a guarantee, although the result is not always predictable.
It's clear that the album needs to be listened to at least a couple of (mars) times to be understood, the result is very intricate. With each listen, you notice a different nuance. It's as if it's made up of various layers to be peeled (mars) time after (mars) time.
Essentially the sound is:
psychedelic
funk
dub
jazz metal
prog-rock
Yes, at times even prog-rock. If you take, for example, the very long Cicatriz ESP (Frusciante is also in this song), you can sense the same atmospheres of some King Crimson records, although the song at times sounds like a demo. The drums sound "muted", the bass (by Flea!!) is distorted.
The high-pitched voice like Robert Plant. Even this (mars) time there's a lot of Led Zep, especially in the mixes. It seems like a deliberate effect. And there's also some Pink Floyd sprinkled here and there.
When the album ends its second round, you really wonder whether to play it again or move on to something else.
In the end, too much of it becomes a bit cloying. It's like those recipes with a thousand different flavors.
That end up tasting of everything but having no taste at all.
Well done but... cloying.
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