Amputechture

 

 

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The Mars Volta hit a sophomore slump in the overblown "Frances the Blind," after their dazzlingly surreal debut. But now the weirdest rockers of all have returned with "Amputechture" -- bizarre, entrancing, blinding, and apparently their only album without a theme. Not their best, but solid enough to be worthy of them.

It opens with a weird distant synth, and the sound of clanging bells. "Vicarious Atonement" is a slow-moving, meditative song with a twisting guitar riff ambling through an ambient backdrop. It always seems just about to erupt into a full-blown rock song, but always holds back. The lyrics are even stranger -- they seem to be from Satan's point of view, looking at the crucified Christ and the Romans (or "wolves").

That changes with the tightly-wound, epic grandeur of the bizarre "Tetragrammaton," which seems to be building to a perpetual peak. Things calm down with "Vermicide," which is a pretty mellow song, except for the howling vocals of Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and the occasional clashing riff.

From there on, the band explores winding riffs and expansive songs that always seem to be reaching for something. They dabble in some Latin music and gypsyish guitar melodies, before exploding back into thrashy experimental stuff and roiling rock'n'roll, and finish up on a surprisingly restrained note with the synth-soaked, spacey-ambient "El Ciervo Vulnerado."

Wow. Whatever you say about the Mars Volta, nobody can criticize them for being boring or complacent. "Amputechture" is a musical journey, but it's a journey that splits off into a half dozen little side-trips -- some are into mad, wild places, and some are into quiet idylls. But wherever the album explores, it's musically spellbinding.

The music is not so uncontrolled as it once was. The riffs and frenetic drums tend to take the forefront, but they're all tangled up in eerie keyboard, saxophone, and bizarre unidentifiable sound effects. But the band also shows that they can manage quieter songs, like the ones that are (mostly) made up of acoustic guitar. These have a quiet, striking quality that is entirely different.

Cedric Bixler-Zavala's voice is always recognizable -- he sounds tormented and a little wild. And his lyrics are undeniably bizarre, especially since there's nothing to link them together. Even when decoded, nobody really knows what he's saying: "The sermon goes mourning/pricking it's hail/slothful the child/that preys on the seed/shall behead the drough/wound under sleeves/i hope you have room/in a thicket of vines..."

"Amputechture" refines the Mars Volta's sound further, and though its lack of a central narrative makes it less compelling than their best work, it's still a magnificent experiment.

Not mainstream by any means in my opinion. They make use of a lot of different instruments, vocal sounds, percussian, rhythms, dissonance, etc, etc. Definitly awesome music. It's like they just rocked out on one take in the studio cuz it's so natural and so creative.

You know when you say "I love Hail to the Thief"? The love is similar for Amputechture; that love for musical creativity!!

I'm not going to go through the songs but I really need to stress that you will hear the craziest, I repeat, CRAZIEST drum solo on Day of the Baphomets @10mins. I go bananas listening to it.

Well, my favourite Mars Volta album remains Frances the Mute. I don't think they could do any better. It is perfect. Amputechture is an awesome album, starting and finishing in slow motion, songs fused one into the other and constantly changing with no apparent song scheme. Some may critisize that but for me it works perfectly. Greatest songs-Tetragrammaton, Amputechture, Viscera Eyes, Day of the Bahomets. Asilos Magdalena is a nice song, a little bit out of context, but finishes on time just before making you skipping the rest of it. Great musicians, great songs,not as great as Frances the Mute (10 stars) though. But anyway, for me an excellent 5 star album.

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5.0 out of 5 stars once again....ALBUM OF THE YEAR!
in 2003 it was de-loused in the comatorium.

in 2005 it was fraces the mute.

now in 2006 we have amputechture. Read more

Published on Sep 12 2006 by S. McIver

5.0 out of 5 stars Only the Best
The Mars Volta are nearly incapable of creating anything less than brilliant and Amputechture fits that theory quite nicely. Read more

Published on Aug 8 2006 by DRLDivision

5.0 out of 5 stars Volta at their best
Another fine release by the Mars Volta. Amputechture is a new sound from the volta but can be compared to a mix of Tremulant and Deloused at the Comatorium. Read more

Published on July 17 2006 by Monicalibrarian

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