Search - Mars Volta :: Deloused in the Comatorium

Moves rock to a new dimension

Shamus | UK, Sussex | 01/11/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"To be true, it needs at least a few listens. But I thought the same about OK Computer, not sure at first but it grows with every listen and turns out to be a sublime classic.



The drums are up front in the mix and this can be off-putting, but try to get past that and listen to the superb guitar and bass work with the vocal range exceptional.



All the best albums tweak your curiosity with the first listen enough to play them again and this is no exception.



Style: Unique, hispanic influences, wierd (unlike most everything else, except their previous work), jamming and full-blown rock-out.



If you are a serious collector of music, this needs to be in your collection, it's in mine !





"

Come into the "Comatorium"

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/25/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Indie-rock band At the Drive In shattered just as they were starting to make it big. But from the ashes of At The Drive-In came: The Mars Volta. And their full-length debut album, "De-Loused At The Comatorium," is a rousing, blasting, strange and magnificent lump of space rock.



"Son Et Lumiere" is a melodic buildup to the fireball of "Inertiatic ESP," the eerie string-driven "Tira Me A Las Aranas," the haunting drum-laden "Drunkship of Lanterns" with its lamenting howls, the rollicking "Eriatarka," the slightly overlong but very compelling "Cicatriz ESP," the chaotic "This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed," the soft and melodic "Televators," and the At the Drive-In-influenced "Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt."



It's rather rare to have a concept album now. But this full-length debut definitely is one. It tells of a Mexican artist who committed suicide in the 1990s. Here, he falls into a coma and lingers in the world of "De-Loused" for a week. (It sounds depressing, but it isn't) The plaintive, surreal songs make a lot more sense once you know the story.



"De-Loused"'s sound is hard to classify: a combo of rock, psychedelica, a hint of jazz, Latin music, and a few others that are hard to identify. For that matter, it's not really much like several songs, as a single song that bobs into different musical genres. Often the songs will melt into one another, one barely pausing as it dies away before the next melody starts. It gives "De-Loused" the feeling of a big, glorious tapestry.



The lyrics and music reflect this feel; the lyrics are wrenchingly weird ("Nobody is heard/compass wilting in the wind!"), with an undeniably powerful melancholy, dark edge. It's never more evident than in the despairing wail of "Now I'm lost!". The music can switch from shattering guitar riffs to delicate instrumentals tinged with a synthesizer. And though at times they sound chaotic as a thunderstorm storm, it's obvious that they know what they're doing.



Mars Volta is a blast of explosive new rock music that blows away the rubbish. "De-Loused in the Comatorium" is like stepping through a door into a world where the normal rules of music don't apply. Step through the door, into the Comatorium...."