"Breaking a decade of omert, reawaken from their lengthy hiatus with an eponymousalbum that radically reshapes their paradigm. Formed by guitarist/composer Omar Rodrguez-Lpez and singer/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, The Mars Volta rose from the ashes of El Paso punk-rock firebrands At The Drive-In in 2001. On a mission to 'honour our roots and honour our dead', The Mars Volta made music that fused the Latin sounds Rodrguez-Lpez was raised on with the punk and underground noise he and Bixler-Zavala had immersed themselves in for years, and the futuristic visions they were tapping into. The albums that followed were one-of-a-kind masterpieces, their songs of breath-taking complexity also possessing powerful emotional immediacy. After the group fell silent, a legion of devotees (including Kanye West) kept up an insistent drum-beat for their return. Now the duo are back, accompanied this time by founder bassist Eva Gardner, drummer Willy Rodriguez Quiones and keyboard-player Marcel Rodrguez-Lpez. Thisalbum shakes loose some of The Mars Voltas long-standing shibboleths and the dizzying, abrasive prog stylings of earlier albums absent. Instead, The Mars Volta pulses with subtle brilliance, Caribbean rhythms underpinning sophisticated, turbulent songcraft. This is The Mars Volta at their most mature, most concise, most focused. Their sound and fury channeled to greatest effect, The Mars Volta finds Rodrguez-Lpezs subterranean pop melodies driving Bixler-Zavalas dark sci-fi tales of the occult and malevolent governments. Distilling all the passion, poetry and power at their fingertips, The Mars Volta is the most accessible music the group have ever recorded." - Clouds Hill
- 1st album in 10 years
- black vinyl pressing
- includes printed foldout insert
- music label: Clouds Hill 2022
