New Best Friend: Ilyena

I'm not sure what to think of the title - who is Ilyena? I don't know.

This song was one of their first singles, and is personally one of my favourite on the album. Since the older albums, they've shy'd away from beautiful progression and intricately orchestrated peaks and valleys. This song showcases what the band should continue to do - think their music through, take their time, and have another bong hit.

Ilyena is the most radio friendly song of the album - and I saw the results immediately.

Many of the people around me are aware that TMV is amazing and I love the band. A few days after this song dropped on the radio and MuchMusic, I had co workers, family and friends asking about the new album and if it sounded anything like the new single. I was shocked, this song is an actual hit - who woulda thunk it? It's amazing, a lot of the people who loved the song, were... get this... girls... nice.

Even at the show I noticed there were plenty of hunnies all over the place, mostly on drugs - but that's beside the point. Outside of the concert all types of girls have been humming:

If you could see, where I've been,
You'd touch the hand that's touching sin.

I mean come on - I know you love this part too, everyone does! Sexual lyrics, epic drum roll, huge climax - it's what every woman craves. That's a fact. Shit, it's what my ears crave. This song is so catchy, so well organized and so up and down that it's hard to get sick of it.

The Mars Volta is changing the way people listen to music - and the influence is spreading. More people are turning to progressive styles of music - leaving traditional song structure weeping for mercy. On Omar's most recent solo project "Calibration", we're seeing Thomas Pridgeon and Marcel the bassist dip deep into dark drum and bass. The chops, the breaks, the fills, the tricks, the drops, the bass, the sheer complexity and not to mention creativity - will create new music. Be worried.

Enough rant - the song is sweet. The meanings are obvious - Goliath speaking to the band - everything you hear is about his terrible sinful life, his regrets, his curse, and lastly the bands obsession with talking about it.

Keep on rocking - you people. Quick mention, if you haven’t listened to "Calibration", Omar's newest solo release, do yourself a favour and HIT THAT UP!

Continued: May 12 Sound Academy, Toronto

It's been two days since the show - and I've decided there weren’t enough awesome details in my first review. A lot of things happened during the show that I neglected to mention before - and that's unfair to the readers and the band. Onward!!

As usual - Cedric was a bloody maniac, but I noticed some strange additions to the party in his head. First up, he had a strange feedback instrument that he had hooked up to a few different pedals. It was a straight 1/4 inch thick flexible pole that stood about a foot and a half tall. He would occasionally attack this pole which was charged and created really fucked up sounds that were totally un-balanced to the rest of the band. With his left arm he'd swat the pole with no such rhyme or reason. With his right arm he would aggressively twist knobs, push buttons and drink tea.

Wait, drink tea?

Yeah, I noticed as soon as the curtain dropped that there was some smoky steam rising up from the Cedrics main table of goodies. I couldn't tell what it was, at first it looked like some of his equipment was short circuiting. After about 10 minutes the steam was gone and a techy crept out from backstage, grabbed to cold tea, and replaced it with a hot new mug. This went on all show. Every 10 minutes, a techy would come out and refresh his tea. Cedric would sip on the tea frequently, but not enough to warrant all those cups!! Considering how long the show was, the techy brought him a fresh cup probably 15-20 times, hilarious! I must say, the steam added a nice ambience to the stage. I'm guessing his voice box is shattered or something, and he'd drink the tea to ease his trachea.

One thing I want to mention to all fans of TMV in Toronto - Stop throwing your fucking garbage at the band. Close to the start of the show, some asshole whipped a full cup at Cedric that just missed hitting him, but some of the liquid went in his hair. Cedric addressed the crowd but no one could understand him. Mind you, this isn't the first time - and it happens at almost any show. Anyways...

Enough of that - I wanted to mention some really excellent parts of the show. During Tetragrammaton, Omar and Adrian had a wicked solo section. Omar would shit a lick out of his crazy fingers, then Adrian would match it on his tenor sax! It was actually unbelievable how good Adrian is. This was the first time he really got his own time to shine - and the crowd loved it! This section went on for about 2-3 minutes, the entire band giving jeers of encouragement. It was an awesome sight.

Only a few moment before this ridiculous guitar/sax battle, another key member of the band got his time in the sun. Ikey ripped an intense organ solo that was about as psychedelic as they come. His style, as we know, is very unique and often out of this world! His 2 minute solo was truly excellent. Everyone in the crowd starred as Ikey threw his torso and head around in every direction, sliding his hands up and down the keys, creating a truly memorizing wave of harmonics. As his epic moment drew to an end, the band picked up his notes and so began Viscera Eyes.

Some more highlights include Thomas Pridgeon whacking one of his fingers mid song. Is anybody surprised? The guy moves so bloody fast, it's bound to happen. He shook it off, rubbed the finger up and down a few times, and before you know it - he's back into a seemingly endless drum roll - rock on dude, you're actually a fuckin' machine. I love how excited he gets too, he often jumps up using his kick foot and throws his left foot up in the air, smiling wildly. During the final moments of the concert, Thomas launched his left stick way into the air and made no effort to get a new one - instead he used his now free hand to mute his consecutive crashes before cutting the lights..

The band bowed individually - and the fans responded accordingly.

Bravo - I love this band.

Sound Academy: May 12, The Mars Volta Experience

Well it's the morning after - I feel used. Some of my body parts aren't working right, my brain muscles are throbbing - but all I want to do is get more fucked up!!

This was my first time seeing a show at the Docks. The Docks is a general entertainment complex, I went once when I turned 16 for an all-ages dance club, it hasn't changed a bit. The inside is very long and fairly wide. The floor is divided 40/60 [bar/concert floor]. I must say, these assholes really understand business. For the first time in ages, I was able to walk up to the bar, and order 5 beers without having to wait in line, watch someone fumble to pour beer, or restrict me to 1 per customer. Thank you Docks!!

The crowd arrived early as usual - with quite an interesting cross section of humans. The most prevalent being the young kids, 16-19, with a surprising number of hunnies. That's right, lots of babes at the Mars Volta show - I was pleased. Most of the dudes in the crowd looked a bit older, maybe 20-25 age group. I also saw some seniors in the line-up, and made a point to show them respect.

I went to the show with 8 of my hombres, only 1 of which had experienced TMV live.
The doors opened at 7pm. I got into the line-up with my posse when the line died down around 745. We got inside immediately with minimal pat down - we had spliffs!!


The show started around 815, which was just enough time for me to get in, buy a shirt ($20) and get a beer ($5.75/can). I'm a tall fuck, so I had a killer spot at the front right, only about 10 heads back from the gate. I could clearly see the Pridgeon, Ikey, Hinojos, Omar and Cedric. The other side of the stage hosted Juan, Marcel and Adrian.

To be honest I have no idea what order they played in, and I'm not going to go search for it online - but here's a list of the songs they did play.

Cygnus (extremely long mix + jam)
Wax Simulacra
Goliath (extremely long mix + jam)
Oroborous
Tetragrammaton (extremely long mix + jam)
Aberinkula
Agadez
Viscera Eyes
Cicatriz

Okay, so my list probably sucks - but when you're there, there’s no way to remember what they played, and the order, especially since I'm a space case to begin with. The best part of this show:

Almost 3 hours long.

That's right, this thing actually went on forever, I thought it was coming to a dramatic ending about 5 times, it was like watching Minority Report without any temptation to smash your Tom Cruise bearing television. This show was ridiculous! I've seen them a lot, and the only time they played longer was back in Montreal 2006.

As usual the band jammed very heavily through a lot of their stronger songs. Both Tetragrammeton and Goliath were SO long, easily 40 minutes each. There's nothing I love more than watching Omar orchestrate the jam through different series of hand gestures, jumps, swings, and most importantly, smiles!!

This was one of the first times the band looked very happy on stage. Either they got hooked up with some awesome T.O. groupies, or they found some good weed... neither would surprise me.

Whatever it was, the band was on point and loving every minute of it! The crowd did too, a lot of rowdy kids turned most of the floor into a small mosh pit - nothing insane though, I saw those two seniors here, and they were head banging much harder than anyone else around, kudos gentlemen!!

Judging by peoples expressions after the show, everyone's face was melted. TMV performed yet again and I’ll be sure to get a ticket to the next show in Toronto. You should too... seriously.

May 12 Sound Academy, Toronto

Just a quick post while I'm at work. I'll be at the May 12th Volta show at the Sound Academy (formerly the Docks). I'll be the tallest guy in the crowd, hoping to take some pictures and smoke a doob without getting thrown out. I'll give a full review the morning after the show. Thanks fans.

You'd better ask Metatron

What can I say about the second track? It's unreal? It's loud? It's incredibly punky and long!

Well, this song runs for 8:11 and it's a roller coaster just about the whole way through. In classic Mars Volta style, the song goes up and down, left and right, then comes full circle with a chorus... wait, a chorus?

As I listen to this album and think back to Amputechture, I'm beginning to notice that a lot of their songs are becoming less progressive, and more structured. This upsets me. Don't get me wrong, the band still builds their songs up with many awesome sections, but adding the chorus sometimes kills the buzz for me, I already know what it's going to sound like, and I don't need to hear it three times in a row - i get it. Next bar.

Enough on that rant - I really love cranking this song - it's so loud and it reminds me a lot of ATDI (but on speedballs). The lyrics in this song confuse the shit out of me but after listening a lot, you begin to find that the words are being spoken by one character - to another. Goliath speaks through the haunted Ouija Board to the band, telling them of his haunted past while demanding forgiveness to rest his soul.

It seems the spirit of Goliath had a wife and daughter, both of which he did terrible abusive and sexual acts with against their will. The beginning of the song mentions her nervous hands and how he demands to touch them. Goliath "blames the shrouding of a lesser man" that he has deceived his family into becoming a pedophile incest rapist. Ew.

The tone of the song then changes, the Ouija Board (Goliath's spirit) begin's warning the band that they should not tell more people about his terrible past.

"Suffocate the inkwell, while I am legion said the pen"

The Mars Volta's pen (lyrics) will become a haunted instrument for Goliath.
Quick note from the bible, when Jesus casts the devil from man, the devil calls himself legion.

Anyways, there is a whole shit tonne of hidden messages in all their music, so I'm going to jump ahead.

Goliath continues to warn the band that if they decide to spread his terrible story, there will be problems for your future. He states:

"Folding wormholes, my time is riding in the alphabet"

His warning that he is moving through the time space continuum, but only via letters on a Ouija board. Whilst being whimiscle and scary, Goliath knows that while the band has posention of the Ouija board, he is their slave and must answer any question asked. Later in the song, he begs them not to tell his filthiest secrets, he's actually a pedophile incest rapist murderer! Double Ew.

After finding out he murdered his own daughter, we learn the it's the reason he's trapped in the Ouija board in the first place, his sins. Unfortunatly he does not remember how he came to this eternal fate, and tells the band:

"You'd better ask Metatron"

Metatron is the name of a God's angel. In other words, only God knows Goliaths full story and his fate. Neat!

Laboratory Analysis: Aberinkula

Well - We've just popped in our favourite new CD; The Bedlam in Goliath.
I plug in my headphones, put them on, and press PLAY.

My volume was cranked from last night's Bedouin Soundclash...

The track explodes, shouting "Have you seen the living?"

Ahh yes, the unsettling sound of a Mars Volta bomb going off inside your skull - the sound of 8 men, expressing themselves to the fullest; using their obscure variety of melody and chaos.

As the opening song, I was surprised that they went full steam straight from 0:01 into the album. In the past, each album has had at least a 45 second interlude/build-up before the Volta bomb drops.

This track was one of the originals that were posted on their official website (with video). I really liked the song, but there’s something missing here. Cedric's voice - while impressive - is still far too whiney for my taste. I much preferred his original style that allowed him to express his range of sounds... this whole album is a little bit linear in terms of voice pitch and creativity. On the bright side of all that - the lyrics are incredibly powerful. The album was allegedly written about a cursed Ouija Board that Omar had purchased for Cedric in an authentic Egyptian marketplace.

After using the board and having some strange predictions come true, the evil from within the object started to overcome the band. Their SFX technician left the band and stole a large number of recording. Their hard drives crashed which caused them to lose a few days worth of recording. And Omar mentioned in an interview that there were many strange things associated to that Ouija Board. To make a long story short, they buried the Ouija Board and vowed never to speak of it again - until they wrote an album about it... (explain that one?)

I really like this first track, it's a hair raiser, exactly what I want my boss to hear when I'm walking into his office (like a wrestlers intro music). I want his hair to get blown back, his face to melt from its bones, and his heart rate to accelerate to match the drums. This would naturally cause massive heart failure, but yeah... that's so metal.

The first song is short - which is great. I've found that in the past, many people are unable to enjoy the music because they're easily turned off by the ever evolving beat. It's extremely difficult to jive with for extended periods (especially when you listen to top40). The new album format has 12 tracks, each one more exciting than the last. This new approach is almost certain to lure new listeners.

What the hell is an Aberinkula? From what I've gathered it's an ancient African drum with some religious significance. That's about as much as I can tell.

The chorus and overall theme of this song sounds like a divine or supernatural entity, trying to free itself from it's physical body.

"Have you seen the living?"
"Tired of their own shells."

The second half possibly speaks to the non-believers of the divine or supernatural spirits in our universe; being picked of their limbs, and condemned to a metaphorical well.

"All the non-believers"
"Torsos in the well"

This is just my take.... feel free to add insight.

Introduction: Aberinkula

Well folks - this album has truly inspired me, much the way the first two albums had. Below are the lyrics from the first track on this album. I re-typed them straight from the albums leaflet.

I decided to start posting lyrics because I noticed it's very difficult for newcomers to really get into the band without smoking a bag of herb. What threw them off was often Cedrics howling voice, but once these people had read along with the song - everything changed from there.

So I am now inviting you to fireup iTunes and read along to Aberinkula!!

Have you seen the living
Tired of their own shells
All the non-believers
Torso in the well

Am I the one you're after
The novice made to find
stray abberation stalking
Plans that forgot me 99 times
The only thing to alter
Stands in the way of you
I want your cramps
To fit the fillings of my teeth

Have you seen the living
Tired of their own shells
All the non-believers
Torso in the well

And don't you try and ask me
Your expiration date
The plans that forgot me 99 times
You'll be the one who opens the gate

Carry water in a basket
Where the hole was dug the first time
The head that carries the body
A blood that flows through veins

Have you seen the living
Tired of their own shells
All the non-believers
Torso in the well

When it calls I'll answer
Do you need to repent
Plans that forgot me 99 times
I'll stick around for 99 times
The fault lines you prepare have darkened
Blank rings instead of sight
Goliath are you receiving
Dismembered you've arrived

Have you seen the living
Tired of their own shells
All the non-believers
Torso in the well.

What do you make of it ... A little wild huh? I'll give my feedback in my next post - keep on rockin' peoples.

The Bedlam Drops

Well fans, it's that special time of year again. The Mars Volta have officially released their brand new album - and for a true fan, this is better than Christmas, and your Birthday combined.

Some of us managed to get our hands on the leak copy - which was made available roughly 2 weeks before it's scheduled release date. The leak was ripped at 320khz and had everything you needed to dive into its glory. In no way was I disapointed with this album - it's easily top 3 albums of 08' and the year has just begun.

The production value on this album is far more technical than Amputechture. This album was orchestrated by Omar, he hand wrote the music and gave it to each member to master.

Of their four studio albums (aside from the EP), the only album that didnt deliver a 10/10 was indeed Amputechture. It just wasn't as rigid as the fans and even Omar had hoped. The loss of the amazing John Theodore struck fear in the hearts of Volta fans. His tour replacments speed, technicality and creativity, were not as impressive as previous drummers. The live performance was lacking.

I'd like to reference the Toronto show on January 21st at the Phoenix. The bands new drummer Thomas Pridgen brought a hellstorm of bombastic beats that disrupted the natural beat of my heart. I became so wound up, I could feel my heart pumping out of my sternum, delivering so much oxygen to my brain - i almost colapsed from being light headed. In short - this man has filled the missing link in the band, and his beats will spin a web of awesome for albums to come (i hope).

In my next post, I'll share some research about the new drummer, the man, the legend, the young man, Thomas Pridgen.

Welcome to Goliath

Thank you for taking interest in The Mars Volta's fourth studio album: The Bedlam in Goliath. This page was created to fill a void in the community. Check back often - I will update daily.