OK - I really love Cryptomnesis

Alright - I finally had the chance to get right fucked up and crank Cryptomnesia. Let me tell you, this is just one of those albums that will go down in history as rediculously experimental. The rythems are effed up, the vocals are actually really good Cedric, I'm sorry my first posts said otherwise, and the band is just damn cool.

If anyone has listened to the first Hella CD, you can imagine adding omar, cedric, juan and Hischke to the mix... it's retarded. The second song is wicked. I'm looking forward to the Octahedron album now too - they're claiming it's the Mars Volta's 'acoustic' record! Ha! Rumour has it that the next Volta CD to be released after Octahedron has already been recorded, and is being code named 'the metal' album. Oh how excited are we? A little..!

Thanks to my readers for getting me upto 400 uniques a day! Check back soon!

Might have Torrent for Cryptomnesia

A friend in Australia has a copy of the new album on vinyl. We're working on it.
If anyone has any information about the new omar rodriguez-lopez album, please email me.

I will have news on the torrent over the next few days. Please play safe and be generous. thanks!

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.

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.