For punk, metal, or hard rock bands, the unplugged album is the one that shows whether they've been succeeding simply on energy and volume or because of real talent. (Anyone who remained a skeptic of Kurt Cobain's songwriting skills must have been converted by Nirvana's MTV Unplugged masterpiece.) And Octahedron, a quieter and more subdued Mars Volta album, proves that same fact (if not at the same level as Nirvana) for a band that's perpetually lived on a knife's edge of tension. Recorded in less than a month, Octahedron is by no means an unplugged album -- it's not acoustic, it's not confined to ballads, and it includes consecutive hard rockers in "Cotopaxi" and "Desperate Graves" -- but it charts a different direction for the Mars Volta, and proves they don't need to shuttle between dynamic extremes in order to succeed on an artistic level. The format allows a greater role and more space for John Frusciante, who accompanies Cedric Bixler-Zavala's vocals well, and also provides his own highlights, channeling the Edge on the emotional "Teflon" and, later, echoing Pink Floyd on "With Twilight as My Guide." With a few exceptions, Zavala's lyrics are as arcane as ever; the glossary for "Halo of Nembutals" alone would include the words "vermin," "sloth," "ringworms," "necrophiliacs," "carcinogen," "asp," "communion-shaped," and "palindromes." Still, they achieve scrutability far more often than in the past, and reveal more of the tenderness that was occasionally visible in Mars Volta material. ("Since We've Been Wrong," the single and first track, is especially affecting.) Calling this an unplugged album is useful only in relation to what the group has produced in the past, but what the Mars Volta created on Octahedron will provide them with more range and opportunities in the future.
posted by JeremyThe Mars Volta, "Octahedron" (Warner Bros.)I forgot how much I liked The Mars Volta. So I went back and listened to all their material - five studio albums, two extended players and one live album. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Cedric Bixler-Zavala are Grammy wining artists who won Best Progressive Rock Band at the 2009 Grammy's. Their new album Octahedron is a bit on the softer side wh...
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This isn't the Mars Volta's "acoustic" record, but the usual indie-prog craziness is toned down to highlight slower, calmer material.
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When looking at The Mars Volta's discography, you can see how necessary an album like Octahedron is. Ever since Frances The Mute, there's been something missing from their progressive-jazz madness and though none of their material was necessarily bad, it didn't stand up against the monolith of their earlier work.
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The Comatorium is reporting that a new Mars Volta album is due out this year, and that an official announcement is expected soon: As reported on The Comatorium blog as well as Berlinista.com; an official announcement is expected in near future regarding The Mars Volta’s new album, Octahedron. Once again, the album will be produced [...]
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posted by JeremyThe Mars Volta, "Octahedron" (Warner Bros.)I forgot how much I liked The Mars Volta. So I went back and listened to all their material - five studio albums, two extended players and one live album. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Cedric Bixler-Zavala are Grammy wining artists who won Best Progressive Rock Band at the 2009 Grammy's. Their new album Octahedron is a bit on the softer side wh...
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The Mars Volta's new album quietly came out on Tuesday. Quietly in that there doesn't seem to be much buzz here about it, and quietly also in the way the record sounds. A lot of the songs are very subdued compared to other releases of theirs such as The Bedlam in Goliath. It's an album that really takes it time in creating in sonic textures rather than being always crazy and in-your-face. I rea...
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whaaa?Straight from The Mars Volta’s site:Host Your Own “Octahedron” Listening PartyThis summer, The Mars Volta is giving a handful of lucky fans the chance to check out Octahedron before it is released on June 23rd! We are looking for 10-15 of their biggest fans to host advance listenings in their homes for their new album, [...]Related posts:The Mars Volta: Octahedron release info and MP3:
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The Mars Volta, a rock band from L.A., definitely knows how to put together sick melodies & rhythms that build up intensity from the beginning to the end of the song. Here is the single from their upcoming album titled *Octahedron* called "Since We've Been Wrong". Spotted @ I Guess I'm Floating!The Mars Volta - "Since We've Been Wrong" (mp3)*Octahedron* drops June 23rd!PigeonsandPlanes
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Octahedron, The Mars Volta’s 5th LP, is hitting stores on June 22nd after, literally, years worth of waiting. Universal Records sat on The Bedlam In Goliath for months, and in that downtime, TMV was able to write and record another album. The band was so ahead of the curve that a snippet of an early [...]
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This isn't the Mars Volta's "acoustic" record, but the usual indie-prog craziness is toned down to highlight slower, calmer material.
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The Mars Volta have premiered the music video for ‘Since We’ve Been Wrong‘.The track is off the band’s fifth studio album, ‘Octahedron‘, which was released last week (June 23).The song was originally set to be featured on the band’s previous album, ‘The Bedlam in Goliath‘, but was scrapped of the record because the band felt it didn’t fit the album.Mars Volta The Mars Volta -
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One week ahead of releasing their fifth studio album, Octahedron, the Mars Volta are allowing fans to give it a full listen on their MySpace page.Previously, you could only hear lead track “Since We’ve Been Wrong” and “Cotopaxi” but now’s your chance to preview the entire album before picking it up on June 23rd.Last week, [...]
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When looking at The Mars Volta's discography, you can see how necessary an album like Octahedron is. Ever since Frances The Mute, there's been something missing from their progressive-jazz madness and though none of their material was necessarily bad, it didn't stand up against the monolith of their earlier work.
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MySpace Direktvideo link[Embedded Video]
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It’s true, The Mars Volta are up to LP5. I’m not exactly sure when that happened, but I think it was around the time that Cedric Bixler Zavala was talking about possibilities of an At the Drive-In reunion and bla bla new album bla bla. What was that about an At the Drive-In reunion?Anyway, I [...]
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So props goes out to SoundVerite in bringing me back to The Mars Volta. I used to love them back in the day. They have possibly one of the most interesting types of music that I had ever heard. While most of their songs are crazy and so out there I was able to listen to most of them and for those who couldn't they still put out a couple songs that were more pleasing to the normal ear, luckily I..
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The first North American single to be taken from The Mars Volta's latest album 'Octahedron' (the European single was Cotopaxi) is Since We've Been Wrong, the intro track from the new LP. The song has been given a rather brilliant video and though it's simply just the band recording in the studio, the song creates a rather eery, almost juxtaposed atmosphere.
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The Mars Volta's latest single is doing its round on the internet so we thought we'd let you in on the new track and see what you guys thought. The bands newly announced fifth album Octahedron (SG News HERE) is due to reach the world on June 23rd and this surprisingly short single by the name of Cotopaxi.
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Since We've Been Wrong |
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| 2 Teflon |
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| 3 Halo of Nembutals |
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| 4 With Twilight as My Guide |
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| 5 Cotopaxi |
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| 6 Desperate Graves |
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| 7 Copernicus |
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| 8 Luciforms |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Octahedron")
