The Mars Volta

[GooeyToast]

Started listening to them again lately, must say they are an incredibly awesome band. Cedric Bixler has a great voice, at least I think so. And Omar is one hell of a songwriter/guitarist. They have that unique fresh sound you just don't hear very often. I especially love the complex songs, they are almost all more than 5 minutes and cover a lot of musical ground, from rock to jazz to salsa. Deloused is on of the best albums I've heard in awhile, same with Frances the Mute, although I prefer Deloused more.

So what do you think of the Mars? Do you have any favorite songs by them?

My favorite would have to be either Roulette Dares or Televators.

[Necronopticous]

I've seen them live twice and I am a huge fan of their music, although right now I have to say they're sort of in a played-out state to me. Always looking forward to more content from them, though.

[eestlinc]

their music bothers me. it's too overstated, i think. just too much in general without a good sense of large scale form or pacing.

[Yamaneko]

They might be good musicians, but their compositional skills lack.

[Strider]

I saw them live and they were terrible.

[dirkdirden]

they are some of the best musisains out there, but there music is alot like classical music people either love it or hate it.

I love it, have seen them live 5 times, they are all bad ass.

I saw them with APC and Manard passed out on stage becuase he had the flu and The mars Volta filled in for them and played a 30 mins song frestyle it was so bad ass.

aslo side note, Omar Lopez Rodregues the guitar player is dateing Jimmy Pages Daughter, or at least was when I saw them in new mexico.

[~SapphireStar~]

Ive heard lots of different opinions on them and want to have a good listen myself. Can anyone reckomend any albums or songs for a first time Mars Volta listener?

[Cz]

Bought Frances the Mute and didn't see the appeal. The level of technical skill they display on the album is admirable, but the music itself didn't trigger a reaction in me at all. I hear Deloused is the better album, but I'm not going to take a chance on buying it until I see it cheap.

[Lindy]

Personally, I preferred At The Drive-In, and I think I'm actually leaning more towards enjoying Sparta (at least, the more recent album).

I was a big fan when De-Loused came out, and I've seen them three times live, but Frances the Mute seriously lacks, and their live shows varied from fantastic to downright boring.

They also have a tendency to play music completely unrelated to their album tracks just because they "feel like it", so it's best if you don't go to a show expecting to hear all your favourite tracks.

[Burtsplurt]

I liked ATDI a lot, but when I heard some Mars Volta demos I was quite excited. Unfortunately, Deloused in Comatorium was over-produced and meandered a lot ("Hey, maybe what we need in this standard rock song is some jazz... and some samba."). It just didn't have the raw energy of ATDI.

Frances the Mute doesn't meander - it's never going anywhere to start with. It sounds like a bit of a mess.

[Mythra]

Just started listening to this band a couple of days ago, and I think they are pretty good. I really like the uniqueness of the lead singers voice. His voice may not appeal to some, but I like singers with a different set of vocals. I've really only listened to De-loused in the Comatorium, but from what I've listened to, they are really good. I think so far Intertiatic E.S.P is my fav. song on that cd.

[Madame Adequate]

Don't like them much. They usually bury 40 seconds of amazing music in the middle of 7 minutes of dreck. ATDI was the best, but post-ATDI I will take Sparta every time, even if Porcelain was not much compared to Wiretap Scars.

[fire_of_avalon]

I still like them, but I like pretty much everything.