Released: 23/06/09

The Mars Volta, under the guidance of long time band mates Omar Rodriguez Lopez and Cedric Bixler Zavala, have continuously pushed the boundaries of contemporary, progressive hard rock through some of the most intense yet intricate releases of recent times. This time, guided by a sense of raw clarity, Rodriguez-Lopez et al. have crafted their fifth full studio offering Octahedron in an uncomplicated manner, avoiding many synthetic effects and presenting a more natural Mars Volta.

Now the thing is with The Mars Volta, although they are always clearly very impressive, they tend to take a bit of adjusting to, and this album is no different. From the outset it’s obvious this is a good album, but a few listens in, it’s even more obvious this is actually a great album. The delicate opener Since We’ve Been Wrong sets the tone with its atmospheric feel and smooth melodies, although the contrast between this and following track Teflon is captivating. A personal favourite on the album, Teflon exposes a haunting and altogether quite dark side, cold and calculated, and surprisingly anthemic.

The unrefined intricacy of Octahedron is incredibly refreshing and testament to the fact that they don’t need hundreds of layers or effects to carry an intensity most other groups can only hope for. Tracks such as With Twilight As My Guide and Copernicus are excellent examples of this, blending deliciously twisted melodies, gentle grooves and an engulfing ambience that absorb the listener through pure simplicity. There are tracks too that sum up what we’ve come to expect of The Mars Volta, and even flashbacks of what we used to love about At The Drive In, such as Cotopaxi, with it’s confident swagger and controlled mayhem you can still see where they’ve come from.

In short, this is a musical journey and should be appreciated in its entirety. Listen to it all in one go, then listen to it again, it will only get better. In fact by the time Luciforms’ epic crescendo reaches it’s pinnacle, the guitars stop wailing, the rhythm section dies down and the CD ends you’re gonna want to hear it again anyway, so go with instincts, you’ll thank me in the long run.

www.marsvolta.com

Dave Writer