<div style='font: 11pt arial; text-align: left; '>I just got into them recently. I must say they are quite sick, and not only in terms of technical virtuosity (which they possess in abundance) - their songwriting is simply top-notch, being surreal, artistically complex and "high-concept" without sacrificing accessibility (plus they managed to get Flea on bass <I>and</i> Rick Rubin producing, which is no small feat).
The tracks on <I>De-Loused In the Comatorium</i> (which I believe is their first full-length album) are breakdown-laden, with a tendency to move off into guitar/pro-tool tangents for what, at first, seem to be excessive periods of time, but after a few listens you begin to appreciate the true depth of these sections and the moods which they convey (which is important for any concept album to do, and this is indeed <a href=http://www.themarsvolta.com/index_main.html>a concept album</a>). Anyway, even if you don't care for the self-indulgent, proggish stuff, there's still more than enough heavy, virtuosic rock here to satisfy a casual listener.
The duo who front the MV, Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala, are the same fellas who fronted the post-hardcore ensemble At the Drive-In, and even though this is a pretty big departure from that scene you can definitely see where their professional roots are in this album. "Prog-rock, grounded in a punk-aesthetic" is how the website describes the band, which is quite fitting I think. This is a great band - I'd recommend them to pretty much anyone.</div>
The tracks on <I>De-Loused In the Comatorium</i> (which I believe is their first full-length album) are breakdown-laden, with a tendency to move off into guitar/pro-tool tangents for what, at first, seem to be excessive periods of time, but after a few listens you begin to appreciate the true depth of these sections and the moods which they convey (which is important for any concept album to do, and this is indeed <a href=http://www.themarsvolta.com/index_main.html>a concept album</a>). Anyway, even if you don't care for the self-indulgent, proggish stuff, there's still more than enough heavy, virtuosic rock here to satisfy a casual listener.
The duo who front the MV, Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala, are the same fellas who fronted the post-hardcore ensemble At the Drive-In, and even though this is a pretty big departure from that scene you can definitely see where their professional roots are in this album. "Prog-rock, grounded in a punk-aesthetic" is how the website describes the band, which is quite fitting I think. This is a great band - I'd recommend them to pretty much anyone.</div>
[b]Sorry, it looks like I'm going to have to kill you in an instant.[/b]
