I don't go there as often as I used to, mainly because ever since the band broke up, it's changed in look, traffic, and overall feel. It actually did a few years back after the site crashed I recall.
1 - 14 (possible outtake from Noctourniquet LP)
2 - 98d87 (Molochwalker demo)
3 - cmv8 (Sea is Rising demo)
4 - dp (Omar Rodriguez-Lopez possible only demo)
5 - EF4 (possible Casate Colmillo demo)
6 - eog-3
7 - f39h (elements later used in the live version of Trinkets Pale of Moon)
8 - f9h0 (another possible Casate Colmillo demo)
9 - K49 (possible outtake from Octahedron LP)
10 - pi4 (possible Happiness demo)
11 - QR5 `
12 - s [FQW (similar to the first track on the collection)
13 - XV8 (possible New York City demo or Asco Que Conmueve Los Puntos Erogenos demo)
14 - y2g (Vicarious Atonement demo)
15 - ytj6 (also similar to the first track on the collection)
these may not be anything amazing, but especially given we may never get any more from the band, I'm at least curious to check them out. And I did enjoy Noctourniquet, quite a bit.
I personally have mixed feelings. On 1 hand, I felt Noctourniquet was their best record in many years, and they seemed to be gradually getting better.
On the other hand, Omar seems to need to release 2 or 3 albums every year anyway, and there always seems to be some kind of conflicting views between him and Cedric, which may mean this is for the best. If so, it may mean the end of 1 of the most important artists in progressive rock over the last 15 years.
I suppose I am curious to hear Cedric's solo stuff anyway, but who knows if that stuff or any of Omar's endless number of releases will ever compare.
The Mars Volta's sixth and probably final LP,Noctourniquet, dropped in March 2012. In lieu of a corresponding tour, there was talk of a hiatus. Now it's officially over, per vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who broke off from At the Drive In with Omar Rodríguez-López in 2001 to form the psych-prog-jazz-hardcore-math-etc.-rock group. "I can't sit here and pretend any more. I no longer am a member of Mars Volta," Bixler-Zavala tweets. "Thank u 2 all VOLTA fans u deserved more especially after the way u rooted for us on this album. I tried my hardest to keep it going. But Bosnian Rainbows was what we all got instead." (Bosnian Rainbows is the latest musical venture for the brain-smashingly prolific Rodríguez-López, incidentally the Lennon to Bixler-Zavala's McCartney, or vice-versa.) "For the record I tried my hardest to get a full scale North American tour going for Noctourniquet but Omar did not want to. ... What am I suppose to do be some progressive house wife that's cool with watching their partner go fuck other bands? We owe it 2 fans to tour." It's not all jabs, though — Bixler-Zavala simultaneously seems a bit misty eyed over it all: "Thank u a million times over for ever giving a fuck about our band." Omar's side of things, per an NME interview published hours before things went to Breakup Town? "It’s been very strange being without Cedric. It’s one of those bittersweet moments, it’s great for both of us because he’s making this great solo record, which is more of an acoustic thing. I’m really excited to hear another side of him and to work on music without me. He’s composing all the music, playing all the instruments, literally doing everything himself, rather than just singing over the top of my songs." Yeah ... maybe best for these two to have some alone time. [Cedric Bixler-Zavala/Twitter] [NME]
the whole track "The Malkin Jewel"..this is definitely different, but it intrigues me in a lot of ways.
below: Track Times have been added from http://www.themarsvolta.com/discography
2/9/12 2:12PM
early review:
"My hatred of prog rock and it's mushroom munching, Hobbit-loving fans"
I'd love to force this writer, Rory O'Keeffe, to attend Nearfest, just out of spite, with comments like that..That write-up, while intriguing, reeks of the attittude hordes of snobs (and Hipsters) who pine for the return of At the Drive-In.
"The best American Rock Band to come out of the second half of the 1990s" ? well, not really.
They were good and can be applauded for ambition, but there are other bands that at least formed and recorded their earliest music then that I still would take easily over AtDI. How about dredg, for one.
1/17/12 2:05PM
Track List/cover art and link with more info here
1 The Whip Hand4:49
2 Aegis5:11
3 Dyslexicon4:22
4 Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound6:43
5 The Malkin Jewel4:44
6 Lapochka4:16
7 In Absentia7:26
8 Imago3:58
9 Molochwalker3:33
10 Trinkets Pale of Moon4:25
11 Vedamalady3:54
12 Noctourniquet5:39
13 Zed and Two Naughts5:36
V/A classifierV/A labelV/A genreV/A tributeLanguagesEnglishEnglishCatalog NoReissue?Not a reissueNot a reissue
"While Noctourniquet was, in typical Mars Volta fashion, written by Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and produced by Rodriguez-Lopez, the 13-track album explores musical territories previously uncharted in the duo's 20 or so years of creating music together. The spectrum of musical and emotional textures conceived and created by Rodriguez-Lopez ranges from the opening bombast of "The Whip Hand" to the menacing crawl of "The Malkin Jewel" punctuated throughout by hypnotic melodies and borderline electro-ambient washes, most notably in the epic "In Absentia." The bold diversity of the new material combined with Rodriguez-Lopez's most confident and refined performances to date make Noctourniquet an early contender for this year's most challenging and rewarding listen."
In Absentia, nuevo disco de The Mars Volta para el 27 de marzo.
I just saw some info their new album comes out on March 27th. There is no confirmed Title although it may start with an "A." Despite how that twitter post reads, the title is not in fact "In Absentia" but 1 of the songs is titled.
There is a song on the new volta that goes by the name in absentia but it is not the record title…I am afraid that is not the title of latest volta record. we will announce it soon. it really is just around the corner.
I guess it (or another track, "Zed and Two Naughts" perhaps) is going to be included on the soundtrack to the new video game MLB12 though.
some of the songs people are speculating:
Aegis
The Malking Jewel
Molochwalk
The Whip Hand
Zed And Two Naughts
In Absentia
Trinkets Pale Of Moon
Mountains of Avarice (or something similar)
Noctourniquet
Dyslexicon
Lurking About In A Cold Sweat (this may be an older title for In Absentia, not sure)
What happened with their record label situation, etc I haven't read about yet, but there was/is a facebook campaign to let them release this album, an album that has been done and ready to be released for awhile, but did not come out in 2011 due to label issues.
