The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath

The Mars Volta
The Bedlam In Goliath

Universal Motown Records, 2008

Cedric Bixler-Zavala - lead vocals
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - guitars
Juan Alderete - bass guitar
Thomas Pridgen - drums and percussion
Isaiah Ikey Owens - keyboards
Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez - percussion
Adrian Terrazaz-Gonzalez - tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet, flute
Paul Hinojos - sound manipulation, guitar

-featuring-
John Frusciante - guitar
Nathaniel Tookey- string composition and arrangement
Edwin Huizinga - violin
Anthony Blea - violin
Charith Premawardhana - viola
Sam Bass - cello
Owen Levine - upright bass
Henry Trejo - spoken word, backing vocals

1. Aberinkula
2. Metotron
3. Ilyena
4. Wax Simulcra
5. Goliath
6. Tourniquet Man
7. Cavalettas
8. Agadez
9. Askepios
10. Ourobouros
11. Soothsayer
12. Conjugal Burns


The Mars Volta's latest album was plagued by various incidents and mishaps during its recording, which were integrted into the concept of the album. The band owned a ouija board and would play with it after shows, and it told them stories from three entities in one, who called itself Goliath. When they began recording the album, however, strange happenings began to plague the band. Their drummer left the band, and Rodriguez-Lopez's home studio flooded and had frequent unexplained power outages, Bixler-Zavala required foot surgery, and the album's recording engineer sufferend a mental breakdown and left suddenly, leaving no notes as to what work he had done or how. The band broke the board, which they called "The Soothsayer," in half, buried it in an undisclosed location, and refused to speak of it until the album was finished, then proceeded to forge on with the writing and recording.

Anyway, let's talk about the actual music now. This is simultaneously The Mars Volta's noisiest and least noisiest album. I know that doesn't make sense, so I'm going to elaborate. This is some of the loudest, heaviest, and most dissonant music the band has ever recorded easily. However, there are no atmospheric synth-noise passages like there was on Deloused In The Comatorium and more prominently on Frances the Mute. Here the noise is incorporated into the music instead of attempting to act as music on its own. The synth noise is buried in the mix behind the music, kept to a low roar that adds texture. Instrumentally, it's the drums and the guitar that take the lead. The drumming is aggressive and erratic, the beats in odd time signatures and frequently interrupted by fills. The guitar solos take the key signatures only as a loose suggestion, and are loud and distorted nearly throughout the full album. At points, wind instruments come up and wail over the rest of the music, showing little to no regard for melody. The vocals are much different from Deloused In The Comatorium. Instead of channeling Robert Plant, he has adopted a unique style all his own. At their lowest they are nasal and at their highest they are efffeminate falsettos. This style works a lot better than it sounds, however, as it fits the music well and he never hits terrible false notes. There are even noisy bits in the vocals, parts are processed throgh some sort of synthsizer/distortion and sound like some sort of robot (not the robot-voice abused by pop artists of the 90s, a much more sinister-sounding robot.)

The concept is not integral to enjoy the album, in fact, you can get by entirely without it. As far as I can tell the lyrics do not deal directly with it openly, although it's hard to tell. The lyrics are typical Mars Volta fare, rambling and nonsensical, and feautring a much larger vocabulary than your typical rock music. The lyrics are rather enjoyable if you're not put off by that style.

Despite all the trouble that The Mars Volta endured during the recording process, they churned out what I consider to be their finest album. Fans of Deloused In The Comatorium will enjoy the hard-rocking style of this one. Some might be disappointed that the Spanish vocals of Frances The Mute and Amputechture are absent this time around, and while those were nice, the music gets by without them. By now, it should go without saying that this one comes with a high reccomendation. (An amusing side note: listen for the misheard lyric in the first half of Conjugal Burns.)

Marillion - Script For A Jester's Tear

Marillion
Script for a Jester's Tear

EMI 1983

Fish - vocals
Steve Rothery - guitars
Mark Kelly - keyboards
Pete Trewavas - bass guitar
Mick Pointer - drums and percussion

1. Script for a Jester's Tear
2. He Knows, You Know
3. The Web
4. Garden party
5. Chelsea Monday
6. Forgotten Sons

Marillion is one of the most influential and most well-known of the neo-prog groups. They are also one of the most original, being one of the bands at the forefront of the genre, and are widely considered to be the best.

The album starts with its title track, a melodramatic song about lost love, with soaring guitar solos, twiddly keyboard parts, and too many changes in dynamics to even try and count. That description doesn't do the song justice though, the piece is truly a beautiful work of art. The instrumental work (think Genesis-meets-Rush-meets-Pink Floyd) is superb, and Fish's highly emotive vocals (think Peter Gabriel-meets-Peter Hammill) suit the dramatic lyrics perfectly. He makes an excellent frontman. The next song, He Knows, You Know, is more straight-forward song. This one deals with drug addiction, with dark imagery scattered everywhere. Fish once again puts his dramatic voice to good use, making vast dynamic and range jumps, often doing so mid-word. there is an instrumental break in the middle where Rothery and Kelly have some very nice interplay. The next song, The Web, is another long progressive piece, more similar to Script for a Jester's Tear than to He Knows, You Know. The lyrics are once again angsty, but less focused on an obvious topic, and focus more on being poetic than telling a clear story. There are, however, a few more references to lost love and drug abuse. His voice bounces around in dynamics more than ever before here, and Rothery and Kelly both do stunning solos. Garden Party and Chelsea Monday aren't as good, but the final song on the album is amazing. Forgotten Sons starts off sounding more straightforward, but quickly launches into more changes in mood and theme in the space of 6 minutes than Script for a Jester's Tear covered in a little over 8 minutes. Included is a twisted remake of the Lord's Prayer and spoken-word interludes. It makes a powerful conclusion to a great album.

Admittedly, it's not for everyone. The angst level of the lyrics could easily be called emo (only in mentality, not music style), and if you aren't into such dark and highly dramatized music then you probably won't be able to appreciate it. But if you can get into that kind of thing, this album is for you. Marillion would only do two or three other albums that were equals to this one. (If you can get your hands of the bonus tracks, do so. It's worth it just for the epic Grendel.)

Uriah Heep - Demons And Wizards

Uriah Heep
Demons and Wizards

Mercury 1972

David Byron - vocals
Ken Hensley - acoustic and slide guitar
Mick Box - lead guitar
Gary Thain - bass guitar
Lee Kerslake - drums, percussion

1. The Wizard
2. Traveller in Time
3. Easy Livin'
4. Poet's Justice
5. Circle of Hands
6. Rainbow Demon
7. All My Life
8. Paradise/The Spell

This album by Uriah Heep is large unknown now. And how criminal that is. This album is an amazing piece of work by an under-recognized band.

The Wizard is a mostly acoustic song with fantasy lyrics, fused with a sort of hippie idealism. Traveller in Time and Easy Livin' are both catchy rockers, the former with some great wah-guitar work, and the latter being one of the bands few big hits. Poet's Justice and Circle of Hands are more progressive pieces. The lyrics are beautifully poetic and the music rises to an epic splendor. Rainbow Demon is a heavy progressive song, with dirty organ and electric guitar dominating the sound. All My Life, I think, is the weakest song on the album. It's another straight-forward rocker in the vein of Easy Livin', but the former is more impressive, which leaves the latter feeling like it comes up short. The last song is the epic-length Paradise/The Spell. The lyrics are mostly dark and in places angry, the first part is soft and dominated by acoustic guitar or piano. When the second part comes in, organ, Mellotron, and electric guitar come to the forefront and dymanics shift constantly. The song ends with a grand crescendo, bringing the album to an epic close. Another thing that deserves mention is the drum work: nearly each song features excellent fills sure to please those into flashy drum fills. And who isn't?

This album comes highly recommended to fans of proto-prog or proto-metal.

Captain Beyond - Captain Beyond

Captain Beyond
Captain Beyond

Capricorn, 1972

Rod Evans - vocals, percussion
Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt - guitars, backing vocals
Lee Dorman - bass guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
Bobby Caldwell - drums, percussion, vocals

1. Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air)
2. Armworth
3. Myopic Voic
4. Mesmerization Eclipse
5. Raging River of Fear
6. Thousand Days of Yesterday (Intro)
7. Frozen Over
8. Thousand Days of Yesterday (Time Since Come and Gone)
9. I Can't Feel Nothin' (Part 1)
10. As The Moon Speaks (To The Waves of the Sea)
11. Astral Lady
12. As The Moon Speaks (Return)
13. I Can't Feel Nothin' (Part 2)

Captin Beyond may be one of the most obscure bands of the 70's, but the bands that their members came from certainly weren't. Evans was the original vocalist for Deep Purple (the one that sang on Hush), Reinhardt and Dorman were from Iron Butterfly, and Caldwell played with Johnny Winter. Some call them prog-rock, some call them space-rock, some compare them to the Allman Brothers. But no matter what you call them, they were a talented band, despite their lack of commerical success.

Many of the songs on this album actually merge together to create longer songs. The first set is Dancing Madly Backwards / Armworth / Myopic Void. The songs are full of heavy riffs and odd time signatures, and finishes with a section featuring several guitars with delay, slide, and wah applied to them. The effect is otherworldly, and gives you the feeling of floating into space or into a vision. Mesmerization Eclipspe and Raging River of Fear each stand alone, and both are excellent rockers. The next epic is Thousand Days of Yesterday / Frozen Over / Thousand Days of Yesterday. It starts off with another etheral guitar-based track before launching into two rockers, with similar lyrics to tie them together. The album's finale is I Can't Feel Nothin' / As The Moon Speaks / Astral Lady / As The Moon Speaks / I Can't Feel Nothin'. (I certainly hope they had some other way of naming these songs when they did them live...) Bookended by some of the best rocking tracks on the album, the poetic middle sections compliment it nicely, and the jam in the middle is another great track.

Any fan of the rock of this era, progressive rock, or proto-prog should check this out. These are a excellent musicians performing some amazing songs. I can think of no reason for their failure, other than they were perhaps ahead of their time. Three or four years later, Rush would fuse progressive excess with bluesy hard rock and strike it big.

Return To Forever - Romantic Warrior

Return to Forever
Romantic Warrior

Columbia 1976

Al DiMeola - acoustic and electric guitars
Chick Corea - piano, electric piano, synthsizers
Stanley Clarke - bass guitar
Lenny White - drums, percussion

1. Medieval Overture
2. Sorceress
3. Romantic Warrior
4. Majestic Dance
5. The Magician
6. The Duel of the Jester and the Tyrant: parts I and II

Return to Forever, along with the Mahavishnu Orchestra and Weather Report, was one of the best and one of the most well-known jazz fusion groups of the 70s. Like the other two mentioned above, Return to Forever consisted of several members of Miles Davis's band from the Bitches' Brew era.

The music here is instrumental jazz fusion. The sound is a mixture of progressive rock, classical music, and jazz. It has a very medieval feel to it, as foreshadowed by the album cover and the song titles. The band has massive talent in every position, with each song carrying a display of chops from each member. DiMeola's guitar playing is at a speed that rivals that of neo-classical shredders such as Malmsteen, but his delivery is much more varied and enjoyable. He does it in both clean and distorted tones, and in mostly major keys or modal runs. Corea is on the same level, tearing out brilliant piano runs and a couple of blazing synth solos. Stanley Clarke and Lenny White are a powerful rhythm section, keeping a great beat, rockish in some parts, funky in others, throwing in fills that display their technical ability.

I don't think that there is a bad song on this album. Are songs are impressive and enjoyable, each in their own way. This is one of my favorite, if not my absolute favorite, jazz fusion album so far.

Queensryche - Operation Mindcrime

Queensryche
Operation : Mindcrime

Geoff Tate - vocals
Michael Wilton - guitars, backing vocals
Chris DeGarmo - guitars, backing vocals
Eddie Jackson - bass guitar, backing vocals
Scott Rockenfield - drums, percussion
-featuring-
Pamela Moore - lead and backing vocals

1. I Remember Now
2. Anarchy-X
3. Revolution Calling
4. Operation: Mindcrime
5. Speak
6. Spreading the Disease
7. The Mission
8. Suite Sister Mary
9. The Needle Lies
10. Electric Requiem
11. Breaking the Silence
12. I Don't Believe in Love
13. Waiting for 22
14. My Empty Room
15. Eyes of a Stranger

This is the story of a man who hates the government. This is the story of a man who loves drugs. This is the album that launched the entire genre of progressive metal. This is Queensryche. This is quite possibly the most pretentious way I've opened a review. Ever.

This is one of my favorite albums, and in my opinion, one of the best concept albums ever made. All of the musicians are very talented, but the obvious star of the show is Geoff Tate. His vast vocal range is put to its full use, and is complimented perfectly by Pamela Moore. Musically, it is very guitar-driven, with the two guitarists churning out soaring solos, with the occasional bit of wankery thrown in, and heavy rhythms that compliment the angry lyrics. The sound is fairly typical of 80s hair metal, but the lyrics are different, more intelligent. Instead of innuendos that cause eye-rolling and cheesy ballads, you get anti-government sentiment, drugs, and insanity. The story is certainly a very morbid one, and the live performances highlight that. But for those who can enjoy that kind if thing, this album carries a huge payoff.

This album has been in my car almost constantly since I got it, so I can listen to it even when I'm not at home. The story is interesting, but each song is packed with adrenaline and most can stand on their own, regardless of the album's concept. Any fan of 80s rock or progressive metal should have this one.

Frank Zappa - Hot Rats

Frank Zappa
Hot Rats

Rykodisc, 1969

Frank Zappa - guitar, bass, percussion
-featuring-
Captain Beefheart - vocals
Ian Underwood - saxophone, woodwinds, keyboards
Sugarcane Harris - violin
Jean-Luc Ponty - violin
Shuggy Otis - bass
Maz Bennett - bass
John Guerin - drums
Paul Humphrey - drums
Ron Selico - drums

1. Peaches en Regalia
2. Willie the Pimp
3. Son of Mr. Green Genes
4. Little Umbrellas
5. The Gumbo Variations
6. It Must be a Camel

Frank Zappa is, in a word, strange. This, however, is one of his more accessible albums. You won't find anything as dirty as Dina Moe Humm or Bobby Brown (Goes Down) on this one, nor is there anything as silly as Joe's Garage. Most of the album is performed in a style of instrumental jazz fusion, the music technical yet fun at the same time.

The album starts off with the tremendously catchy Peaches en Regalia, but the catchiness is deceiving. The various melody lines weave in and out of each other, creating a complex but simultaneously very enjoyable little song. Next is the only vocal track on the album, Willie the Pimp. The lyrics about being a pimp, sung by Captain Beefheart, are more goofy than offensive, and most of the song's time is spent in a very impressive guitar solo from Zappa. Son of Mr. Green Genes is a long instrumental track with some more great soloing from Zappa, and Little Umbrellas is a short instrumental, but more relaxed than Peaches en Regalia. Next is the 16-minute Gumbo Variations, an amazing jam session between Harris, Zappa, and Underwood. The album ends on another shorter instrumental, It Must be a Camel.

While I don't own anywhere near all of Frank Zappa's extensive catalog, this is probably my favorite album out of what I have. Anyone who wants to hear him play some semi-serious music should check this out, and anyone who is new to Zappa would probably do well to start here, unless they're seeking Zappa out for his more humorous and sexual side.