The Mars Volta – Octahedron
Warner Bros. (6/23/09)
Progressive/Experimental rock
“I consider it to be our acoustic album”, reveals Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, guitarist for The Mars Volta and producer of their fifth studio album. Vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala adds, “We know how people can be so linear in their way of thinking, so when they hear the new album, they’re going to say, ‘This is not an acoustic album! There’s electricity throughout it!’ But it’s our version. That’s what our band does—celebrate mutations. It’s our version of what we consider an acoustic album.”
Octahedron is less intense than previous efforts, and the band claims that this is not a concept album. However, it still packs that Volta “punch”, with explosive guitar riffs, bombastic drumming and eerie sounds that fans have become accustomed to hearing.
As far as the weird noises go, sound manipulator Paul Hinojos and saxophonist Adrian Terrazas-Gonzalez were let go by the band with no real said reason. (Damn! I’m gonna miss those guys.) For Octahedron, Isiah “Ikey” Owens plays the keyboards while Rodriguez-Lopez’s brother Marcel works the synthesizer, while Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante returns for what seems to be a regular “thing” for later Volta and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez solo albums. The album was recorded in August of 2008 in Brooklyn, with discussions of the record’s material and mood being talked about as early as January of that year.
The set starts off with the seven-minute plus “Since We’ve Been Wrong”, which probably bests sums up the “acoustic” sound being described on this record. Even though the intro is a tad long and tedious, the melody is nice and features very good guitar counterpoint. “Desperate Graves” bears some really passionate harmony vocals and tribal drumming, while “Cotopaxi” is one of the most memorable tracks, with the band delivering their trademark aggression and intensity. (This tune was played as the “hottest record in the world” for that day on the Zane Lowe BBC Radio One show on April 22.)
By no means is Octahedron The Mars Volta’s most accomplished or in-your-face album, but they did state that doing something “the opposite” of previous records was their plan. Still, the tracks are well-written and layered, actually featuring Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s softer side of the guitar as there are a lot more single-note melodies, with less power chords and single-note, prog-fusion riffage. If you’re a fan, you still need it in your collection.
