Candy and a Currant Bun [*] - The Mars Volta, Barrett, S.
This USB drive, which has a 1 GB memory stick with the full album, "Wax Simulacra" video and album artwork preloaded, will be encased in a wooden Ouija board planchette. Dimensions of the planchette and USB drive are 3 inc... more »hes high and 1 inch wide. Plug it in, and on the 29th of each month after January, you'll get monthly content updates throughout 2008. This is THE product for the avid Mars Volta fan, keeping you in touch with the band and all their new content well after release date. Monthly content updates include b-sides, live videos, webisodes, exclusive wallpaper, the Goliath The Soothsayer video game, previously unreleased songs, and much, much more. The genesis of The Mars Volta's new album The Bedlam in Goliath is a tale of long-buried murder victims and their otherworldly influence, of strife and near collapse, of the long hard fight to push "the record that did not want to be born" out into the world. Omar was in a curio shop in Jerusalem when he found the Soothsayer, an archaic Ouija-style "talking board." Had he known at that moment that the board's history stretched far beyond its novelty appearance, that its very fibers were soaked through with something terribly other, that the choral death and desire of a multi-headed Goliath was waiting behind its gates... well, he might have left it at rest there on the dusty shelves. The Upside of That Choice: No bad mojo unleashed. Erase the madness that followed. Erase the bizarre connection to a love/lust/murder triangle that threatened to spill out into the present every time the band let its fingers drift over the board. The Downside: No Soothsayer means The Bedlam in Goliath never would have existed. And it turns out that this demented spiritual black hole of a muse has driven The Mars Volta to produce a crowning moment in their already stellar career. The band names this Ouija board "The Soothsayer", as it offers them a story: It's always about a man, a woman, and her mother. About the lust floating between them. About seduction and infidelity. And pain. And eventually, murder. Entrails and absence and curses and oblivion. To understand the full story....listen to "The Bedlam in Goliath."« less
This USB drive, which has a 1 GB memory stick with the full album, "Wax Simulacra" video and album artwork preloaded, will be encased in a wooden Ouija board planchette. Dimensions of the planchette and USB drive are 3 inches high and 1 inch wide. Plug it in, and on the 29th of each month after January, you'll get monthly content updates throughout 2008. This is THE product for the avid Mars Volta fan, keeping you in touch with the band and all their new content well after release date. Monthly content updates include b-sides, live videos, webisodes, exclusive wallpaper, the Goliath The Soothsayer video game, previously unreleased songs, and much, much more. The genesis of The Mars Volta's new album The Bedlam in Goliath is a tale of long-buried murder victims and their otherworldly influence, of strife and near collapse, of the long hard fight to push "the record that did not want to be born" out into the world. Omar was in a curio shop in Jerusalem when he found the Soothsayer, an archaic Ouija-style "talking board." Had he known at that moment that the board's history stretched far beyond its novelty appearance, that its very fibers were soaked through with something terribly other, that the choral death and desire of a multi-headed Goliath was waiting behind its gates... well, he might have left it at rest there on the dusty shelves. The Upside of That Choice: No bad mojo unleashed. Erase the madness that followed. Erase the bizarre connection to a love/lust/murder triangle that threatened to spill out into the present every time the band let its fingers drift over the board. The Downside: No Soothsayer means The Bedlam in Goliath never would have existed. And it turns out that this demented spiritual black hole of a muse has driven The Mars Volta to produce a crowning moment in their already stellar career. The band names this Ouija board "The Soothsayer", as it offers them a story: It's always about a man, a woman, and her mother. About the lust floating between them. About seduction and infidelity. And pain. And eventually, murder. Entrails and absence and curses and oblivion. To understand the full story....listen to "The Bedlam in Goliath."
CD Reviews
"I'm starting to feel a miscarriage coming on..."
Scott Bresinger | New York, USA | 01/29/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"(The Bedlam in Goliath" by The Mars Volta)
On their fourth studio album, The Mars Volta have definitely decided not to take it easy. From the very moment it starts until its ending 75 (!) minutes later, the band works in full steam ahead hyperdrive mode, rarely stopping for breath. One could be halfway through the album before realizing the first track is even over. On the upside, it shows a band determined to prove they're now the hardest working men in show business; on the downside, the songs tend to blend together into a massive rush of LOUDERFASTERNOW!!! Although working with the same prog-punk blueprint they've been developing over the years, here they seem to reject the more jam-band approach of Frances the Mute or Amputechture. All of the songs on the new album fall below the ten-minute mark, which for them is concise (disgruntled fans of the first album may want to check this one out). Their love of latin rhythms continues, however, aided ably by new drummer Thomas Pridgen, who gives the impression he's actually two men. The twin guitar attack of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and (former Chili Pepper) John Frusciante, while using every style they can think of (including feedback noise), here they at least stick to the song at hand. This is not to say they're not coloring outside the lines, but they play it at such light-speed that the impression one gets is of Miles Davis' On the Corner interpreted by meth-addled robots. Meanwhile, vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala sticks mainly to the upper registers of his voice and lets the words tumble out at such a rate thay a lyric sheet is necessary to know what they are. This is not to say "understand," though, "The Bedlam in Goliath" is billed as (what else?) a concept album about a seemingly cursed ouija board that the band acquired in Jerusalem. Hey, I don't make the news; I just report it. If any of this sounds a bit daunting, that's probably because it's supposed to be. The Mars Volta obviously don't appeal to casual listeners; in fact, die hard Rush or Tool fans may even run screaming from the room. One of their major inspirations, Carlos Santana, would probably also be baffled. Still, if you're already a fan of the band, or just want to test your fortitude as a music fan, this is the album you've been longing for. Though one wishes they'd slow down sometimes--this album is all crescendo, all the time--this is no return to the form of their earlier work but another creative level entirely. With their maximum-firepower approach, if The Mars Volta aren't the best band ever, they're certainly the most."
Watch me now
E. A Solinas | MD USA | 01/31/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I'll give the Mars Volta this -- they can spin a concept album out of just about anything. In this case, a cursed/haunted ouija board from Jerusalem.
And their fourth full-length album "The Bedlam in Goliath" is a suitably haunted, demented affair with some vibrant moments buried in the crazy lyrics and tsunamis of distorted, chaotic hard-rock. It just grabs you and pushes you to the edge, with the force of its dense music -- and if you like it weird, it's a blast.
It starts off loud -- a blazing twisting bassline, hammering drums and Cedric Bixler-Zavala's howling vocals buried somewhere in the twisting melody. And it's folllowed the equally eruptive "Metatron," a swirling storm of clashing riffs and sharp drums... really, it's like an extension of the first song,
With the distorted buildup and electric riffs of "Ilyena," the Mars Volta try out some different sounds -- blazing droning tsunamis of twirling bass'n'guitars, epic rockers with the power of a sandstorm, landslides of sputtering hoarse riffs, howling psychedelica, wailing laments, and the tight, serpentine power of "Ouroborous."
Admittedly, the Mars Volta can't keep up this energy continually -- "Tourniquet Man" is a messy tangle of distortion, horns, halfhearted drums and a continuous drone of synth in the background. "Askepios" flirts with this sound, but is saved from total boredom by its louder moments.
The Mars Volta has been dabbling in this stuff for years now, though they stumbled with an album that was more about the weirdness than the music. Fortunately, while it has some limp moments, "The Bedlam in Goliath" is more about the eruptions of vaguely psychedelic, extremely uncatchy hard rock -- in other words, what they do best.
They've also gained some polish to their stormy, tangled instrumentation -- lots of blazing riffs, machine-gun drums, and powerful basslines that sputter and twist together. These are tangled with some blaring horns and a mess of schizophrenic synth that can sound like anything from crickets to a landing UFO. At times it sounds like the instruments are being strangled, especially the guitar -- it's hard to imagine how those sounds are being produced by ordinary instruments.
The disappointment? I don't know where "Tourniquet Man" came from, except perhaps the need for a single -- it's just a meandering electric guitar, loosely strung with some synth effects and a moment of sax. They don't even bother with drums -- it sounds like they didn't have their coffee that morning, and were performing in a daze.
Good luck figuring out what Bixler-Zavala is singing, though. As always, his cryptically weird lyrics -- wormholes, sulfur, "an avalanche of Toltec bones," Ouroborous and corpse-swapping -- are sung in his sharp, high-pitched voice, and then buried inside the music like another guitar. I'll tell you this -- it sounds like a musical apocalypse, filled with lust, dread and pain.
"The Bedlam in Goliath" is exactly what it sounds like -- bizarre and crazy. But aside from a few duds, the Mars Volta are in fine form."
De-loused Mute Amputechture in Goliath
S. Alix | NYC | 01/31/2008
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The Mars Volta have returned to once again divide their fanbase. Many found Frances the Mute to be too progressive, weird, and or long. This in turn created a fanbase for the fan that took to their new mind warping experimental music. Then they releases Amputechture a far more solid effort where the songs ranged from manicly crazed to a soothing slow and sexually charged ballad or two seeping in between the mad genius of Cedric and Omar's ever-changing melodies. So a few fans of Frances were complacent while Deloused fans remained dissapointed.
Bedlam in Goliath is bound to turn away fans of Amputechture and have the Deloused fans return in droves. (If your a real fan you go with the flow.) They've shortened things up on a few tracks with a surprising amount of 5 minute tracks and an even more shocking two minute single. Wax Simulacra is such a perfect F-U to the record industry that demands short tracks for radio use and its almost as if the band gave them all they can suffer in a two minute time span and yet the song is brilliantly concise and loses nothing even without running the standard 8 to 9 minute running time.
The Mars Volta have created such a unique brand of music its almost as if they are just variating on their own sound. The spoiled among us would say they haven't done anything new outside of their own sound but they would fail to notice that TMV are continuing to dwell within their own bizarre unique take on progressive jazz fusion alternative metal funk rock. How can you possibly be deravitive in a genre you created? Not possible for the unbelievably talented Omar who is the mad genius behind the bands direction and sound on every record. Put aside the very press worthy "tale" behind the making of the record and what we've been given is another odyssey in the bands journey to reach the most untouched landscapes of sound.
The record opens up without the slow build that we saw on Amputechture. This time the band gets right into the thick of it from the get-go so you're given no warning when the crashing sounds burst your ear drums. They keep momentum moving rather briskly with every track providing plenty of danceable grooves, cryptic lyrics, and guitar riffs that may be potent enough to impregnate any nearby females who may be listening. The record takes a turn with Cavalettas, which isn't as instantly pleasing to the ears but thats when the band is asking you to stick it with them and enjoy the ride to this new place. Agadez and Askepios are there to quickly ease you back into a safe haven before Ouroboros and Soothsayer test your musical palette with some tasty new sounds. Cedric delves into more voice distortions then on previous records and once again tests the range of his vocals hitting some seriously high notes on Goliath.
To give you a break from the chaotic madness of the record Conjugal Burns lets you off easy with a standard Mars Volta closer of the epic variety. Providing enough closure to make this a more satisfying complete work then Amputechture which cuts off and never truly finds it's happy ending."
The Bedlam in my headphones
Adirondack | Ohio | 02/13/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Bedlam definition: disorder resulting from a failure to behave predictably. And thats exactly what this album is all about. While trying to avoid repeating the more obvious elements of this album I must say I was a bit nervous about buying the Bedlam in Goliath. Why? Because while Frances the Mute and Amputechure were both better albums than Green Day or Fallout Boy could even imagine pulling off, yet they both reflect the challenges of a band trying to follow up after the smashing success of De-Loused in the Comatorium while loosing a key member of the band and often overlooked Jeremy Ward. While having many highlights both Frances and Amputechture both feel like bloated eps that could have benefited from more editing (like the 2 plus minutes of tape noise after "The Widow" and does anyone ever listen to the entire "Cassandra Gemini"?) and better mixing (More Ikey, and what happened to the drums in Amputechture?). Then exits John Theodore, who disliked playing live shows, yet was an amazing drummer. Whats next?
Bedlam more than surprised me because I liked so many of the tracks on first listen as previous albums including De-Loused grew on me. This album is a return to form, literally! Somehow a nine minute song like "Soothsayer" sounded like it was three minutes long. The song structures are tighter on Bedlam, less experimental (a la Frances), more structured and shorter solos, less turn on a dime tempo and mood changes (a la Amputecture), sections connect more effectively, less meandering, and overall more accessible. But put into context Bedlam is as accessible as sushi! This is not mainstream music. Now that TMV is an octet this recording retains an amazing clarity and thanks to Rich Costy nothing gets lost in the mix. And don't worry about the new drummer, Thomas Pridgen, an alumni of Berklee college of music. I was pleasantly surprised with Pridgen's intensity and technical control of this complex music.
"Wax Simulcara" would have been a great first track. Perhaps the most radio friendly track, and TMV recently performed this track on the Dave Letterman Show. Wax shows Pridgen in command on the percussion duties while driving a hard and intense rock out that ends in a blissful freak out acid jam that on previous albums may have lasted till next year.
"Soothsayer" is an outstanding track, haunting, very effective, and is in a ten/four time signature. The heavy echo laden guitar sound that dominated De-Loused which I much enjoy is back on this track. I wonder what some sitar and tablas could have added to this and my personal favorite track. The added string section enhances the depth of this song. Bravo to Omar for his opening guitar/sitar phrasing, and outer space effects!
"Goliath" has a catchy guitar riff, while Cedric's high end vocal screams are able to conjure ancient spirits. The screaming near the end is violent and scary.
"Aberinkula" has a blistering saxophone solo, this track has moments that remind me of Viscera Eyes, which is not a bad thing.
"Metatron" almost resembles Tetragrammton yet being shorter by 7 minutes (phew!) and has a killer bass line!
"Ileyna" is a pleasantly funky tune perhaps inspired by the Red Hot Chili peppers.
"Tourniquet Man" is an odd track that seems to fit well in it's short 2 and a half minute span. Perhaps the most mellow track, a kind of oasis.
"Cavalettas" has a lot going on, more focus on form, and interesting sound manipulations that do not become overdone.
"Agadez" rekindles ideas from "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" and could have also served well as an ending track. Hey I can hear Ikey on this one!
"Askepios" is an interesting song which feels like two songs.
"Ourboros" has moments that seemed influenced by System of A Down. With its soaring chorus, and heavy syncopation, this tune contrasts well between smoother and more intense sections.
"Conjugal Burns" has an almost humorist, Halloweenish bass guitar sound from Juan Alderete. The scream near the end has to be Cedric's most intense ever!
Hearing this album the first time was like reading a novel that you couldn't put down. The intensity and creativity of this album keeps me captivated for the duration, which few albums as a whole can do. One can read about the storyline/concept of this album elsewhere. Keep in mind that Cedric and Omar have repeatedly stated that the message of their music is meant to be obscure, you are free to interpret it any way you want! But go ahead and blow your mind by researching and investigating the meanings of the song titles, words, and artwork. For every answer you find a new question emerges. Less is more, and more is less at the same time. This is music that almost defies description with words, you just have to hear it. And if your open minded, and like De-Loused you will not be disappointed that you did.
"
An amazing album.
Bryan Syminiuk | Manahawkin, NJ | 02/03/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I have had the pleasure of owning this album for 2 days now and, it just keeps on growing on me. I've been a fan of TMV since 'De-loused' but found 'Frances the mute' and 'Amputechture' to be a little pretentious. Not the case here. 'The bedlam in goliath' runs right out of the gate and does not let up. Before i delve into this review i must confess that i am a huge king crimson fan and an even bigger Tool fan so, TMV fit right in with my musical tastes.
I didnt even know that this album was out until the drummer in my band texted me and told me so. I immediately jumped out of bed and showered, hopped in my car and drove to coconuts. I proceeded indoors where i found a copy then walked back to my car. Now, as with all new releases i must soak it all in. So, i continue home, pack a battie and pop in 'Bedlam'. BAM! right away they barrage you with a full on assault of twisted sounds and then cedric hits a register higher than the almighty himself. I am not going to give a track by track review since people seemed to have covered that already. The concept behind 'The bedlam in goliath' is, omar was in jerusalem in a curio shop and came across a ouija board which he brought home. The band say they used in night after night and the same spirits would come through. The short of it is, the band claims they were haunted by these spirits which interferred with the making of the record. All hub-bub aside, this is an amazing release and MUCH better than what i had expected from them.
Also worth mentioning is the new drummer, forgive me for not knowing his name off hand. He manages to out-shine jon theodore in many aspects of the music and feels like an overall better fit for where they seem to be venturing. If your a fan of progressive/space/experimental music grab this album and prepare to shift into hyper-drive.
Track Listings (13) - Disc #1