The Mars Volta – Deloused In The Comatorium

When At The Drive-In split in 2001, half of the group went on to form the melodic Sparta, while Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez announced the formation of The Mars Volta. Following a couple of gigs, an EP and one side of a split seven-inch, the buzz around the band is deafening. And while their debut may confus and bewilder, it certainly doesn’t disappoint. Deloused In The Comatorium may have achieved the unimaginable, administering a shot of pure adrenalin to the mouldy cadaver of progressive rock and making it a viable currency for 2003. The energy and expansiveness of these rocket-fuelled epics stands in direct opposition to the three-chord fundamentalism of the New Rock Revolution, but this eager embracing of rock’s outward-bound potential makes The Mars Volta paradoxically more punk than anyone else around. Imagine a jam session between King Crimson, Fugazi and ’70s Miles. Now imagine it working. That’s The Mars Volta.