Posted on
Jun 23, 2009 at 1:31pm by
Peter04
Prog-rockers The Mars Volta return with their much anticipated fifth studio album, Octahedron. The follow up to last year's stunning The Bedlam In Goliath LP, frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodriguez Lopez have created an amazing album from beginning to end and have created one of the great rock albums of 2009, an album that will be talked about for some time to come.
The album opens with the largely acoustic inspired and chosen first single, "Since We've Been Wrong", a song that comes entirely out of left field for the band, but sounds absolutely breathtaking and is one of the most groundbreaking songs that they have ever created. Cedric's vocals sound superb and top notch, and sound as beautiful and pristine as ever before, plus the song stays with you minutes after you hear it. The acoustic driven sound permeates much of the album, and is also notably found on "Halo of Nembutals", a gritty and prfoundly powerful song that has the 60's rock influence of Led Zeppelin with a modern prog-rock sound of today combined together to create a truly stellar track.
As the album progresses, it has become more and more evident that The Mars Volta have created one of the standout albums of their crareer. and that is only exemplified on another track, "With Twilight As My Guide", where Cedric's vocals sound haunted and possessed as ever as he sings passionately about the devil haunting his dreams immensely. My favorite song off the album is "Cotopaxi", one of the tracks on the album where the energy is pumped up to 11 with Omar's amazing guitar abilities adding to the frenzy of drums, keyboards, and the densely layered texture of Cedric's vocals add up to one spectatcular listen.
As the album reaches its climax, an ambient feel sets in on "Desperate Graves", where the album really shines with Thomas Pridgen's drum work setting the tone on a pioneering and musically diverse song. His masterful drum work is what made their last album such an incredible and amazing work of art.
There is no doubt in my mind that The Mars Volta are one of the most important and prominent bands in rock music today. Their music has completely redefined what rock music both sounds like and feels like with Cedric and Omar's Latin roots adding a diverse mix of creativity and freedom of expression that they have used to the best of their ability. I highly recommend you purchase this album, one of the best albums of 2009!
Album Score:
5/5 pts.
Track Listing:
1. Since We've Been Wrong
2. Teflon
3. Halo of Nembutals
4. With Twilight As My Guide
5. Cotopaxi
6. Desperate Graves
7. Copernicus
8. Luciforms
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