The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta — Octahedron

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By Kate Harper (CHARTattack) July 3, 2009 12:42 pm
Octahedron is The Mars Volta's attempt to experiment with quieter, more acoustic elements and prove they aren't all about the weird, squeal-y noises. It ultimately fails because it lacks any kind of focus. "Since We've Been Wrong" is a strong opener that recalls Led Zeppelin's "Babe I'm Gonna Leave You," and "Teflon...
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The Mars Volta's Octahedron
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Omar Rodriguez -Lopez — Old Money

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By Erin Bell (CHARTattack) January 30, 2009 2:33 pm
Mars Volta fans will eat up the experimental jazz-rock of Old Money. It's the latest solo effort from the band's guitarist and principal composer/arranger, who's also prolific and scarily talented. Heck, this basically is The Mars Volta, minus Cedric Bixler-Zavala's vocals. (Bixler-Zavala appears on the album, but behind the drum kit.) Other...
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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's Old Money

The Mars Volta Create Bedlam In The Right Ways

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By Andre Mihsin (CHARTattack) May 15, 2008 1:00 pm
Were post-hardcore misfits At The Drive-In truly the legends so many people make them out to be? Or is it that a bunch of hipster geeks discovered them way too late with Relationship Of Command, just as the band members realized they could do so much more? Whatever the case, ATDI established a lasting legacy, one that Cedric Bixler-Zavala and...
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The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta — The Bedlam In Goliath

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By Shehzaad Jiwani (CHARTattack) January 29, 2008 5:37 pm
If The Mars Volta's last two records killed any interest you may have had in the band, you'd be forgiven for approaching their fourth full-length with a mixture of caution and indifference. The band had successfully destroyed any goodwill they may have generated with their initial output, as all but the most drugged-out prog enthusiasts or...
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The Mars Volta

Frusciante Takes Over Red Hot Chili Peppers Show

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By Jodi Goulart (CHARTattack) September 27, 2006 3:00 pm
Welcome to the John Frusciante show, or a Red Hot Chili Peppers concert, rather. Not that I'm complaining about the long-haired guitar god's complete command of the adoring sold-out crowd at the first of two shows at the ACC. Frusciante's screaming guitar solos brought every RHCP song to a long crescendo. And his appearance with openers The Mars...
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John Frusciante

The Mars Volta — Amputechture

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By Shehzaad Jiwani (CHARTattack) September 12, 2006 8:04 pm
Amputechture is The Mars Volta's most stripped-down record, though at over 75 minutes, that's not saying much. The band are obviously more focused this time around, and the album is almost radio-friendly compared to the bloated wasteland that was Frances The Mute. The big difference is in the compositions. Where they once relied heavily on dense...
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The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta — Scabdates

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By Brian Wong (CHARTattack) November 8, 2005 11:49 am
You really need to love The Mars Volta to love Scabdates, a 70-minute live album recorded between 2003 and 2005. Since Mars leaders Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala turn their monstrously thick psych-freakouts into even longer psych-freakouts when they play live, there really isn't much room to include material from their two...
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The Mars Volta - Scabdates

The Mars Volta — Frances The Mute

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By Joel McConvey (CHARTattack) March 1, 2005 1:45 pm
James Joyce took 11 years to write Finnegan's Wake, so at least we know he spent some time crafting such an impenetrable monster. The Mars Volta only took two years to record their beast, Frances The Mute, but all this uncontrolled, unfiltered wankery won’t get this disc a mandatory spot in the high school curriculum. There's certainly some...
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The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute

I Read The News Today... For June 14, 2011

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By CHARTattack Staff June 14, 2011 3:48 pm
Tom Hanks' production company is going to make a movie out of Green Day's American Idiot musical, which basically ensures it's going to be the least punk rock thing ever, even with Billie Joe Armstrong starring in it. Thurston Moore is going to be teaching writing classes at the Jack Kerouac School Of Disembodied Poetics, which is not a fake place...
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Green Day

Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Becomes Film Director

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By Valentina D'Aliesio (CHARTattack) January 13, 2010 4:56 pm
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez can add "feature film director" to his already impressive resume: his first feature is set to have its world premiere in the Netherlands at the International Film Festival Rotterdam on Feb. 4. The Sentimental Engine Slayer stars The Mars Volta co-founder as Barlam, described as a "20-something misfit" who...
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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

The Mars Volta — "Since We've Been Wrong"

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By CHARTattack Staff June 29, 2009 12:15 pm
The video for The Mars Volta's "Since We've Been Wrong," the leadoff track from the recently released Octahedron, begins with gritty, out-of-time film stock of the band recording the song. It turns out those clips are being projected on a television in the studio where the band are actually recording (the old film within a film thing —...
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The Mars Volta (Photo by Ross Halfin)

The Mars Volta Show Eight Faces

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By Craig Clark (CHARTattack) April 14, 2009 2:22 pm
The Mars Volta will release their fifth studio album, Octahedron, on June 23 through Warner Bros. The eight-track, 49-minute album was recorded by The Mars Volta's core duo of guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala, with contributions from multi-instrumentalist Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, drummer Thomas Pridgen, keyboardist...
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The Mars Volta

Pumping: The Mars Volta - Frances The Mute

Submitted by The Stereo on Fri, 03/27/2009 - 2:18pm
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By The Stereo (CHARTattack) March 27, 2009 2:18 pm
After you listen to a week of metalcore records non-stop, this doesn't sound so retarded anymore. And besides, that song "The Widow" is actually, genuinely amazing.
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Pumping: Omar Rodriguez Lopez — Old Money

Submitted by The Stereo on Thu, 02/05/2009 - 12:04pm
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By The Stereo (CHARTattack) February 5, 2009 12:04 pm
Look, I know he's from The Mars Volta, but without any words, it's just starry-eyed noise — 45 minutes' worth of it.
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Mars Volta Guitarist Releases New Album

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By Kate Harper (CHARTattack) November 11, 2008 1:49 pm
The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez will release a new solo album titled Old Money on Jan. 27 through Stones Throw Records. If a downloadable version is good enough for you, that's available this week. The album was originally supposed to be The Mars Volta's follow-up to 2006's Amputechture, but it seemed out of place with singer...
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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

The Mars Volta: At The Drive-In Was "Kiddie Shit"

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By Shehzaad Jiwani (CHARTattack) February 27, 2008 4:00 pm
After a couple of fan-friendly yet critically maligned albums, The Mars Volta have returned with The Bedlam In Goliath, which is easily their most focused and digestible record yet. ChartAttack recently spoke with guitarist, producer, co-founder and band leader Omar Rodriguez-Lopez about his band's newfound direction as well as their storied past...
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The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta Compare Their Albums To The Movie Spaceballs

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By Shehzaad Jiwani (CHARTattack) February 8, 2008 6:00 pm
Five years after The Mars Volta's De-Loused In The Comatorium debut album was released, their name now comes with a bit of baggage. Beyond the iconic afros, what immediately comes to mind are images of prog-rock noodling and the self-indulgence of vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. This makes it all the more...
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The Mars Volta

Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez Gets Calibrated

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By CHARTattack Staff January 23, 2008 6:00 pm
Fans of The Mars Volta should be walking on air for the next few weeks. Not only will the band release The Bedlam In Goliath on Jan. 29, but Mars singer/guitarist/producer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez will follow with a solo rock/electronic album called Calibration from N2O Records seven days later. Rodriguez-Lopez plays guitar and synthesizer on...
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Omar Rodriguez-Lopez

The Mars Volta Bring Bedlam With New Release

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By Moya Dillon (CHARTattack) November 2, 2007 4:00 pm
California progressive rockers The Mars Volta will make their recorded debut with new drummer Thomas Pridgen when their new album The Bedlam In Goliath hits stores on Jan. 29 via Strummer Recordings/Universal. The 12-track set was produced by the band's enigmatic frontman, composer and guitarist, Omar Rodriguez Lopez. It was engineered by...
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The Mars Volta

New Releases: TV On The Radio Strike Gold On Cookie Island

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By CHARTattack Staff September 11, 2006 4:30 pm
There aren't enough bands in this world with a sound all their own, so when one of them puts out a record, it's worth a big mention. TV On The Radio are such a band. Their debut wasn't perfect, but lord knows it features a sound like nobody else's. Their sophomore disc, Return To Cookie Mountain, is a far more patient and richly textured...
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TV On The Radio
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