Music on another planet

By Jordan Blum

Progressive rock has had a great rebirth in the last decade. There are tons of bands today that do justice to those they were inspired by and attempt to emulate. But therein lies a problem: many of the bands today sound like copies of their predecessors. They pull off the sound amazingly, but there is a lack of pure originality. Few current prog rock bands have a sound they can call completely their own.

The Mars Volta, however, is one of these bands who can. Its previous two albums have shown how talented, relentless and unique the band really is. With Amputechture, The Mars Volta decided to use what it has previously established as its sound without really inventing anything new.

The Mars Volta is the brainchild of Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez, the former singer and guitarist of At the Drive-In, respectively. That band, while also great, was a lot simpler and more generic than The Mars Volta, but there were also undeniable hints of what was to come. Bixler and Rodriguez are the only members of the first band to join the new band; the musicians they’ve brought with them are phenomenal.

Amputechture is a bit of a mixed bag when compared to the rest of the band’s catalogue. It is The Mars Volta’s first album not to have a central theme, full-concept or sidelong piece. It’s just a set of songs that are unrelated. This arrangement makes the album feel like a step backward for the band, as it’s less ambitious than the previous two.

The band once again shows an astounding level of musicianship. The amount of energy and skill The Mars Volta puts out is really unmatched by other bands today and makes them one of the best prog rock bands around.

There is a problem with the music itself on Amputechture, though: it’s nothing new. The only noticeable improvement over previous albums is that the CD has almost no noise to fill the ambience. All of the tracks contain music throughout their duration. Essentially, Amputechture is another fantastic album by The Mars Volta, but don’t expect to hear anything revolutionary this time around.

This album leaves the listener feeling a little mixed up. It’s The Mars Volta’s weakest album to date because it is simply more of the same and not very ambitious. But despite these faults, Amputechture is still a great album. How someone feels about this album will depend on his or her opinion of the band’s previous work. A fan will remain a fan and adore Amputechture if they adored previous albums. If the listener disliked previous albums, they might not enjoy this one. Regardless of its disappointing lack of variety, Amputechture is still a great album by one of the best bands around today.