Review Summary: "Knife me in hobbling, Talking in it's sleep again"
I must admit that I was an early fan of The Mars Volta only because of the At the Drive-In split. However, as upset as I was about the end of ATDI, hearing `De-Loused in the Comatorium' made me realize the separation was just a blessing in disguise - it allowed ex-ATDI members Cedric Bixler and Omar Rodriguez to dedicate their full-time to The Mars Volta. As much as I loved ATDI, their sound had always been reminiscent of Fugazi's intense guitars and searing voice. With TMV's `Tremulant EP' and now `De-Loused', Bixler and Rodriguez, along with Ikie Owens, Jon Theodore, Juan Alderete, and Jeremy Ward (R.I.P), were able to combine punk, prog, synth, early emo, space, blues, and jazz (alongside many other styles) into an inventive and distinctive sound; independent from their previous band.
Where the majority of ATDI's songs had overriding vocals and guitar riffs (which sometimes seemed obligatory), The Mars Volta is much more melodic and harmonious, having a strong control of the heavy guitars and vocals and when to include them - using them in a way that makes their songs flow.
Their new harmonious sound can be heard right in the beginning of De-Loused.
The spacy, mellow minute and a half opener, "Son et Lumiere", would most likely be a shock to ATDI-turn-TMV fans looking for `Relationship of Command 2'. Its soft melody and surprisingly harmonious (but distorted) voice of Bixler make for an intriguing opener. Towards the end of the song, an addition of a fierce drumbeat is introduced, which inspires anticipation. However, instead of lengthening the opener, the beat instead flows into a different song, "Inertiatic ESP". This transition streams into "Inertiatic ESP", keeping the beat, but changing the tune - which shows their ability to control sound. Being an early song on the album, it introduces the vocal strength. Instead of the high-pitched screams that Bixler fans are accustomed to, in "Inertiatic ESP", the song shows the range and force of his voice. He is able to keep long notes, as well range from high to low - which is stunning.
"Roulette Dares (This is the Haunt)" starts with fast, heaving guitars and a fierce beat, but slowly transitions to a much softer, almost ballad-like tune, where Bixler's soft, beautiful vocals (which he never presented in ATDI) make the song rather soothing. Within the song, there is a rise-drop backbone, where the fast, lush sound transitions to the soft melody and back again, continuing the cycle.
Through all the contrasting sounds, their control of transitioning helps make the song flow. "Tira Me A Las Aranas" is an entirely instrumental song, but instead of having a loud cacophony of sounds, they keep it simple and unhurried, using a distorted guitar riff as the base and incorporating a diverse variety of sounds to make it simple, yet elaborate.
As with the opening, where "Son et Lumiere" flowed into "Inertiatic ESP", "Tira Me a Las Aranas" does the same to "Drunkship of Lanterns". Where "Tira" was slow and simple, "Drunkship" has an incredibly fast and ornate sound. "Drunkship's" hundreds of different ornate sounds come together to create a single, beautiful melody, giving the song the full sound it has to attract first time listeners (which is probably why it is the best song to release as their first single). The contrast from the two songs, that somehow is able to flow into one another, help to emphasize the full sound of "Drunkship".
Their ability to control contrasting sounds can again be heard in "Eriatarka". It begins with a fast drumbeat, but ends quickly and transitions to a haunting, distorted melody behind Bixler's again soothing voice. As with "Roulette" (though they sound completely different), "Eriatarka" also has a rise-drop backbone, which helps to emphasize the contrasts and transitions to give it its complete sound.
Their control of music can be most distinguished in "Cicatriz ESP", where the seven minute, vocal-free interlude in the middle of the song displays the band's instrumental talent. The most striking part of the interlude is towards its end, where it takes on a salsa-like approach. Following "Cicatriz ESP" is "This Apparatus Must be Unearthed", whose distorted tune make it tense and angsty, but not forceful.
The album concludes with "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt", which is the perfect closer. The song "lays their cards on the table". It has a sample of all that The Mars Volta is, starting with a fast, catchy beat, transitioning to a softer, more melodic sound, then to a striking guitar solo which flows into a distorted, memorable tune, and finally ends with a flowing transitional cacophony of different sounds. However, the most notable (not necessarily the `best', but notable) track on `De-Loused' is "Televators". The ballad is unlike anything Rodriguez and Bixler have previously been a part of (from both ATDI and De Facto). It showcases Bixler's newly-trained melodic voice over a shockingly beautiful, mellow tune with a jazzy, salsa finesse. And yet, though ballad-like, the spacy, prog-rock sound gives it the signature TMV flair.
Beyond their music, they still manage lyrically to keep their elegance in poetry. Though, let's face it, half (or more) of the lyrics are hardly understandable to the general public, they are neither trite nor stale. Also, when compared to `Tremulant' or later ATDI, `De-Loused' is much more graspable.
`De-Loused in the Comatorium' is, in a way, a musical maturity from previous already-exceptional efforts. Being a newly released album, it's taken its hold on me, being so captivating, that in less than a week, I have already been familiarized to it. The music that TMV are able to present in their full-length debut is extraordinary, to say the least. Their inclusion of different sounds and control over different styles and genres help make their album one of the (if not the) best in 2003 - and helps put The Mars Volta in a league of their own amongst their peers.
