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The Mars Volta
Tremulant


4.0
excellent

Review

by el doctor USER (7 Reviews)
January 14th, 2005 | 42 replies


Release Date: 2002 | Tracklist


Released: March 2, 2002
Producer: Alex Newport
Running Time: 19m 27s

The Mars Volta is:
Cedric Zavala - Vocals
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - Guitar
Jon Theodore - Drums
Eva Gardener - Bass
Isaiah Owens - Keyboards
Jeremy Ward - Samples (Deceased)
The story of the break up of At The Drive-In is a rather common tale now. Many people on these forums can tell you that ATDI split up forming some new bands, where ultimately The Mars Volta was formed. De-Loused In The Comatorium received critical acclaim and a strong following from its fanbase. But the truth is, how many people with De-Loused have listened to Tremulant? What reason was there even to listen to it? When Tremulant was released, it was really only fans of ATDI that would have even known to pay attention to this band. So therefore, I decided to review this small yet great, overlooked album. It may not even qualify as a full album (it is only an EP) but it's an album that every fan should have.

Tracks:

Cut That City (5:44)
The first track is probably my least favorite track, although it is still a good song. The song starts with 2 minutes of dull sound that fans of De-Loused will be familiar with. A simple, kind of random, drum beat can be heard along with some ambient noises. After this, the song and the album for that matter, kicks in. The vocals sound pretty distorted in the beginning, along with the guitar. Overall, some great instrumentals in this song; a very fitting guitar part and some simple, yet fitting notes on the keyboard. The chorus is also pretty melodic. My favorite part of the song is about 4 minutes in. The music cuts out and you're left with some guitar riffs and sound effects, as the drums come in, and soon all other parts. Again, my least favorite track, but what does that say when you have a 3 track album of great songs?
Concertina (4:54)
This song starts with cool, kind of mellow guitar part. Cedric's vocals soon enter. The first thing you will notice is how his voice sounds like it's been loaded with reverb. It startled me at first, but it's a very cool effect when at times it sounds like there's a slight delay in an echo. As the vocals continue, there's parts where they echo and keep slowing down. Throughout the verses the same guitar part continues. The chorus of the song is very catchy and the sound of all the instruments changes. Really great chorus I'd say, you really need to hear the song, it's tough to describe everything. With saying that, there's really not much more I can say about this song except that it's a catchy, intricate, and memorable song that you'll want to hear over and over. The song ends very well.
Eunuch Provocateur (8:48)
I would say this is the strongest track and one of my favorite Mars Volta songs period. The song opens with some nice guitar and bass, and some good drum beats, along with the usual sound effects. At about 1:30, the song really picks up suddenly and has you hooked right away. The chorus comes in with catchy vocals and the guitar and bass complementing eachother perfectly. Through all of this, the drumming really helps set the chaotic feel. The bulk of the song really ends at about 5:30. You'll then hear something very similar to the effects at the end of "Drunkship of Lanterns". Overall, I think this song is amazing.
The Mars Volta have already gained a good amount of recognition for De-Loused in the Comatorium. However, it seems like most people have overlooked their first effort. Although it may not be a full album, this is The Mars Volta in a raw and original form. If you're a fan of De-Loused, you're only hurting yourself by not having Tremulant.

4/5 It's a short CD that you'll love every minute of.



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IsItLuck? EMERITUS (4)
An underrated achievement from a band that has acheived so much. Tremulant provides an intense pros...

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...

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An enjoyable release from a band that would go on to accomplish so much more....



Comments:Add a Comment 
BuddyBigsby
February 29th 2004


531 Comments


I ignored their EP when it first came out, but maybe now I'll go back to it. Good review.

Dimes Make Dollars
February 29th 2004


241 Comments


"Concertina" is the only one I've heard, and it beats almost everything on De-Loused. I'll pick this up if I can find it, but it's pretty expensive I think.

Kaden
February 29th 2004


222 Comments


Meh, I have this, and I think it's pretty lackluster. Doesn't really seem like anything special.

Luxor
February 29th 2004


166 Comments


[QUOTE=NachoChez]"Concertina" is the only one I've heard, and it beats almost everything on De-Loused. I'll pick this up if I can find it, but it's pretty expensive I think.[/QUOTE]

I love De-Loused In The Comatorium... Maybe if this EP is really cheap I'll pick it up.

By the way, anyone have any idea when they're releasing a new album?

Neon Dub
March 1st 2004


13 Comments


Great Review :thumb:

Eva Gardener played Bass on Tremulant

manuscriptreplica
March 1st 2004


431 Comments


i love tremulant!! i was going to review it, but with only 3 songs it wasnt really worth it - you did a good job though! great review! eunuch provocoteur is my all time fav mars volta song, and concertina owns.

concertina: bixler wrote this about julio venegas (the story behind De-loused) and it is about that guy who apparantly made him (julio) commit suicide. it blames him and everything (not that you'd know with bixlers strange lyrics!) so yeah. nice one! only thing is, i had to download it, its not available in australia :upset:

Tomahawk
March 1st 2004


124 Comments


Good review, I mostly agree with it. Eunuch Provocateur is an awesome song.

[QUOTE=manuscriptreplica]i had to download it, its not available in australia :upset:[/QUOTE]

I'm from Australia too, and my local CD store actually has a few copies of Tremulant, but weirdly no copies of Deloused... but I didn't buy Tremulant due to it costing over $20.

Suicide_Machine
March 1st 2004


2 Comments


Tremulant is a great cd. i heard Deloused first but i heard Tremulant soon after. and TMV just blow my mind, personally Concertina is my favorite song on Tremulant.

moderaterock222
March 1st 2004


121 Comments


Ive heard the cd a few times and think its great, but not as good as de loused....Gret review though, nice layout and all.

el doctor
March 1st 2004


83 Comments


[QUOTE=Neon Dub]Great Review :thumb:

Eva Gardener played Bass on Tremulant[/QUOTE]
Thank you, I'll change that.

Neon Dub
March 2nd 2004


13 Comments


Hehe, anytime.

To bad she left the band she was really great at bass, she was hot to :cool:

YDload
April 25th 2004


1207 Comments


Concertina is a great song.

HaveFaith
June 20th 2004


1 Comments


argh, i had a chance to buy that and i haven't had another since... i look everywhere for that cd... i'll find it again some day...

or i could just order it...

but thats alot of effort haha.

woofwoofwoof
June 4th 2005


156 Comments


not worth buying. maybe downloading, but not worth buying.

Syncratic
October 12th 2005


756 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

Concertina is the best Mars Volta song. Period.



Good review, man.

Scabdates
March 23rd 2006


10 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Concertina is also definatly in my tops for Mars Volta Songs, i had to buy the vinyl when i found it

IsItLuck?
Emeritus
March 23rd 2006


4957 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

These 3 songs are amazing start to finsh.

slack
September 12th 2006


249 Comments


Among their best, start to finish.

IsItLuck?
Emeritus
September 14th 2006


4957 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

I still think this is the strongest release by the Mars Volta. This is where their music was the least tainted with. Now it's all mumbo-jumbo and such with traits of excellent music. This is simply beauty at it's peak.

embroglio
November 2nd 2006


219 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

The last few minutes of Eunuch Provocateur is pure genious.



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