Genre : Progressive rock, Latin rock, Pop rock
Released : September 16th, 2022
Label : Clouds Hill
FFO : Coheed and Cambria, Porcupine Tree, The Dear Hunter, St.Vincent
Presumed to have been permanently defunct, the return of progressive post-hardcore/rock/metal legends The Mars Volta has to be one of the biggest surprise comebacks this year alongside the mathcore titans Botch showing signs of life with the release of a new track for the anniversary re-pressing of their staple album "We Are The Romans".
Given the unexpected nature of their return after a decade had passed since their last output, "Noctourniquet", drastic changes in their style were to be expected. Ironically enough, for a self-titled album, "The Mars Volta" sounds like an entirely new, different band and almost nothing like their back catalog.
Now, I'll be honest, although discovering the critically acclaimed, conceptual "Deloused in the Comatorium" was a major key point in my journey through progressive heavy music and I absolutely love "The Bedlam in Goliath", aside from that I can't really consider myself to be a hardcore TMV fan who expected them to release something along the lines of Deloused for their comeback.
And although their last previous album, "Noctourniquet" had shown signs of the band leaning more into electronic experimentations and less of the manic mayhem fans had grown to adore, "The Mars Volta" pretty much completely abandons the free-form, artsy chaotic style of progressive metal/rock they were known for ; instead opting for more conventional song structures, with tracks never going beyond the five minute mark, gracing the listener with occasional subtle instrumental flourishes and nuances within a psychedelic latin pop-rock environment, never really reaching the point of outbursts of their heavier sound within this new iteration of the band, instead just implementing moments of groove and tension.
My main qualm with this new record of theirs isn't that it's not the absolutely over-the-top bonkers usual TMV style since I had no expectations going into this album, it's just that for the major part of the album, a lot of the songs feel like they lack substance or a special spark that catches your attention and draws you in. A lot of the record just sounds and feels very sterile despite it being the first time the lyrical content of a Mars Volta album are this direct and personal instead of being shrouded in odd esoteric, psychedelic-fueled ramblings.
Although there are some stronger tracks such as the dancy opener "Blacklight Shine", sweet but short "Que Dios Te Maldigo Mi Corazon" which features more intricate drumming which can also be found again on tracks like "Flash Burns From Flashbacks" and later on the electronic-heavy "Equus 3" or album closer "The Requisition" which might be the album's proggiest and most energetic cut; the overall sentiment left by the album is to have experienced a decent but very tame and at times even bland listen which, despite appreciating the wish for a stylistical change from the band, could tend to leave a listener familiar with the calibre of their past wild experimentations to feel a little underwhelmed.
That being said, I can see this album being more of a "grower" with repeated listens, so who knows, maybe in the future I will feel more enthusiastic about the record as a whole, but for now I'll just enjoy the cuts that caught my attention and leave it at that.
All in all, The Mars Volta making a return is still some amazing news even if this new self-titled album has left me a little lukewarm;but with them being back again, I hope this means I'll get to catch them playing sometime in the future!
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