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The Mars Volta - Octahedron CD (album) cover

OCTAHEDRON

The Mars Volta

 

Heavy Prog

3.68 | 466 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Windhawk
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
5 stars This first encounter of mine with renowned US otfit The Mars Volta turned out to be a pleasant surprise.

What strikes me most about this album are the strong tinges of psychedelic rock and to some extent space rock that are constantly a part of the soundscape, whether it is echoing sounds, cold futuristic synths or vintage sounding guitar effects with the 70's and freaked out experiences written all over them.

The vocals of Bixler is another distinct feature - light in a love or loathe manner I haven't encountered since Geddy Lee's younger days, and used highly effectively to add dramatics to the proceedings.

The compositions themselves are quirky affairs, and while the main structural parts may not be that complex numerous minor details adds at times massive shifts in sound and overall expression - a multitude of times in the most sophisticated ventures.

Excellent mix and production add the spit and polish needed to lift this album from the realms of the very good to the superior plane. That is, if you tolerate the lead vocals and you appreciate adventureous progressive music with a fair share of contemporary musical tinges mixed with some of the sounds of yesteryear. An impressive effort as far as I'm concerned.

Windhawk | 5/5 |

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