OMAR RODRIGUEZ-LOPEZ

Year 2009 bring us 5 (!) The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez solo albums. "Xenophanes" is last in line (chronologically). Musicians team is similar as in previous album, what means part of TMV team and few additional, incl. mexican female singer Ximena Sarinan.

If "Los Suenos De Un Higado" was quite unusual beautifuly melodic heavy neo-Latin fusion album, "Xenophanes" is more what you waiting from TMV guitarist.

All music is heavy mix of usual TMV energetic mix of guitar noise,synth/samples and heavy psychedelia. Main difference from TMV music is different ( from Cedric) vocal, partially more rounded sound and higher attention to melody. More acoustic sound and more jazzy arrangements. But anyway - explosive energy, fast rhythm and ( psychedelic) heaviness filling all the space around.

The album sound as related TMV side project, similar enough to attract heavy TMV fans and different enough to be interesting for listening. In fact, the work at the level of TMV. Strong 4,5.

This is one of five (!) solo albums of The Mars Volta guitarist Omar Rodrigues Lopez,released in 2009. Everyone who knows what TMV is could expect synth/guit/scream chaos slightly modified to be named heavy prog there. You are absolutely wrong!!!

Even if big part of musician team there is the same as in TMV, music is absolutely different ( for those interested in more Voltian sound I cam recommend another Omar's solo album of 2009 - "Xenophanes").

Starting from very first sounds of very first composition ( it's instrumental) you understand , that the music of the album is ... heavy jazz-fusion! With strong bass line and nice guitar playing, filled with synth sound effects. And differently from many others works from TMV/Omar all the musical constructions are based on blues-rock/latin rock basis.

All other songs have vocal, and that vocal is perfect female voice of mexican singer Ximena Sarinan. Songs are melodic, rich in guitar sound ( soft beautiful latin rock guitar, not scratching and screaming TMV guitar) with very tasty jazzy arrangements. Keyboards in places sound as heavy version of early Chick Corea.

For me this album was a pleasant surprise ( I like TMV much) and I can say that the music there is kind of modern version of post- Latin jazz fusion. Absolutely interesting and recommended as accessive entrance to Omar and TMV music. But it is perfect album by itself as well ( just too short - 5 songs ,35+ minutes long).

Megaritual can be ruthless in its cacophony (more so at times than anything The Mars Volta has done), but also contains some very refined segments. Track markers seem to have been placed at haphazard intervals, so don't expect too many clean breaks. I can't say I thought anything was exceedingly good, but I can say that this is an album for those eager to hear the mastermind behind The Mars Volta team up with his brother Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez and tackle some Latin-infused heavy psychedelic music- no guarantees though.

"A Device Imagined to Turn" It wouldn't be an Omar Rodriguez-Lopez album if it didn't begin with extraterrestrial electronic noises and disharmonious guitar playing. The track is over halfway through before anything coherent happens, and even then is on the avant-garde psychedelic side of things.

"Screaming Babies Inside Out" This is a noisy continuation of the first track, swamped with fuzz and heavy phase-shifter effects. The last bit has a pleasing Latin groove immersed with electronic sounds that unfortunately doesn't stay long.

"At the Push of a Button" The Latin groove returns along with some thankfully tasteful guitar playing.

"Bells at the Slipstream" I like the light drumming here, and the multiple guitars weave an interesting, if loud, fabric, while the younger brother's electronic sounds bore holes through it.

"Good Is Repaid With Evil" This piece has some pleasant piano, and sounds a bit like Porcupine Tree infused with busy electronic factors.

"Panta Section" A heavy fusion piece with several lively guitars, a funky bass groove, and excellent percussion, this one intersperses jamming over an easy-to-follow rhythm with cacophonic and hard-to-digest passages.

"Hands Vs. Helix" This is about as ludicrous as it gets, with those warbling guitar tones over giddy noises and a Willy Wonka-like rhythm. Veruca Salt is not impressed, and neither am I, although this piece is admittedly fun.

"Dispanec Triage" That melancholic piano returns, this time accompanied by effects and a guitar sound that actually add to the feel rather than distract from it. Overall, the longest track is one of true post-rock and sheer beauty.

"Dead Hisses to Match Our Own" This has some of the best guitar work on the album, and ultimately salvages it for me- the arrangement is killer. While this album dawdled throughout most of its time, it finished in a stellar way. It would have been better if someone had not messed with the time-stretching effects, which almost ruin it.

This is The Mars Volta B-team. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, whom I consider to be the most creative guitarist of the decade, must reserve all of his best material for his main band (rightfully so, I believe), and just dump everything else he comes up with on a dozen solo albums throughout the year. Amusingly enough, many of these albums feature Cedric Bixler-Zavala as the "guest" lead vocalist. The rest of the lineup may change (or not), but the result is more or less subpar music from The Mars Volta (in this case, complete with gratuitous profanity). In this case, it's subpar music from The Mars Volta with an experimental edge and an electronic tinge. Rodriguez-Lopez said he completed the music for this album in under a week, and that it waited two years before the vocals were added- perhaps during that time he could have worked some coherence into the compositions. Hardcore fans may delight, but it shouldn't be surprising if even they don't rejoice. For a high-quality solo outing from Rodriguez-Lopez, I recommend Xenophanes without reservation.

"Tuberculoids" Predictably enough, the album starts with a variety of bizarre noises and creepy sounds. The band bursts in abruptly, with Bixler-Zavala singing almost immediately. The instrumentation and arrangement is one blurry mess. Worst of all, the vocal melody is not in tune with the "music" (a term I use loosely here)- not a good start at all.

"Half Kleptos" An improvement on the opening track, this at least has a coherent refrain, but the sound is still really off. Bixler-Zavala sings really low and doesn't sound right doing so.

"Cryptomnesia" This opens with electronic noises and a man speaking about being high on hashish and pretending to be a Muslim with a girl giggling at his tale (at least that's what I gathered). The music is frantic and noisy, again with a vocal melody that is a mismatch with the music.

"They're Coming to Get You, Barbara" Automatic electronic music is paired with weird, breathy noises before giving way to even more nonsensical, avant-garde twaddle.

"Puny Humans" Yet another bizarre excursion that is merely painful to listen to. Bixler-Zavala basically raps during the verses and sings "I won't get Tourette's if you won't get Tourette's." The final part of this song is his best performance on the album, however.

"Shake is for 8th Graders" After a brief interlude of someone talking, the previous track continues.

"Noir" This is more electronic noises and otherworldly breathing. The high-pitched singing is accompanied mainly by a chugging bass playing the same two notes. The second half is a cacophony from hell.

"Paper Cunts" Paper cunts? Really? While I'm certainly no fan of censorship or prudishness, the title of this piece doubles as both bad taste and a cringe-worthy pun. Unlike the title, the hectic music will be forgotten just as quickly as it is heard.

"Elderly Pair Beaten with Hammer" Here is another disharmonious piece with an inspiring title. It's loaded with insane, profanity-laced lyrics (perhaps Bixler-Zavala does have Tourette's) and chaotic music (again).

"Warren Oates" Here is another collection of noise, sounds and guitar thrown together haphazardly, with only the drums providing anything coherent.

"Fuck Your Mouth" This seems to be a pointlessly random excuse to use the title- the track itself consists of a man thanking folks for listening and then signing off.

This may be a tad premature, given that I have not heard all of this hombre's solo albums, but I'm pretty much comfortable enough saying that this is Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's finest work outside of The Mars Volta. This album is loaded with fresh melodies and engaging compositions; even the tones of the instruments set this album apart from The Mars Volta sound while retaining some element of it. Rodriguez-Lopez has a far less astringent, more soothing voice than Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and it's a real pleasure to hear him take to the microphone- he does a great job in that role. Perhaps my biggest complaint is that the endings to most of the songs consist of abrupt and seemingly random changes. Aside from that, this is a solid album that takes very little time to get into, but takes much more to fully appreciate.

"Azoemia" The first track consists of a variety of noises- sinister (could be described as extraterrestrial) breathing juxtaposed with high-pitched plinking sounds and gushes of wind.

"Mundo De Ciegos" After the bizarre introduction, it's good to hear some actual music, and the band doesn't disappoint, allowing the lead guitar and piano to shine right away. The bass tone is decidedly different from The Mars Volta- instead of a full, heavy tone, the player opts for a sound closer to that trebly punch of classic symphonic progressive rock. The vocal melody is another enjoyable aspect to this song.

"Ojo Al Cristo De Plata" With this much more laidback approach, this piece could have conceivably been a leftover for Octahedron. It adopts a heavier feel during the second half, and one could really hear Rodriguez-Lopez's main band doing this.

"Amanita Virosa" Things heat up with this fast-paced number, loaded with that punchy, gritty bass that can't sit still.

"Sangrando Detrás De Los Ojos" This terse piece is musically one of the highlights of the album, as it uses a stunning chord progression to accommodate Rodriguez-Lopez's tasteful guitar soloing.

"Desarraigo" One riff shared by two guitars panned hard on either side gives way to atmospheric synthesizer and an unbelievably good vocal performance from Mexican singer-songwriter Ximena Sariñana, which in turn becomes a fuller piece. The abrupt ending features soft percussion and lighthearted piano.

"Asco Que Conmueve Los Puntos Erógenos" This energetic piece melds several styles, including hard psychedelic rock, jazz, grunge, and symphonic progressive rock, producing a veritable beast of an eclectic song. A rollicking piano solo over heavy instrumentation consumes much of the middle.

"Oremos" This spacey piece indulges in lots of reverb and fascinating vocal effects.

"Perder El Arte De La Razón Sin Mover Un Sólo Dedo" This track is somewhat disjointed and off-putting, from that opening static to the arrangement itself, which just seems to be all over the place. Initially I was put off but just about everything, but subsequent listens have fortunately dispelled much of the antipathy I held toward this song. The instrumentation during the middle section, however, is still grating and difficult to listen to.

"Flores De Cizaña" While not matching some of the phenomenal pieces that came before it, this one has its own charm, with some funky riffs and good instrumental moments. Again, some of the instrumentation is grating, but not nearly as much as the previous track.

"Maria Celeste" The final track places things back into traditional territory for fans of The Mars Volta, as this piece sounds like something that belonged on Amputechture (although Thomas Pridgen's drumming is furious and unrelenting- no surprise there). Given the recurring themes, the final three tracks should have been one.

This is a collaboration between Omar Rodriguez Lopez & Jeremy Michael Ward.Both of which very important to birth and evolution of The Mars Volta.Omar of course the primary song writer and group director for the Volta and Jeremy who provided the ambient and soundscape effects for De-loused In Comatorium and their EP Tremulant contributing to a more depthful and atmospherical Volta. Unfortunately Ward died from a heroin overdose at the age of 27 a month before the release of their debut De-loused and in tribute five years later Omar produced and released this album which originally was never going to be released was to be only to be shared around their circle of friends. Now It's important to say this is certainly not progressive rock in any shape or form and I think people can only be dissapointed by this record if they have no knowledge or awareness of Avant Garde,Music concrete and other such noise music.The only relevant comparison I can associate this album with would be avant composer Karlheinz Stockhausen.Without this knowledge you may be lost.This album consists of such effects and sounds which bare little resemblance to melody or structure but explorations of sounds and atmospherics providing themes and moods.As far as I can tell there is no feature of standard rock instruments such as guitar and drums and may just feature keyboards and modulators. Personally being interested in such music I find this album very intriguing and was ultimately impressed.Pretentious noise?possibly.But fantastic noise none the less.

This is an epic collaboration between two important figure in the progressive rock scene,from two different decades.Damo Suzuki best known as the one of the vocalists from Can who appeared on perhaps their best known albums during the 1970's (Future Days,Ege Bamyasi & Tago Mago) & Omar Rodriguez Lopez best known as the guitarist and band leader of The Mars Volta.

First of all though it's titled as a collaboration album,it's pretty clear Damo had no control over the quality of music as the musicians are from previous Omar solo recordings.But that being said this particular line-up is my personal favourite Omar Rodriguez Lopez group and certainly the most jazz inspired.Now the scene has been set it's easier to begin to understand the album and it's direction.Please Heat Eventually is one long song which has been split into two separate tracks (Each one spanning a side of the record)and within each separate track three parts or divisions of the song.The result one twenty five minute song.It's clear Omar & Damo shares the same ambitions of the experimental and improvisational sides of music which is clearly heard on this recording..The song itself is wonderful combination and overall musical acid trip fans would expect from the two.Essentially it's one long jam with Damo improvising lyrics "sung in no one particular language" over psychedelic themes provided by Omars group featuring lengthy guitar solos,fusion rhythms and powerful performances from Adrián Terrazas-González on saxophone & bass Clarinet. But to confuse us Omar & Damo fans even more.The album was recorded into sections some live and some studio this can be quite noticeable as most of the musical themes are evolved and explored some can end abruptly,which is very possibly the merging of the two different recording settings.But to say that as a downfall of the album is really splitting hairs.

The true downfall and the unfortunate result of my low ratings is mainly me abiding by the prog archives rating guide.As this is only released as vinyl and only contains one song.I would have to put this amongst the collectors/fans which only has the rating of two stars.But to redeem myself and the album I would recommend the 2 disc Japanese edition of Omar Rodriguez Lopez's Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo which not only contains the fantastic original album with an instrumental version of this song.It also contains Please Heat Eventually in full on the bonus disc.

Great album,unfortunate format.

The madman behind The Mars Volta, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is without a doubt the most prolific progressive rock artist of 2009. Here is a short album he recorded with his younger brother and some other folks, including the lovely Mexican singer Ximena Sariñana. More so than any other release, perhaps, this one contains highly accessible music, highly recommended to fans of smooth vocal jazz blended with slightly frenetic rock.

"Boiling Death Request A Body To Rest Its Head On" The first track consists of a funky bass groove and strange electronic sounds. Ultimately this piece works out to be an extended jazz rock jam saturated with Rodriguez-Lopez's guitar throughout the first half, while an electric piano solo takes over during the more subdued second half.

"How To Bill The Bilderberg Group" Sariñana has a slightly smoky, gritty sound on this song, which is an easygoing one filled with light guitar, piano, and fretless bass.

"Locomocion Capilar" This piece has a somewhat complex rhythm, which makes it interesting, but unfortunately the vocals don't go with the piece at all.

"Las Flores Con Limon" This begins as an atmospheric track with the sultry voice of Sariñana (sounding a bit like Amy Winehouse here), but it soon picks up and becomes something a bit heavier, going back and forth between sections. Overall, it is a very experimental piece and can be difficult to listen to in places.

"Victimas Del Cielo" The introduction to the final track jumps out loud and clear, but the heaviness quickly subsides to give way to gentle guitar and piano. This is Sariñana's best on the album; she sounds humid yet soars all at once- a stellar performance.

For "Cryptomnesia", Omar Rodriguez Lopez arranged one of the best line-ups I've ever seen, of course you get absolutely awesome Omar on guitar, Cedric Bixler Zavala, providing as usual devilish vocals, and Juan Alderete from The Mars Volta, and Jonathan Hischke and Zach Hill from Hella, and damn, Zach Hill can play, he is like this crazy machine gun with an incredible sense of timing, it's an animal.

Concerning the music this album kind of disappointed me, after seeing the line up, acknowledging it was math rock and reading good reviews, I expected some sonic crazy music really addicting, well, that is not completely untrue but most of the songs are kind of "dead", for example, "Half Kleptos" has a crazy introducing chorus but then the music just dies! I find it very hard to find a melody in the verse, which is a shame, same goes for songs like "Cryptomnesia" or "Tuberculoids", where it's very hard to find something to hold on to. Also, the music has at some points the very worst thing of math rock, directionless cacophony, and that's kind of bothering too.

As for the good part, well as I mentioned, "Half Kleptos" has one amazing, addicting chorus, the middle songs from "Puny Humans" to "Paper Cunts" are also very good, and have some interesting "track" structure, as the songs continue over to other tracks, which is cool, and Omar gets crazy on "Warren Oates" solo, which is really mind blowing.

What I feel about this record is that it could've been so much better, it should have been re-thought before it was released, and also the production is kind of disturbing, I had to get 320kbps mp3 to be at peace with what I was hearing.

This deserves 3,5 stars, I can't do that, so 3 stars it is.

More than the will to listen to the music, I really would like to see the film to which this provides soundtrack to, this film, never released by Omar, if it passes the same experience as listening to the album, must be really something.

"A Manual Dexterity", and let me just say how I love the title and sonority of the words, is a strange trip between an immense variety of ambients and visions. From the long electronic movements with a hint of noise, beautiful acoustic interrupted by weird sounds, and hell, this even has salsa!

To be 100% focused o the music might not be the best idea, the album can lose itself on its long ambient sections, the ideal is really to lose yourself in the album as well, listening to the music, as it should be in this case, accompanying another sense, possibly, vision. To let this album be the soundtrack for some moment is the best the album has to give.