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Thatfabulousalien 
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 27 2016
Location: Aussie/NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 1409
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 Topic: Mars Volta Fans!
Posted: May 22 2017 at 19:06 |
I'm kind of in a stasis with music at the moment but these guys are currently my favorite band, truly mesmerizing, trippy, complex, experimental prog rock!
I've done some searching but apparently there hasn't been a thread on them for a while here, so I rebooted my own thread.
Edited by Thatfabulousalien - May 22 2017 at 19:07
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Classical music isn't dead, it's more alive than it's ever been. It's just not on MTV.
https://www.soundcloud.com/user-322914325
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Mirror Image
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 13 2011
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2111
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Posted: May 22 2017 at 19:54 |
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I never have liked them as their music just sounds completely chaotic with no rhyme or reason. I’ve become increasingly interested in music that tells some kind of story and everything I’ve heard from The Mars Volta hasn’t really given me any kind of narrative other than “Hey, let’s just play a bunch of nonsense and hope somebody into noise will enjoy it."
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“Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmaninov
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Thatfabulousalien
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 27 2016
Location: Aussie/NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 1409
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Posted: May 22 2017 at 20:01 |
 Mirror Image wrote:
I never have liked them as their music just sounds completely chaotic with no rhyme or reason. I’ve become increasingly interested in music that tells some kind of story and everything I’ve heard from The Mars Volta hasn’t really given me any kind of narrative other than “Hey, let’s just play a bunch of nonsense and hope somebody into noise will enjoy it." |
Dude, their first four albums are heavily conceptual, first three are concept albums telling very surreal stories.
They're not nonsense or even extreme in that way, lol They have a connection to psychedelic rock in their roots, they like sound scapes, unconventional musical shapes, harmonies, rhythms, melodies.
I can't say I ever see you listening to any avantgarde prog, so perhaps this music is a little outside your comfort zone? which is fine
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Classical music isn't dead, it's more alive than it's ever been. It's just not on MTV.
https://www.soundcloud.com/user-322914325
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Mirror Image
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 13 2011
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2111
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Posted: May 22 2017 at 20:10 |
Thatfabulousalien wrote:
Mirror Image wrote:
I never have liked them as their music just sounds completely chaotic with no rhyme or reason. I’ve become increasingly interested in music that tells some kind of story and everything I’ve heard from The Mars Volta hasn’t really given me any kind of narrative other than “Hey, let’s just play a bunch of nonsense and hope somebody into noise will enjoy it." |
Dude, their first four albums are heavily conceptual, first three are concept albums telling very surreal stories.
They're not nonsense or even extreme in that way, lol They have a connection to psychedelic rock in their roots, they like sound scapes, unconventional musical shapes, harmonies, rhythms, melodies.
I can't say I ever see you listening to any avantgarde prog, so perhaps this music is a little outside your comfort zone? which is fine |
My point is I don’t hear anything remotely resembling a melody, any interesting chordal ideas...yeah, they’re just not my cup of tea. I’m an old fart when it comes to progressive rock as I like Genesis, Steve Hackett, Pink Floyd (NOT their early psychedelic stuff), Yes, King Crimson, Anthony Phillips, and Emerson, Lake, & Palmer (to a lesser degree, but still feel that Brain Salad Surgery is a brilliant album). Even in my own songwriting, I seem to be stuck in another time and place or so I’m told.
Edited by Mirror Image - May 22 2017 at 20:11
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“Music is enough for a lifetime but a lifetime is not enough for music.” - Sergei Rachmaninov
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Jeffro
Forum Senior Member
Joined: March 29 2014
Location: USA
Status: Offline
Points: 2037
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Posted: May 23 2017 at 04:23 |
A while back I listened to The Bedlam In Goliath and it blew me away. The power of it is intense. I need to check out their other albums
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We all live in an amber subdomain, amber subdomain, amber subdomain.
My face IS a maserati
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Watchmaker
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 02 2016
Location: Greece
Status: Offline
Points: 170
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Posted: May 23 2017 at 05:38 |
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Lately, I'm being blown away over and over again by Frances the Mute (the album).
I'm not an expert when it comes to the Voltas, but this is by far their greatest, excluding their last, which I have not listened to, yet.
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Thatfabulousalien
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 27 2016
Location: Aussie/NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 1409
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Posted: May 23 2017 at 06:08 |
Watchmaker wrote:
Lately, I'm being blown away over and over again by Frances the Mute (the album).
I'm not an expert when it comes to the Voltas, but this is by far their greatest, excluding their last, which I have not listened to, yet.
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I've been obsessively listening to Frances the Mute this week, the album is practically flawless. It's a masterpiece. I haven't heard everything they've done yet, so I'm also in for a treat too!
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Classical music isn't dead, it's more alive than it's ever been. It's just not on MTV.
https://www.soundcloud.com/user-322914325
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Mascodagama
Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: December 30 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 5111
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Posted: May 23 2017 at 07:25 |
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It was TMV's first album that rekindled my long-dormant interest in the possibilities of contemporary prog back in 2003. Ultimately leading me to the discovery of unguessed at worlds of music - and to this place.
I don't thnk they ever surpassed the first record, but possibly just my bias as I was quite obsessed with it for a period. When I saw them live I was rather disappointed though.
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Thatfabulousalien
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 27 2016
Location: Aussie/NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 1409
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Posted: May 23 2017 at 18:57 |
De-loused is magnificent and really tightly constructed, some of there signature tracks on there. Frances the Mute is more on the epic psychedelic prog side Noctourniquet is very different again, some killer tracks there
I haven't heard the other albums yet but I'm really into them at the moment, so I will in a matter of days. They're so good it's almost unbelievable!
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Classical music isn't dead, it's more alive than it's ever been. It's just not on MTV.
https://www.soundcloud.com/user-322914325
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mechanicalflattery
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 08 2016
Location: Seattle
Status: Offline
Points: 1056
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Posted: May 23 2017 at 19:19 |
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I don't really like the sound and feel of TMV, which only makes it vastly more impressive that Frances The Mute is such a masterpiece. It's up there with any of the classic prog albums, excepting maybe three.
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Barbu
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 09 2005
Location: infinity
Status: Offline
Points: 30845
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Posted: May 23 2017 at 19:26 |
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of course.
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twseel
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 15 2012
Location: abroad
Status: Offline
Points: 22767
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Posted: May 24 2017 at 00:56 |
The first four are all pretty awesome, Octahedron was a bit of a challenge though... For now I'd rank them: 1. Amputechture (their masterpiece for me, the most consistent, fully packed with creativity) 2. De-Loused 3. The Bedlam in Goliath 4. Frances the Mute (the experimental sections are a bit under-developed and it doesn't flow that well...) 5. Octahedron
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verslibre
Forum Senior Member
Joined: July 01 2004
Location: CA
Status: Offline
Points: 15007
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Posted: May 25 2017 at 15:32 |
My ranking: 1. De-loused in the Comatorium 2. Frances the Mute 3. The other albums De-loused is a fantastic slab of melodic (yes, it really is, if you listen), heavy contempo prog.
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Thatfabulousalien
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 27 2016
Location: Aussie/NZ
Status: Offline
Points: 1409
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Posted: May 25 2017 at 19:06 |
Goliath and Amputechture are both solid albums, godamn! :o
At the moment, I still haven't heard anything from them I haven't liked!!! 
Edited by Thatfabulousalien - May 25 2017 at 19:07
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Classical music isn't dead, it's more alive than it's ever been. It's just not on MTV.
https://www.soundcloud.com/user-322914325
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UselessPassion
Forum Newbie
Joined: May 06 2017
Location: US
Status: Offline
Points: 38
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Posted: May 25 2017 at 23:55 |
TMV is right at the cusp of 'too much' for me, sometimes. They have this annoying tendency to insert utterly meaningless, nonsensical transitions into otherwise tight compositions where they just... well, seem to lose their minds, and not in a good way. These moments then drag on for far too long without melody, harmony or even coherent rhythms. They just leave me feeling irritated and fatigued.
On the other hand, when they do focus their efforts on actual composition, the results are amazing and intense. De-loused in the Comatorium is probably their most pointed effort, but I love Frances the Mute and Bedlam in Goliath as well. They're no doubt all very talented musicians and they tap into some fierce energy at times. They're ultimately one of those bands I have a constant love hate relationship. I'll damn them one moment for wasting my time and then embrace them the next for blowing my mind. Definitely a confusing experience.
Edited by UselessPassion - May 25 2017 at 23:56
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[Hyperreflective paradigm breaking profundity goes here]
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Smurph
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 11 2012
Location: Columbus&NYC
Status: Offline
Points: 3167
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Posted: May 26 2017 at 01:16 |
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Few bands feel like mirror images of my mind. This is one of them. Probably my favorite band most of the time.
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Mars Volta Fans!
