The "Godspeed You Black Emperor" ensemble are gods of Sounds,of Vision,of Context and of Passion that goes everlasting.With just a short current discographic achievement,they have managed to make wonders and to disturb the general dynamics.With just three albums,they have the control.Believe me when I say that the personal fact of awarding every studio album of their work a solid or a close to solid five stars is totally justifiable.For even though my viewpoint progressive rock horizon expands to thirty-forty bands at five-six character of it,"Godspeed You Black Emperor!" impose as something truly unique,remarcable,fantastic and innovating.They may not be in a visible top (by not being music on everybody's language and convenience on anybody's option)-and,regarding them,it wouldn't even be of such importance to be in a visible top-but they are among the top of creation and concepts regarding high class,keen sharp focus,great perception and understanding,as well as masterfull strokes of music.In such style,in such times,in such a world,in such boundaries of reality and imagination,Godspeed You Black Emperor! Breaks the laws of routing,of compromise and of conformism,of sound spectrum limits and of composition boundaries.They define that with aplomb and they work their way as giants and as prolific.What the ensemble does is in the name and in the valuable prestige of music,of art;as for the fans,the experience of this manifest (of these manifests,cause I am still speaking at general scales) is a bliss,a shock,a soul-thrill and a constant "mind-game",a priceless gift.The relation is within divine chords and fantastic orchestration.The surrealist hard-abstrakt pulse is exhilarating."Experimental" comes as just a metaforic state of the Godspeed music.In fact,almost all definitions tend to be simple guidelines.Even this review of mine can be just a succint expression.For the real definition is the one given by the listeners' impression.Everything else,in the end,could just be allusions.

Every of the three studio albums carries a different message and a different pulse.Though great similarities and indigo markings can be considered,it is a very deceiving idea.After the apocalyptic,nebulous F#a# (and the relatively related EP that followed after),the scenario changes.Now to be honest I did actually set a reference on the ∞ and expected a continuation of that.But I was not dissapointed at all by this other side of the Godspeed dimensions."F#a# ∞" remains my favourite masterliness album,but "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven" is of the same magnitude and of the same breathless effect as well.Most elcomed and most prolific is the opened reference,in which the mystery of the sound and the trembling of the spirit prevails.Godspeed offers a double sized treat in which the enormous valences stay intact,the arrangement flows in the same gesture,just the themes and the approach being changed in order to support a new message,a new horizon,a new universe.The sensation and the emotion also goes directed into specific meadows. "Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven" adpots an opened expression,one not in the sense of light or easy music,but in the perspective of a spirit definition.Here is the true contrast with F#a#.While that one stirs in the venom of its dark reflection and is clustered within the blackening poem (nota bene I am not describing limitations,but a concentrated essence) this one expands.It's plurimotivated and diverse in the general scale.The accent is on force and on the perpetuation of full power.With "routing" forms of compositions (the climaxes,for example;the everpresent climaxes),of perspective (higher,higher and higher) and of manifest (living up to their names),they make a presentation not of the doomsday,but of a world and thought beyond the natural graphics.As a first,the melody is more pronounced,this besides (or better said alont) with the experimentation of sound celss and distorted themes.Also the orchestration of movements and the collision of influences come tad proeminent related to the unitary form (again,these are not limits,but simple mass substances).The effuzion:the lights;the control!New is:the mixture of low silent points-which are sublime in construction and claustrophobic-and the vibrant energic climaxes-which are stretched as definition beyond your wildest imagination-as well as the fact that these two general movements are opposite polls to the limit;the motions,the dynamics,the key points of blistering rapid explosions;the "order" of the Brownian movement;the splendid scale of finding the unknown;the ascension focus viewpoint;the meadows of a delightful infinity;the spirit disquised in primordial material;the challenging phases of a sublime rapture.Unchanged stays:the essence and the ideals of Godspeed You Black Emperor!;the constant desire to make everything perfect:the splendid sensation of making out of the world a metaforical state of effect:the untouchable quality;the fruits of furt and the freeze of the moment:the unimaginable being reached,the unseen being faced:the flawless motivation;the close combination of Life,Death and Life;the neverending chimeras windows and the decreptive passion."Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven" is the call towards hopes and disillusions,towards the end of everything futile,the agony,the thrill,the point..

As much as I would like to elaborate the aspect,the sensation and the meaning of all four pieces,I will leave that to your subjectivism and your personal moment of reflection.My explosions of euphoria come on two moments: "Storm" (which is the best Godspeed You Black Emperor! Ever) and "Sleep" (for a climax of such intensity that burns your ears:a caution advice by this of course-to explore the Godspeed world with care,for the extreme climaxes ARE extreme climaxes).

Masterpiece.

This album was not my first experience with TMV - on the strength of some very positive reviews, some months before I'd bought "Frances the Mute", which I liked a lot on first listening, though later on I came to see its shortcomings somewhat more clearly. However, "Deloused in the Comatorium", the Hispano-American band's debut full-length album, is quite a different story. This is truly a groundbreaking record that sets new standards for contemporary prog.

Hate them or love them, it is hard to deny that The Mars Volta (brilliant name for a prog band, anyway) are progressive in the true sense of the word. Born from the ashes of emo band At The Drive-in, they are not afraid to take elements from such disparate genres as prog, punk, metal, jazz and Latin music and blend them together, stamping their individual seal over the end result in the process. Their display of dazzling musicianship, left-field lyrical concepts, stunning cover art and no-holds-barred songwriting are the hallmarks of a first-rate outfit that's ready to take prog - that stereotypically earnest, stuck-in-a-time-warp musical genre - right into the 21st century.

Most of the tracks on this album are over the 5-minute mark, with "Cicatriz Esp" clocking in at over 12 minutes - another statement of intent on the part of the band, who are unashamed fans of such historic Seventies prog acts as Rush and King Crimson. However, even if their original punk roots rear their heads every now and then, it is never in a really obtrusive way. If anything, these punk roots add a measure of spice to the exotic mixture that is TMV's sound. The musicianship is first-rate throughout, with a special mention for inventive, powerful drummer Jon Theodore, whose rythmic sparring partner is on this occasion a very special guest, RHCP's Flea (one of the best four-stringers on the market, even if you don't like his mother band). The crisp, clear production values further enhance Theodore's intricate, occasionally explosive drumming, as it is quite evident right from the very beginning, in killer opener "Inertiatic ESP" (preceded by the deceptive quiet of "Son and Lumière).

In my personal opinion, though, the real strength of TMV lies in the supercharged vocals of Cedric Bixler-Zavala, whose banshee wail interspersed with more reflective, almost lyrical moments exemplifies what a really expressive singing style is all about. A richer, fuller version of Geddy Lee, he stamps his mark all over the album, perfectly complemented by his partner in crime (and former At the Drive In fellow member) Oscar Rodriguez Lopez's wildly atmospheric guitar playing. Unlike they did in follow-up "Frances the Mute", here the band keep the use of weird, electronic noises to a minimum, with epic "Cicatriz ESP" 's middle section being a prime example of how such noises can be used sparingly to their maximum effect.

With such a strong album, it would be difficult for me to pick any standout tracks, apart from those I have already mentioned. Haunting ballad "Televators" is a much better effort in this sense than "The Widow" on FtM; while "Eriatarka", "This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed" and album closer "Take the Veil, Cerpin Taxt" brim with energy and freshness, Cedric's brilliant vocals soaring above the band's unleashed instrumental fury.

I pondered for a long time, and listened to the album twice before writing this review - but, in the end, I could not help but decide to give this album the highest rating, as others have done before me. Weird it may be, but nothing short of wonderful as well - this is prog for the 21st century, a must-listen for all serious proggers. A wild ride perhaps, but one to enjoy to the fullest.

The Mars Volta