DE-LOUSED IN THE COMATORIUM

If anything, you can credit The Mars Volta, and this album in particular, for actually getting the moribund traditional rock press to actually notice progressive music for the first time in over a quarter of a century.

When they burst on the scene in 2003, they received such a buzz that I had to purchase the CD. Mixing extremely energetic hard rock, punk, and, yes, prog rock sensibilities, it took more than a few listens before I began to ge what they were doing. At first, I really disliked singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala's high pitched vocals, and discounted the album because of that. It wasn't until Bedlam In Goliath that I actually appreciated the style of music they created.

The songs here are somewhat more straightforward than on Bedlam, but at the same time, there are more experimental noise sections on this album. But still, there are enough odd time signatures and challenging riffs to excite most heavy prog fans.