The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath

The Bedlam in Goliath (2008, Universal) The Mars Volta's fourth studio album. ****

Unlike any of its predecessors, The Bedlam in Goliath is a totally and utterly unrelenting affair. From start to finish the album is a constant flow of noise, and not only that, it's loud. Loud fucking noise for eighty minutes straight. Seems like an impossible task to make the album not only entertaining, but actually brilliant, considering most metal bands make shit no matter what they do. The Mars Volta defy all of that, turning out their second-best album, second only to De-Loused in the Comatorium because of its focus.

Bedlam not only marks a difference in approach because of TMV's abandoment (temporarily, anyway) of the quiet-loud-quiet technique, but also the further embracement of progressive rock. Frances the Mute featured very heavily in jams of Latin-tinged metal, but Bedlam rarely delves into long, almost mindless instrumental bits. When it does, it's incredibly flourished. All the tracks take more than one listen to notice all the details that are crammed into every second, this is especially true of the album's pinnacle, "Goliath." A re-worked version of the song "Rapid Fire Tollbooth" from Rodriguez-Lopez's solo album Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo, it is by far their most progressive song to date, featuring an insanely King Crimson-esque time signature and jazz riff. It also has some of Bixler-Zavala's greatest lyrics and one of his tightest vocal performances. Truth be told, "Goliath" is probably the best example of the Mars Volta in full-swing, with everyone stepping up to bat. "Ilyena" signals another one of TMV's greatest achievments, with the shared dual-lead of Rodriguez-Lopez and John Frusciante.

The Bedlam in Goliath is a testament to the Mars Volta's personality and direction, which shifts radically to the trained ear. To anyone else this would sound exactly the same as anything else, but the Middle Eastern and prog rock influences are stronger here than any of their previous work. (Aberinkula, Ilyena, Goliath, Cavalettas)