The Mars Volta: De-Loused In The Comatorium (2LP, indie exclusive) [CLOUDS HILL]

Why you'll love it

This Clouds Hill exclusive 2LP set was remastered from the original 96 kHz/24-bit mixes and cut for vinyl in Hamburg. The album itself, co-produced by Rick Rubin, is a landmark of 2000s progressive rock, with Flea on bass and John Frusciante guesting on "Cicatriz ESP."

This edition

• 2LP set
• Indie exclusive
• Remastered from the original 96 kHz/24-bit mixes
• Mastered for vinyl at Clouds Hill, Hamburg

About the album

Most bands start small. The Mars Volta started with an hour-long concept album about a man who slips into a week-long coma, told across ten songs and a lot of very busy guitar. Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala had just left At the Drive-In behind, and they built the new band in a Long Beach warehouse, rehearsing up to twelve hours a day.

Recorded at the Mansion in Laurel Canyon, the record pulls in Latin and jazz rhythms, dub, punk and full-tilt prog. Jon Theodore's drumming is the backbone, Isaiah (Ikey) Owens adds keys, Jeremy Ward handles sound manipulation, and Lenny Castro adds percussion. "Inertiatic ESP" bursts out of the gate, "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" twists and turns, "Televators" is a rare moment of hush, and "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" brings the story home. Storm Thorgerson, of Pink Floyd sleeve fame, designed the cover.

Two decades on, it still sounds like nothing else, a heavy, restless record that turned plenty of punk kids into prog fans. Four sides is a lot of ground to cover, but then Cerpin Taxt had a busy week.

Also at Kops: more The Mars Volta on vinyl · browse Alternative

Tracklist

Listen

On Clouds Hill (cat# CH182), a reissue of the 2003 album.