
Wait a minute, didn’t I just get a copy of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s solo album around two months ago? God forbid Omar went longer than six months without releasing music, but the consistent onslaught of recordings doesn’t seem to put a damper on the quality, if anything, it could be argued for the better. Also, wasn’t the Volta’s previous release,
The Bedlam in Goliath, an overwhelming attack of heavy guitars, pounding beats, and layers upon layers of sounds which when approaching the eardrum sounds eerily similar to getting hit in the face with a brick? Yeah, it definitely was. Here on
Octahedron, The Mars Volta go soft. So what happened on
Octahedron to make it so mellow - for the Volta at least - and so calm and relaxed?
If the Mars Volta’s releases were to be graphed on a line chart, you would see a steady rise in intensity and boldness with each succeeding record.
Octahedron breaks the constant rise and brings them back to a place that if going by the line chart, would be the very bottom - at least in terms of intensity and boldness. It finds them at their most reserved and tame. Acoustic guitars take center stage, and riffs of electric intensity take a back seat, rarely rearing their head other than on the furious, “Cotopaxi”. With a softer album, melodies become more and more crucial; the Volta capitalize on this with the majority of songs having memorable qualities, especially on the albums highlight “Halo of Nembutals” with its stellar chorus.
Despite being rather tame for the Volta, the music is still complex with numerous intricacies which won’t leave prog fans in the dust, which inevitably means, the Volta still haven’t recorded an album that will cross over into the pop mainstream.
The Bedlam in Goliath was a bit overboard in terms of its sheer intensity and it’s inability to ever let the listener breathe.
Octahedron was certainly a move in the right direction, but the leap may have been a little too large. The album sounds terrific, but Omar and Cedric are at their best when the electric guitars are searing by at an unstoppable rate and the chaos is all but uncontrollable. But to end this review on a high note - because ultimately this is a great album -
Octahedron finds the Volta in a different place, and while it may sound a tad bit off kilter for the band, they make the softer melodies their own and never veer too far away from the complexities which make their music so fantastic.
Grade: A-