9) The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta taking the nine spot may be a shock for most but in terms of progressive rock they are so incredibly revolutionary. The Mars Volta took two genres which were once thought as being complete opposites and somehow found a medium between the two and created Punk Prog. In the 70’s punks despised Prog Rock and all it stood for, they felt it was overproduced and far from being genuine. One famous memory in rock history is Johnny Rotten of The Sex Pistols sporting a shirt which had “I Hate Pink Floyd” written across the front. Naturally, The Mars Volta have done something innovative by bringing these two polar opposites together. Not only does their music sound raw but it sounds abstract and deep with pure emotion. One of the strongest focal points for The Volta is their majesty in musicianship, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez is beyond phenomenal on guitar and Cedrix Bixler-Zavala’s vocals sound unfathomable with their intensely high range. With just three full length albums The Mars Volta have mastered the Prog Rock sound filling their albums with ambiance and dark mysterious noises amongst the roaring horns, guitars, and drums. Along with their punk and progressive sound they also have strong Latin influences, many of their songs contain both Spanish and English lyrics. Their first album “De-Loused in the Comatorium” was released in 2003 and immediately struck a chord with Prog Rock enthusiasts and from that album on they have fertilized themselves in the genre with two more strong releases staying true to the progressive sound. Many of their songs reach extremely long lengths such as “Cassandra Gemini” off of “Frances the Mute” which extends past thirty-two minutes with five different sections. The Mars Volta have an authentic progressive sound while keeping original. Because of their originality and their ability to link together two genres which have been in tension for the past forty years I have given them the nine spot.

Essential Albums: “Frances The Mute” and “De-Loused in the Comatorium”