The Mars Volta - Bedlam In Goliath (2008)

The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath (2008)

The Mars Volta are one of those polarizing bands that I can't help but pull for to make that one album that will prove to their detractors that they're more than just fancy guitar work, precise drumming, and pretentious prog-rock wankery. For the past few years, it's been a tough sell.

Since captivating new fans and winning over a large amount of leftover At The Drive-In addicts with their 2003 debut, De-Loused In The Comatorium, the band have lost more support than they've gained. Frances The Mute, a monstrous and sometimes meandering album full of epics, threw a lot of people off the bandwagon. Amputecture didn't do much to bring them back (though I personally felt it got a bad rap). As a result, anticipation over The Bedlam In Goliath didn't reach anywhere near fever pitch, and perhaps this worked in the band's favor. Disillusioned fans of the band should take a second look: the Mars Volta have recorded their best work since their debut.

The Bedlam In Goliath features some of the most digestible song lengths and memorable melodies that the band have given us since De-Loused. It's hard to believe, but they're actually catchy again. "Ilyena" is a prime example, probably one of the finest things they've ever done with five-and-a-half minutes."Wax Simulacra", length and hook-wise, is actually radio-friendly and worthy of its recent Grammy nomination and, considering its competition, a Grammy win. "Goliath", the album's clear standout, is HUGE, reaching or even surpassing some of the most beloved songs on De-Loused like "Inertiatic ESP" or "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)". And that's just on the first half of the album.

The second half is hard-hitting and relentless, surprisingly free of filler. "Soothsayer", with it's middle-eastern vibe, is a successful experiment that works well for the band. The stop-start dynamic of "Askepios" provides an interesting twist. "Ouroboros" is a lightning quick, thumping track that shows off new drummer Thomas Pridgen's enormous talents. Bedlam reaches a point where it's only flaw may be that it has too many such tracks, and the band didn't want to leave any of them off even if the album becomes a little overwhelming as a result.

On the other hand, I can understand how it would be hard not to want to show off Pridgen, a child prodigy-turned-virtuoso and widely respected master of his craft. It likely is his muscular drumming that's responsible for the Mars Volta's new energy. At 25, he's the youngest member of the band, and perhaps that youthfulness is what inspired the band to act and play more like their 2003 selves; kind of like what happens when a man far-removed from his college days finds himself conversing with a young student and rediscovers the joy of the random stupid an inane behavior that he thought he'd grown out of.

In that sense, The Bedlam In Goliath reminds me of my own college days, which is probably part of the reason I enjoy it. It's basically De-Loused In The Comatorium with lyrics that make sense, taking me back to those days in the summer of 2003 when my college friends and I would throw De-Loused into the stereo and rock out, singing "EXO-SKELETAL JUNCTION AT THE RAILROAD DELAYED!" without much of a care in the world (yeah, we were pretty lame). But therein lies Bedlam's most frustrating quality: it's like hearing that album's proper follow-up five years too late.


Score: 7.5/10


"Ilyena"


"Goliath"