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Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
No one has ever accused the Mars Volta of subtlety. But even so, the cyclonic caterwaul of Bedlam in Goliath is the band’s fullest starburst to date. Sure, the songs have titles that seem indecipherable, from "Aberinkula" to "Conjugal Burns." The important thing, though, is the molten, guitar-spiraling, drum-thundering core at the heart of the whole endeavor. "Aberinkula" opens the album with an unfettered explosion of clustered guitars and a dense keyboard haze pierced by Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s coarse, pitched yowl. A scouring soprano sax solo cuts across the songs’s midsection, and that vibe spreads throughout Bedlam, but so does the most pervasive melding of herky-jerk rhythms, post-punk speed, uber-funk bass, and chaotic riffage that you’re likely to find in rock & roll. If it’s Bedlam you want, you can’t miss here. --Andrew Bartlett
Product Description
2008 album from the eccentric Alternative outfit. Fans of this American Progressive Rock band should expect the same thematic approach to storytelling as on their former records. This album chronicles The Mars Volta's time with the Soothsayer AKA the Ouija board owned by vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and its mutation from a source of amusement during the tour supporting the band's Amputechture album into a malevolent psycho-spiritual force that nearly tore the group apart, collectively and individually. The album's creation process was subject to "bad luck controversy" after the band's bizarre experience. The Bedlam in Goliath is their fourth full-length studio album. Produced by guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez with engineer Robert Carranza, 12 tracks. Universal.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 40 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
(The Bedlam in Goliath" by The Mars Volta)
On their fourth studio album, The Mars Volta have definitely decided not to take it easy. From the very moment it starts until its ending 75 (!) minutes later, the band works in full steam ahead hyperdrive mode, rarely stopping for breath. One could be halfway through the album before realizing the first track is even over. On the upside, it shows a band determined to prove they're now the hardest working men in show business; on the downside, the songs tend to blend together into a massive rush of LOUDERFASTERNOW!!! Although working with the same prog-punk blueprint they've been developing over the years, here they seem to reject the more jam-band approach of Frances the Mute or Amputechture. All of the songs on the new album fall below the ten-minute mark, which for them is concise (disgruntled fans of the first album may want to check this one out). Their love of latin rhythms continues, however, aided ably by new drummer Thomas Pridgen, who gives the impression he's actually two men. The twin guitar attack of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and (former Chili Pepper) John Frusciante, while using every style they can think of (including feedback noise), here they at least stick to the song at hand. This is not to say they're not coloring outside the lines, but they play it at such light-speed that the impression one gets is of Miles Davis' On the Corner interpreted by meth-addled robots. Meanwhile, vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala sticks mainly to the upper registers of his voice and lets the words tumble out at such a rate thay a lyric sheet is necessary to know what they are. This is not to say "understand," though, "The Bedlam in Goliath" is billed as (what else?) a concept album about a seemingly cursed ouija board that the band acquired in Jerusalem. Hey, I don't make the news; I just report it. If any of this sounds a bit daunting, that's probably because it's supposed to be. The Mars Volta obviously don't appeal to casual listeners; in fact, die hard Rush or Tool fans may even run screaming from the room. One of their major inspirations, Carlos Santana, would probably also be baffled. Still, if you're already a fan of the band, or just want to test your fortitude as a music fan, this is the album you've been longing for. Though one wishes they'd slow down sometimes--this album is all crescendo, all the time--this is no return to the form of their earlier work but another creative level entirely. With their maximum-firepower approach, if The Mars Volta aren't the best band ever, they're certainly the most.
On their fourth studio album, The Mars Volta have definitely decided not to take it easy. From the very moment it starts until its ending 75 (!) minutes later, the band works in full steam ahead hyperdrive mode, rarely stopping for breath. One could be halfway through the album before realizing the first track is even over. On the upside, it shows a band determined to prove they're now the hardest working men in show business; on the downside, the songs tend to blend together into a massive rush of LOUDERFASTERNOW!!! Although working with the same prog-punk blueprint they've been developing over the years, here they seem to reject the more jam-band approach of Frances the Mute or Amputechture. All of the songs on the new album fall below the ten-minute mark, which for them is concise (disgruntled fans of the first album may want to check this one out). Their love of latin rhythms continues, however, aided ably by new drummer Thomas Pridgen, who gives the impression he's actually two men. The twin guitar attack of Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and (former Chili Pepper) John Frusciante, while using every style they can think of (including feedback noise), here they at least stick to the song at hand. This is not to say they're not coloring outside the lines, but they play it at such light-speed that the impression one gets is of Miles Davis' On the Corner interpreted by meth-addled robots. Meanwhile, vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala sticks mainly to the upper registers of his voice and lets the words tumble out at such a rate thay a lyric sheet is necessary to know what they are. This is not to say "understand," though, "The Bedlam in Goliath" is billed as (what else?) a concept album about a seemingly cursed ouija board that the band acquired in Jerusalem. Hey, I don't make the news; I just report it. If any of this sounds a bit daunting, that's probably because it's supposed to be. The Mars Volta obviously don't appeal to casual listeners; in fact, die hard Rush or Tool fans may even run screaming from the room. One of their major inspirations, Carlos Santana, would probably also be baffled. Still, if you're already a fan of the band, or just want to test your fortitude as a music fan, this is the album you've been longing for. Though one wishes they'd slow down sometimes--this album is all crescendo, all the time--this is no return to the form of their earlier work but another creative level entirely. With their maximum-firepower approach, if The Mars Volta aren't the best band ever, they're certainly the most.
8 of 10 people found the following review helpful
By Sylo
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Audio CD
The Mars Volta have returned to once again divide their fanbase. Many found Frances the Mute to be too progressive, weird, and or long. This in turn created a fanbase for the fan that took to their new mind warping experimental music. Then they releases Amputechture a far more solid effort where the songs ranged from manicly crazed to a soothing slow and sexually charged ballad or two seeping in between the mad genius of Cedric and Omar's ever-changing melodies. So a few fans of Frances were complacent while Deloused fans remained dissapointed.
Bedlam in Goliath is bound to turn away fans of Amputechture and have the Deloused fans return in droves. (If your a real fan you go with the flow.) They've shortened things up on a few tracks with a surprising amount of 5 minute tracks and an even more shocking two minute single. Wax Simulacra is such a perfect F-U to the record industry that demands short tracks for radio use and its almost as if the band gave them all they can suffer in a two minute time span and yet the song is brilliantly concise and loses nothing even without running the standard 8 to 9 minute running time.
The Mars Volta have created such a unique brand of music its almost as if they are just variating on their own sound. The spoiled among us would say they haven't done anything new outside of their own sound but they would fail to notice that TMV are continuing to dwell within their own bizarre unique take on progressive jazz fusion alternative metal funk rock. How can you possibly be deravitive in a genre you created? Not possible for the unbelievably talented Omar who is the mad genius behind the bands direction and sound on every record. Put aside the very press worthy "tale" behind the making of the record and what we've been given is another odyssey in the bands journey to reach the most untouched landscapes of sound.
The record opens up without the slow build that we saw on Amputechture. This time the band gets right into the thick of it from the get-go so you're given no warning when the crashing sounds burst your ear drums. They keep momentum moving rather briskly with every track providing plenty of danceable grooves, cryptic lyrics, and guitar riffs that may be potent enough to impregnate any nearby females who may be listening. The record takes a turn with Cavalettas, which isn't as instantly pleasing to the ears but thats when the band is asking you to stick it with them and enjoy the ride to this new place. Agadez and Askepios are there to quickly ease you back into a safe haven before Ouroboros and Soothsayer test your musical palette with some tasty new sounds. Cedric delves into more voice distortions then on previous records and once again tests the range of his vocals hitting some seriously high notes on Goliath.
To give you a break from the chaotic madness of the record Conjugal Burns lets you off easy with a standard Mars Volta closer of the epic variety. Providing enough closure to make this a more satisfying complete work then Amputechture which cuts off and never truly finds it's happy ending.
Bedlam in Goliath is bound to turn away fans of Amputechture and have the Deloused fans return in droves. (If your a real fan you go with the flow.) They've shortened things up on a few tracks with a surprising amount of 5 minute tracks and an even more shocking two minute single. Wax Simulacra is such a perfect F-U to the record industry that demands short tracks for radio use and its almost as if the band gave them all they can suffer in a two minute time span and yet the song is brilliantly concise and loses nothing even without running the standard 8 to 9 minute running time.
The Mars Volta have created such a unique brand of music its almost as if they are just variating on their own sound. The spoiled among us would say they haven't done anything new outside of their own sound but they would fail to notice that TMV are continuing to dwell within their own bizarre unique take on progressive jazz fusion alternative metal funk rock. How can you possibly be deravitive in a genre you created? Not possible for the unbelievably talented Omar who is the mad genius behind the bands direction and sound on every record. Put aside the very press worthy "tale" behind the making of the record and what we've been given is another odyssey in the bands journey to reach the most untouched landscapes of sound.
The record opens up without the slow build that we saw on Amputechture. This time the band gets right into the thick of it from the get-go so you're given no warning when the crashing sounds burst your ear drums. They keep momentum moving rather briskly with every track providing plenty of danceable grooves, cryptic lyrics, and guitar riffs that may be potent enough to impregnate any nearby females who may be listening. The record takes a turn with Cavalettas, which isn't as instantly pleasing to the ears but thats when the band is asking you to stick it with them and enjoy the ride to this new place. Agadez and Askepios are there to quickly ease you back into a safe haven before Ouroboros and Soothsayer test your musical palette with some tasty new sounds. Cedric delves into more voice distortions then on previous records and once again tests the range of his vocals hitting some seriously high notes on Goliath.
To give you a break from the chaotic madness of the record Conjugal Burns lets you off easy with a standard Mars Volta closer of the epic variety. Providing enough closure to make this a more satisfying complete work then Amputechture which cuts off and never truly finds it's happy ending.
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I'll give the Mars Volta this -- they can spin a concept album out of just about anything. In this case, a cursed/haunted ouija board from Jerusalem.
And their fourth full-length album "The Bedlam in Goliath" is a suitably haunted, demented affair with some vibrant moments buried in the crazy lyrics and tsunamis of distorted, chaotic hard-rock. It just grabs you and pushes you to the edge, with the force of its dense music -- and if you like it weird, it's a blast.
It starts off loud -- a blazing twisting bassline, hammering drums and Cedric Bixler-Zavala's howling vocals buried somewhere in the twisting melody. And it's folllowed the equally eruptive "Metatron," a swirling storm of clashing riffs and sharp drums... really, it's like an extension of the first song,
With the distorted buildup and electric riffs of "Ilyena," the Mars Volta try out some different sounds -- blazing droning tsunamis of twirling bass'n'guitars, epic rockers with the power of a sandstorm, landslides of sputtering hoarse riffs, howling psychedelica, wailing laments, and the tight, serpentine power of "Ouroborous."
Admittedly, the Mars Volta can't keep up this energy continually -- "Tourniquet Man" is a messy tangle of distortion, horns, halfhearted drums and a continuous drone of synth in the background. "Askepios" flirts with this sound, but is saved from total boredom by its louder moments.
The Mars Volta has been dabbling in this stuff for years now, though they stumbled with an album that was more about the weirdness than the music. Fortunately, while it has some limp moments, "The Bedlam in Goliath" is more about the eruptions of vaguely psychedelic, extremely uncatchy hard rock -- in other words, what they do best.
They've also gained some polish to their stormy, tangled instrumentation -- lots of blazing riffs, machine-gun drums, and powerful basslines that sputter and twist together. These are tangled with some blaring horns and a mess of schizophrenic synth that can sound like anything from crickets to a landing UFO. At times it sounds like the instruments are being strangled, especially the guitar -- it's hard to imagine how those sounds are being produced by ordinary instruments.
The disappointment? I don't know where "Tourniquet Man" came from, except perhaps the need for a single -- it's just a meandering electric guitar, loosely strung with some synth effects and a moment of sax. They don't even bother with drums -- it sounds like they didn't have their coffee that morning, and were performing in a daze.
Good luck figuring out what Bixler-Zavala is singing, though. As always, his cryptically weird lyrics -- wormholes, sulfur, "an avalanche of Toltec bones," Ouroborous and corpse-swapping -- are sung in his sharp, high-pitched voice, and then buried inside the music like another guitar. I'll tell you this -- it sounds like a musical apocalypse, filled with lust, dread and pain.
"The Bedlam in Goliath" is exactly what it sounds like -- bizarre and crazy. But aside from a few duds, the Mars Volta are in fine form.
And their fourth full-length album "The Bedlam in Goliath" is a suitably haunted, demented affair with some vibrant moments buried in the crazy lyrics and tsunamis of distorted, chaotic hard-rock. It just grabs you and pushes you to the edge, with the force of its dense music -- and if you like it weird, it's a blast.
It starts off loud -- a blazing twisting bassline, hammering drums and Cedric Bixler-Zavala's howling vocals buried somewhere in the twisting melody. And it's folllowed the equally eruptive "Metatron," a swirling storm of clashing riffs and sharp drums... really, it's like an extension of the first song,
With the distorted buildup and electric riffs of "Ilyena," the Mars Volta try out some different sounds -- blazing droning tsunamis of twirling bass'n'guitars, epic rockers with the power of a sandstorm, landslides of sputtering hoarse riffs, howling psychedelica, wailing laments, and the tight, serpentine power of "Ouroborous."
Admittedly, the Mars Volta can't keep up this energy continually -- "Tourniquet Man" is a messy tangle of distortion, horns, halfhearted drums and a continuous drone of synth in the background. "Askepios" flirts with this sound, but is saved from total boredom by its louder moments.
The Mars Volta has been dabbling in this stuff for years now, though they stumbled with an album that was more about the weirdness than the music. Fortunately, while it has some limp moments, "The Bedlam in Goliath" is more about the eruptions of vaguely psychedelic, extremely uncatchy hard rock -- in other words, what they do best.
They've also gained some polish to their stormy, tangled instrumentation -- lots of blazing riffs, machine-gun drums, and powerful basslines that sputter and twist together. These are tangled with some blaring horns and a mess of schizophrenic synth that can sound like anything from crickets to a landing UFO. At times it sounds like the instruments are being strangled, especially the guitar -- it's hard to imagine how those sounds are being produced by ordinary instruments.
The disappointment? I don't know where "Tourniquet Man" came from, except perhaps the need for a single -- it's just a meandering electric guitar, loosely strung with some synth effects and a moment of sax. They don't even bother with drums -- it sounds like they didn't have their coffee that morning, and were performing in a daze.
Good luck figuring out what Bixler-Zavala is singing, though. As always, his cryptically weird lyrics -- wormholes, sulfur, "an avalanche of Toltec bones," Ouroborous and corpse-swapping -- are sung in his sharp, high-pitched voice, and then buried inside the music like another guitar. I'll tell you this -- it sounds like a musical apocalypse, filled with lust, dread and pain.
"The Bedlam in Goliath" is exactly what it sounds like -- bizarre and crazy. But aside from a few duds, the Mars Volta are in fine form.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mars Volta Goes Hard
This album is really great, and leans toward a harder spectrum in their progressive rock. The lyrics and music are reminiscent of what the title says, and that's bedlam. Read more
Published 2 months ago by alexandra norwood
2.0 out of 5 stars
warped
It was really warped when I received it. Pretty much looked like a bowl. It was still playable but definitely extremely warped.
Published 3 months ago by Eric
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great record. Awesome packaging.
This is a classic record by a group of some of my favorite artists. Thoroughly enjoyable album.
The vinyl itself is red and black, the heavy 180 gram stuff. Read more
The vinyl itself is red and black, the heavy 180 gram stuff. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Justin G Myers
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is an incredible album!
This album is an awesome example of sonic gorgeousness. Listening to it on vinyl completely transcends anything you can imagine!
Published 5 months ago by John Huffman
5.0 out of 5 stars
Packaging review
No one buys vinyl without liking or at least hearing an album first, so I'm just going to comment on the physical product. As always, great and interesting artwork. Read more
Published 6 months ago by JAE
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic
I'm no expert on music in general or The Mars Volta in particular, I just know what I like and I love this album.
Published 6 months ago by Matt Ash
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good work!! GREAT BAND!
Bedlam In Goliath is a great all around album! I would suggest this album to someone who is new to The Mars Volta. Read more
Published 21 months ago by KJ2838
3.0 out of 5 stars
New to The Mars Volta? Don't start here...
This is the first album by The Mars Volta that I listened to. Boy, was that a mistake. "The Bedlam in Goliath" is one of those albums where you need to build up your tolerance. Read more
Published on October 13, 2010 by Mike C.
4.0 out of 5 stars
a fan of Mars Volta
This is some innovative new sounds. I admit, I am now a fan of the Mars Volta.
Published on April 16, 2010 by Mark Zak
5.0 out of 5 stars
Mars Volta FTW
This is hands down my favorite mars volta! if you love de-loused this is a no brainer must have!!!
Published on February 16, 2010 by Wendy Kane
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