Originally billed as an acoustic album, "Octahedron" really couldn't be more plugged, so to speak. There is acoustic guitar used, but it becomes aparent in the first two minutes of the album that it's been electronically mastered and dubbed. There also is pretty clear use of electric guitar. That being said, prior expectations aside, the Grammy Award winning band has produced a record that has a little bit for everyone; both hardcore fans and critics. This album really exhibits a variety of sounds, almost all of which were the band's signature at one point or another. There are the heavy and frantic themes, present on earlier releases, as well as a much more ambient and experimental theme that has popped up on their last couple records. This is a band that faces so much critical praise as well as slander. The tonal variance present on this album is indicative of the band's desire to stay relevant and sort of please everybody. Fortunately for The Mars Volta, they have enough talent and charisma that they manage to embark on such an ambitious campaign without sacraficing integrity or spreading the record too thin. There are some people that just take them too seriously, but I think for the most part, this latest record shows a lot of maturity and stamina as well as a remarkable creative prowess.
RedletterDaydream
Past Works:
De-Loused in the Comatorium
Frances and the Mute
Amputechture
The Bedlam in Goliath
RedletterDaydream
Past Works:
De-Loused in the Comatorium
Frances and the Mute
Amputechture
The Bedlam in Goliath
Track:
Since We've Been Wrong
Since We've Been Wrong
RSS Feed