Notes on Noctourniquet By The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta are a really great band. No lie if you don't like the Mars Volta at all take your ears off now and go listen to MDNA because you have no taste in music whatsoever. If you do like them then great keep it up your getting somewhere musically. The Mars Volta are a Mexican American band from El Paso, Texas. They are one of the most experimental and great musical acts in all of America. If you haven't at least heard of The Mars Volta then you really don't know much about music. To tell you the album in a few words i would say its something else. It really is different from the other albums yet it still has that Latin and Mars Volta sound we all are familiar with.

Track review:

1. The Whip Hand: The first song of the album and already you can hear a very hard sound. The singing is the same as you would expect and its not different from the other albums. The music on the other hand...there's something in the sound that is different. you can hear a bit of De-loused and some of Frances and i still can't put my finger on whats changed. Its not the fact that there's electronics because they've done that before but its not the heavy guitar or the layered atmosphere. Lets just say its a really thick atmosphere and the transitions are out of this world really you can't compare anything in this song to anything other than The Mars Volta. Its great if you haven't heard anything by The Mars Volta before you can't start here at Noctourniquet because this is different yet the same as what they did before... You just need to listen to all the albums in order. If you have heard the other albums i suggest you stop listening to this album now and start from the beginning then listen to this album to see why this song/album is so strange.

2. Aegis: This is a really great song, really i promise. The drums are so... the only word to describe it is epic. The weird guitar filter sounds closest to something Muse could do but way watered down. The vocals are just as amazing as usual and there is so much power in the lyrics and the way he sends the listener the message. In this song you can see exactly how effective his vocals, the drums, and the guitar are to send a clear visual painting to the listener. Its beautiful extremely beautiful you can visualize everything feel everything and use your brain to fill in the gap between hearing and seeing what the lyrics scream to you.

3. Dyslexicon: Already the song is full of energy full of power and chaos and its just the start. Hmmm well the vocals are really really good they change a lot and when i say a lot its pretty impressive because I'm not so easy to impress and man they swayed me before i even had a chance to turn away. The energy in this song is tremendous. Its brilliant really when you think about the production and the making of this album they honestly took the time to make a really great album and in this song you can hear how much effort they put into the album overall.

4. Empty Vessels Make The Loudest Sound: Wow the transition from the last song right into this song is something to be envious about. This song is thinner then the songs before and its calm less chaotic and slow. The song is a perfect balance from the chaos its completely great but yet its still grabbing your attention and its atmosphere is filled with a path that's both smooth and bumpy it is smooth then it slowly shows the grooves in the path the pebbles and little cracks in the pavement and it is beneficial to the voyage through the song.

5. The Malkin Jewel: The transition is great here too. When it starts oh my its so tasty the guitar licks the vocals which is like yelling and whispering at the same time. Oh my the scrumptious bass guitar is so pleasing and with the side of heavy chaotic drums you can't go wrong. The beautiful little lo-fi recording of an acoustic Arabic instrument and a busy passageway just adds to its brilliance. The "chorus" is just really in your face its yelling at you for attention and the imagery in the album oh man i can visualize it i can see and hear the clicking and clacking and the chaos and the anger and rage you can hear it, feel it, and almost relive it. this song is extraordinary and it is a MUST listen. If you only had to buy one song on this album this song is the one to get and its not because its a single i heard this song before it was a single and i immediately fell in love with it.

6. Lapochka: This one has a lot of really fast tapping its crazy. The song sounds so eerie its almost too eerie but its very enjoyable it gives you chills down your spine. It has a great refrain. "how long must i wait" and it repeats this over and over and its begging you to listen closer and pay attention to the message. Well in all frankness this is what every Mars Volta song does. The best part of the song is the drumming its just insane.

7. In Absentia: For all of those who are really deep into the progressive rock scene this song title should remind you of the title of an album by Porcupine Tree. With this in mind i wanna see if there's a connection between the two bands. While listening to it and then listening to Porcupine Tree i can't really see anything in common between the British progressive and  Mex-Am bands. I guess the closest thing you can find between the two is the drumming and its pretty much the same with Porcupine Tree extremely good, loud, epic drumming. The song is long but when you really put in the attention span its always getting your attention and the singing towards the end of the song it reminds me of Thom Yorke's singing in the end of Lotus Flower except here Zavala does this without the help of a echo making software (no offence to Thom or Radiohead intended)

8. Imago: Sounds of the cracking of a thousand stars in the start of this song. The thumping and the exploding sounds give it a chilling feeling a feeling of the end of something bigger than you could imagine. There's a feeling of being lost and trying to find an exit from the fate you hold. Its a great song it takes you on a dark and sad journey and takes you through and it leaves you wondering.

9. Molochwalker: On the first note the guitar is very energetic and full of life. Talking about energy you must mention the drumming which seems off but is very on key and it dissolves any form of calmness its all over the place spanning from one end to the other and there is no place where you can't hear loud drumming. The best part of this song is the tempo change. The transition to this tempo change is a really good one. You gotta listen very closely for that very crucial point in the song.

10. Trinkets Pale of Moon: Again you hear the same sounds of Malkin Jewel but instead of walking its more of a chanting and this sound doesn't cut off at the first 10 seconds it continues to loop. Another difference is the softer less heavy guitar, in fact its mostly acoustic. The looping is amazing it really flows well with the guitar and vocals or rather it flows well and it fits in very well with it. During the halfway point in the song the song has an additional element a buzzing and also the looping gets a little distorted. There's also an addition of other percussion instruments in the loop. After a while though it slowly gets thinner and the guitar is solely playing along with the percussion and the looping ends.

11. Vedamalady: Beeping and ringing start the song off. Once this resides you are eased by the acoustic guitar and the beautiful vocals. this song gets very loud and you need to hear the vocals because this whole album has a story behind it.

12. Noctourniquet: The beeping actually sounds very nice and it has a very steady beat... The vocals start really shortly after the looping beeps starts and they steadily give way to an amazing sound full of cringing guitars bleeding drum rolls and really great off beat yet still on beat feel. This is almost a trademark Mars Volta sound the off drums that still keep time perfectly but in an eerie way. There's a certain point in the song that sounds almost mystical and unreal and it stands out a lot just giving it a few listens and there is so much in this song similar to things they have done before.  When you listen closer still you can hear the differences that really make this album stand out from the other albums and its really mind blowing.

13. Zed And Two Naughts: What is this sound in the start of the song? It sounds like a bubbling of something like tar or oil almost and it sounds very mechanical like part of a huge rusty metal machine. The song afterwards just gets taller, farther, wider and it just E X P A N D S and its grand. This song is grand, in order to actually feel the atmosphere of this song and any song on this album you gotta actually listen to it.


Verdict: WOW i mean WOW. This album right here is the real thing. Buy the CD the Vinyl or if possible the Cassette and run you hand through it because that thing you will hold is one of the best things you will ever hear in your life you may not like it now or tomorrow but you need to listen to it more than once to capture its brilliance, its beauty, its awe. This album is one of the best things i've heard in a long time and i love this album it is the best album to come out this year and it probably will stay that way for a while if you don't like this album or listen to it and can't capture it i feel bad for you because im afraid your going deaf. The lyrics are beautiful the music is beautiful and the way this album and this band paints pictures in your head makes you really apreciate what The Mars Volta does. BY ALL MEANS LISTEN TO IT, BUY IT IF YOU LIKE IT, AND SUPPORT THIS AMAZING AMAZING BAND! Really thats how much i enjoy this album and im sure that you will too.


RATING: ♪♪♪♪♪/♪♪♪♪ FIVE out of Four eighth notes.