Most groups split because the members end up suffering from creative tensions, label pressure, or lack of success, but in character, The Mars Volta had a different reason entirely. Formed by Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala from the ashes of At the Drive-In over 20 years ago, a string of releases which blended punk, jazz, metal and Latin grains ended abruptly in 2012 with Noctourniquet, an hour long commixture which earned a slightly muted reception.
Whilst the pair have occasionally reconstituted ATDI in the interim, it’s emerged since that the fissures in their relationship had been caused by Bixler-Zavala’s behaviour after joining the Church of Scientology in 2009. Written in secret over the last two years, The Mars Volta in part addresses his experiences, but at the same time fundamentally redraws the boundary of what most thought they were about.
For long time devotees this is a record which is going to take some mental processing. Out go their proggiest leanings (Only closing track The Requisition comes anywhere near) whilst in comes brevity, funk (Blacklight Shine), soul (Graveyard Love) and as the duo have provocatively stated, a dash of yacht rock (Vigil). A minority of their disciples will probably be wishing they’d stayed on sabbatical, but for the rest The Mars Volta introduces a new band, definitely not the same as the old one.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 
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