Deloused in the Comatorium

Sort of terrible but sort of good? Seems to be a love it or hate it type record, so both emotions seem valid. Suppose I'll land in the middle but I'm really reconsidering my rating strategy.

To prog or not to prog, that is the question. I really like some prog, although much tilts towards the bombast or endless noodling. Complex isn't the same as good and merely throwing stuff against the wall isn't complex. It is not a lack of musicianship. More like a sprawling novel in need of an editor

Because they opened for RHCP this was technically the first band I saw in an arena. We did not like it. This was fine but not really for me. I think this band has some great musicians but only a few of the songs had real grooves so it reminded me of prog rock in that way.

Another of those that feels like it needs way more than one day to properly digest (I listened to it once before, years ago, but even TWO days isn’t enough time to really know it…) I respect the proggy experimentation; it’s a pretty unique blend of math-rock, emo, latin, helicopter sounds and god knows what else. There are moments when an epic chorus or mighty riff breaks out from the chaos and it sounds very nice indeed. I can’t say that I enjoyed all 67 minutes of it to the same extent, but with more listens maybe that would change. For now: 3.5 stars.

This feels like the kind of thing I would like but for some reason it doesn't really appeal to me. Not sure why but something just felt a little off.

C’est l’fun. C’est comme si Porcupine Tree et I Mother Earth avait un bébé coké. En fait, on est dans l’excès ici. Ça va vite, il y a plein de notes, il chante très aigüe, c’est très compressé/reverbérisé. C’est un peu envahissant comme musique. Par contre, je me vois très bien en écouter par-ci par-là, mélangé avec des trucs plus tempérés. C’est aussi un bon cours de drum.

Mimo wszsytko tekst jest integralną częścią piosenki i nie można go tak po prostu zamienić na losowo brzmiące słowa i dograć do nich trzeba przyznać nie najgorszą nutę. Czasem dobre solo, lub jak w jazzie "rozmowa" instrumetnów może nam zastąpić warstwę liryczną. Z moich przypuszczeń to celowali coś w stylu jak angielska piosenka brzmi dla ludzi niemówiących po angielsku. Podobny feeling mam słuchając niektórych openingów anime, pojedyncze słowa kojarzysz, ale nie do końca wiesz o co chodzi. Jeśli rozpatrzymy to w takich kryteriach to wyszło nie najgorzej.

Feels like pre pop punk goodness -- Chiodos wishes they sounded like this. I'm so happy I got a throwback album out of this.

This is only after one listen (don't feel like another) but just found it wearing and samey. The singer just yelling all the time, math rocky guitars, long songs, though listening on a Monday morning after a 4 day bank holiday probably doesn't help!

Listened some time ago: recall it as a math rock fused with certain emoish/punkish tendencies as well as more arty/jazzy things. It was alright but hasn't stayed with me.

Found this more interesting than especially enjoyable or ‘good’ but I liked it

Yet another band I’d heard of but not heard. A good listen, though I’ll admit my idea of progress sits more on the Yes side of things than this.

I know of Mars Volta, gun to my head, can't name a thing of theirs. So when I saw prog rock and concept album was fairly excited. In the end, not something I am going to be rushing back to, interesting, but not Yes or King Crimson...This might have hit me differently if I heard it in my teens but now. not so much.

Really slow and melancholy

It’s not boring…

I’ll admit; I was going to leave a snarky, one-star review indicating that I didn’t know where my migraine ended and this album began after initial listen, but I read some other reviews and decided to give it a second listen. There are still some tracks that evoke pain, but I’m feeling new things and the second listen-thru. Perhaps a third listen will give me something to chew on. Three stars in optimism for that. Oh, and for Flea.

Yet another prog album brought down by it's singer

I have to be in the right headspace for The Mars Volta. This album seems ambitious and technical. The end result isn't especially listenable, imo.

A pretty good album that I have not heard before. I enjoyed the various genre bending this album provides. Some various levels of prog rock, alternative creates an enjoyable album that feels modern and important for future bands. 6.6/10

6/10 has not aged terribly well, but has some cool drumming

6/10. Loud, but some bits were pretty interesting

It was ok, didn't love it

Did not know what to expect and was still surprised. Not my thing but not bad.

A Beloved Roy album Favorites: Drunkenship of Lanterns Televators

It's his voice. I just don't like it. I feel like if be a huge MV fan if it weren't for his voice.

Melodic in parts

Fun prog rock entry to start the week.... Would listen to again

Meh. I didn't connect with this at all

I'm awake now

I get it but I don't get the music. I have just never been a fan of speed any style of music. I can definitely hear the influence in latter bands. I am thinking Linkin Park and Evanescence. I could only sample this album. I just don't care to listen to an entire album of this genre. All that being said, they belong on the list and have more talent then some of the other artist chosen for this book.

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Inertiatic Esp, Eriatarka, Televators, Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Quite a moving background to these songs that would be damn near indecipherable without research, which seems to have been exactly what they were going for. Mission accomplished The Mars Volta!

Voor mijn gevoel symfonische rock met heel grappige elektronische geluidjes. Ik vind het wel heel leuk klinken. ***

This is one of those records that I don't necessarily dislike but I don't completely like either. It manages to get my attention in some parts, but in general I find it overly long and cerebral. I honestly would have preferred to see Relationship In Command by At The Drive-in in here.

good

Le lundi n'est pas une journée que j'apprécie particulièrement, c'est pourquoi la qualité de mes reviews tent à diminuer en cette journée. En effet, dès mon reveil, j'ouvre le générateur après 3 jours de pause comme chaque semaine. De là, je me retrouve systématiquement noyé sous une multitude de commentaires de mon camarade d'écoute robpellemèle, qui accorde des notes ahurissantes à chaque album que Robert met gentillement à notre disposition. Cet effet s'estompe progressivement au fil de la semaine, d'où le regain en qualité de mes reviews courant mercredi.

Fine album. Gets boring near the end. The drums are great

I'm singing high. I'm singing low. -this album It's not a bad album but I'm not going to be extolling its virtues on high.

This is really interesting. Reminds me of a harder rock version of Yes at times with the sudden, loud staccato outbursts. Definitely worthy of further listens. 3 stars.

I mean, this is high-intensity noodling and the melodies are pretty strong, but it just feels like it goes on forever and I start to tune it out.

An amalgamation of Led Zepplin, QOSTA, My Chemical Romance and Ricky Martin has produced quite satisfactory results.

Very decent although very samey - the singer has a good voice.

my chemical romance - esque emo rock 3.5

Gran disco!

Sounds like a mix between Tool and Muse, to me there was some nice things attempted just doesn't hit the mark for me.

This is an absolutely crazy debut album from a band that I've never heard of before (even though it was released during my lifetime unlike most albums on this list). I was skeptical before and during the first set of songs, but the album *slowly* hooked me more and more throughout. It is not something I would want to listen to all of the time, but I can definitely appreciate it for what it is. The album is finely crafted from an instrumental perspective with everyone giving it their all here. If I had to describe it to someone who had never heard of this band before, I would say it is My Chemical Romance if they made experimental rock in the 1970s. The MCR vibes mainly come from the lead singer's vocals which sound nearly identical to Gerard Way's and from the overall emo feeling present on every track. While I enjoyed the vocals for the most part, it was hard for me to understand what he was saying at some points which led me to focus more on the instrumentals. From that perspective, the progressive rock staples are all here which is both a good and bad thing. While this style allows for more freedom and expression through instruments, it also tends to allow for a bloated feeling due to long tangents during songs. For example, Cicatriz Esp's outro last way too long for what it is (incoherent noise with distorted ocean-like noises in the background). This eventually leads to more great guitar and drum work, but it leaves me wondering how much of the album could be trimmed down to make for a more cohesive and focused listen. In short, although I don't think this album fully clicked with me, I still respect it and had a good time listening to it. 3/5. NOTE: I was pleasantly surprised to see that Flea, one of my favorite rock stars of all time, played bass on the majority of this album due to the original bassist leaving the band before the album's recording. This makes complete sense and definitely sounds like him upon further inspection (Drunkship Of Lanterns features some of his craziest work on bass even when including all of the RHCP discography).

This is one of the albums that made me pivot in my listening styles. The story telling is awesome and the music always keeps you on your toes. Really good stuff.

3.5, very enjoyable, extremely talented

Interesting music

Rock progresivo raruno. Ni fu ni fa.

Didn't like at first, started to like it at the third heard

Nice, but it wasn't able to deeply deliver its mood to me.

decent alternative album but doesn't add enough for me to rate it higher

Eksperimenterende psykedelisk rock, Imponerende lydunivers, velkomponeret

The energy and angst and strong here, though they lean a bit too much into the Primus funk/experimental camp for my tastes. Still, we're it is energy without spazz, it is excellent.

One to return to. Intriguing, if noisy

Really exceptional album, amazing musicianship and an interesting energetic sound. I'm just not sure it's one I would play all the time. A really nice change of pace though

The album has a good flow start to finish. A decent listen if you are in the right mood

This was okay. There were some good songs, but they were all so long... If every song was capped at 4 minutes this would be a really good album.

I remember liking this record back in the day but I haven't listened to it in years. I'm not a huge fan of the singer's voice - find it a bit grating. There is a lot going on, it's a bit hard to get into. I guess that's prog rock for you - which is typically not my thing. Still, it's definitely an interesting record. Not as good as I remember or maybe I just wasn't in the right mood. Makes sense for it to be on this list.

A very powerful album intense and deep. Stylistically varied and interesting. Can't possibly absorb it all in one listen but I intend to delve deeply in the coming days 3.5 🌟

Es ist vor allem eins: abwechslungsreich! Schlägt Haken und Volten (!) wie nur ein wendiger Geist oder System of a Down dies vermag. Oder Fühl mich an eine Emo/Indie Zeit zurück erinnert, für die ich knapp zu alt war, aber immerhin in Ausläufern (The Cooper Temple Clause, Dredg, Juno,…) dann doch mehr als nur ein Ohr offen hatte. Wird hier kein ähnliches Erweckungserlebnis, aber partiell bleibt es haftender als kukident. Meine prall mit bestickerten Notizbüchlein („Eriatarka“ Skizzen!) verseuchte Umhängetasche hängt tiefer als 3.4

Sounds like prog rock

The music is good but definitely not as good as I remembered, it really rubbed me the wrong way this time. This album oozes pretentiousness in ways I can't explain

time has been unkind to this band in a way that it really hasn't for At the Drive-In. insane musicianship that is almost hard to appreciate because the entire thing seems to drip with smugness. this album in particular might be the peak of Cedric's self-gratifying pretentious lyrics. stupid album, amazing musicians.

No private session used for Spotify. I have tried to get into the Mars Volta before, but I just don't like the dude's voice. The backing music might be chaotic and fun, but I can't get past the inner ear piercing voice.

This kinda hurts my head a bit. I'm not a huge fan of 70s prog rock so more modern stuff is definitely outside my wheelhouse.

son et lumier

The playing is excellent. However, aside from an intriguing opening, I find it gets tiresome quickly. Really old-school proggy pretentiousness; I see right through the 'math rock' label.

With a name like ‘Mars Volta,’ they truly have a spacey, prog alt rock sound. Interesting and new to me but a little too much not my thing for a regular listen. 2.5/5.0

Meh, I feel like this type of music has been done before and better by others. It’s energetic which can be enjoyable but the voice is a bit grating to my ears.

Not my thing. This was actually rarity for me on this list so far, which is this was an album I enjoyed less on second listen. I could hear a lot of the influence for other, later bands of the late 2000’s in this, so I understand its placement on this list. And I enjoyed reading about the concept for the album, but it’s just not my thing

Not a fan. Good musicians who have decided to make a lot of noise.

2.5 I did enjoy parts of it quite a bit.

This music is made for me and this is not for me.

Talented musicians, but I did not enjoy this at all.

I'm tempted to say that this was a real chore to get through, but, to be honest, the majority of this just washed over me. The moments where I was paying full attention, though, were pretty poor. Nonsensical, pretentious lyrics, vastly over-complicated musicianship and a really tiresome, belting vocal delivery. I don't listen to prog-rock all that often, but if and when I do, I certainly won't be listening to this.

Nope noise

I usually love prog rock but this didn't click with me. The vocals are too whiny and emo for my liking and there are a few too many sections with obnoxious noises and feedback. Maybe I'd like it with a few more listens but I didn't enjoy it much the first time.

As a drummer, impressive performance. Otherwise, reminds me of an indie Periphery. Forgettable songs with a whiney vocal. Songs dragged.

Some interesting sounds, but the whole thing is too long and utterly soulless. They put so much effort into being weird and unique that they forgot to just write good songs.

Not that into it and it was really quiet

A unique sounding album, that felt like there was too many layers of sounds to each song. So they all felt a bit too chaotic for me

This is not for me. The lyrics are incomprehensible, the songs are extremely long and meandering and I didn’t love the singers voice

Missed the mark - lots of fast guitar and drum work. That’s not enough to make up for the forgettable songs.

I must have heard this album in full over 100 times, albeit probably only twice in the last 20 years. It hasn't grown on me since the first impression. It's not the best example of the kind of energy it brings - in any direction - and it's annoyingly screamy and whiney. I can't not think of it like a moody toddler who's ruining your summer holiday afternoon because the sprinkles on their ice cream were the wrong colour...

Cedric has progressed quite a bit since "At the drive in". This album is definitely more focused and cohesive. However for me, I liked the rough edges on Relationship of command. This was decent, but not something that really kept me interested.

It’s hard for me to conceive that people actually enjoy listening to this.

Definitely could have liked it more in the right mood, but didn't work for me at this time. Definitely in my wheelhouse. Fairly frenetic but experimental post punk

A little She Wants Revenge influence with a hint of Muse but no heart. Unpleasant guitar interludes and high-speed impact vocals trying to bring something new to the 2000's sound. The attempts at psychedelic sounds just come off as noise.

This album went entirely too long.

Really never liked 00s prog bands. Still don’t

Sur le principe, c’est intéressant. Sur la réalisation, j’ai pas accroché du tout.

Not for me

I've tried so many times with this album but just can not get past the piercing voice, a tattoo gun on your ear drum. There are some blitzing guitar parts and explosive riffs combining the best of post-hardcore energy, indie tone, post-rock metal dynamics, and prog songwriting, but they're all ruined by the shrill whinge. A 4* instrumental album spoiled by a 1* singer.

Too repetitive and noisy, very impressive though! I appreciate the craftsmanship. This album, to me, sits between modern hard rock and prog rock. Usually I don't really enjoy hard rock, instead I enjoy softer prog rock. However, the experimental style here is pretty captivating. It sounds a bit like Muse on acid. One thing: none of these songs are playlist worthy. To me, I would only listen to this album as a whole, rather than as individual songs. I won't lie, towards the middle of the album I began to get sick of it... It's a little too intense for me, pretty repetitive, and a little noisy. I don't think this is for me. I can appreciate the craft from a distance, but it didn't 'vary' enough for me. The start had me hopeful, but it felt a little bit like a chore to listen to as it went on. By the time I got to the end, I was glad it was over.

not my cup of tea pero aplaudo el laburo detrás + Televators me gustó

The raw ingredients are there, but like most prog, it feels overcooked, odd and under-edited. And I really dislike the shouty-anthemic vocals that are such a hallmark of so many bad contemporary pop-rock and emo acts. 2.5 stars.

Man I'm glad I finally listened to this album, now I know I never need to listen to it again. Whatever it was that attracted people to this.... a mystery.... for someone else to solve........

Reminds me too much of 30 Seconds to Mars and I know this came first. Could not get on with the vocals.

Na. Hay algunas canciones que están bien, pero no volvería a escuchar el álbum, no es mi tipo y mismo me parece un disco x de una banda x. Da esa sensación.

Was expecting modern prog. More screaming than prog

A bit too much up its ass for my tastes. This is why Pink Floyd mogs these guys: you can create a great progressive rock album with simple lyrics alongside a simple instrumental backbone, and not throw around excessive cryptic and quasi philosophical remarks like these guys. The instrumentals are decent, but some real bad choices bury it into the ground. You don't need a drum fill every minute or so, nor does Cicatriz ESP need a long, almost totally silent, part that kills any enjoyment. Call me old-fashioned I guess...

not my style

Individually - some really interesting musical elements. Shame that they repeat the same pattern until the last few tracks of the album.

Didn't hate it, but a lot of the interest I had in the progressive nature of the album was dated by an early 2000s alternative rock sound. It also felt like it was trying to be pretentious with nothing to show for it... Rating: 4/10 Favorite Song: Son et Lumiere

Bit shouty for me, but the bits that weren't shouty were good

Man, I just cant get into these guys. Ive tried.

Inertiatic Esp Eriatarka

Not At The Drive In, what a shame love the first song all a bit too progy for me.

took me 4 days to go through the full album. i would generally be more enthusiastic with this sort of music, in theory is the sort of music i enjoy, but i really stuggled to get hooked to it, might give it another oportunity later on, but right now is just not my cup of tea.

Like lowkey what am I listening to? Definitely not good but there exists worse music out there 2/5

Eh, not the worst thing I've heard on this list but there isn't much to be excited about on this either.

Nope. I can't.

Nie celkom pre mňa... Určite sú to zruční muzikanti, ale môj dojem z hudby je 2.

Fairly certain this is the result of mixing prog rock, showtimes and heavy drugs. Yeah … that’s a very generous 2 stars

I thought some of this was interesting, thought it takes a while for most of the songs to get going. I continue to just not be a prog rock guy.

Alright, general rock.

Inglaterra

I can see it is well produced and intense. But I found it soulless. Fav. Track: This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed

I don't relate to this musical approach. The performances are obviously impressive (R.I.P. Ikey Owens, hell of a keyboardist), and there are certainly some passages that I dig, but it doesn't register with me whatsoever on a primal or emotional level. Also, I'm sure that Cedric Bixler-Zavala is a very nice person, but his vocals are very much a non-starter. 2/5

gustó

uuhuh

4/10 - a bit too hard rock for me but objectively it is decent

Once again, I will never tell people that I like all forms of music.

Good but to repetitive for what it is

The instrumental was alright. Clearly there is talent here. But this record is not essential and I hope I never have to hear any of this ever again. Too far up its own ass to be anything but boring.

Zuhause, Gerstetten, Deutschland. Stark angefangen & sehr stark nachgelassen.

I prefer At The Drive In

Had no idea what to expect, but it wasn’t that. I don’t hate it. But it seems like something that needs a lot of listens to set in properly. 2.95

Very annoying

Each song contains 3-6 songs, some great, some okay.

Was off to a great start but got very same-ish and tiring by song 3. Can't stand the vocals on this, the singer sounds like your average emo band vocalist in the worst way possible. He actively ruins all of the songs. And the songs become very repetitive and noisy the longer the album runs. While I usually don't mind this and can be a big fan when executed right, it just doesn't work in this case.

It was okay, not the easiest album. Cant get on with modern prog always feels too erratic. Didn't make me want to turn if off but I'll also never listen again.

not for me. almost nothing in there that I enjoyed

heeeert kei zit gha zum notize mache aber en dude wo glichzitig mit mir d zvdk ufnahmeprüefig gmacht het het mer mol gseit mer müesi das uuunbedingt mol ghört haa. has nie glost. ich han vilicht z wenig gnau glost aber ich checks nöd würklich. s isch chli proggy moderne rock aber null catchy. sött vlt nochli lese drüber

When I seen it was an hour long with only 10 songs I was sceptical. The first track is about 1 minute 30, so I was correct. Alot of unnecessary synonyms and metaphors that appear deep and meaningful but don't pack any depth. Not for me

It's just noise. Guy's voice gets a 1 star bump.

It is fine. Nothing special and sounds like a lot of other albums being released at that time. 5/10 Top song Drunkship of lanterns

Meh, not my favorite style of music. It was kind of interesting with the bass lines and rhythmic guitar.

2/5

Interaiatic esp Eriatarka

This is #day595 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… I'm listening to this one a day later, as yesterday I was overwhelmed with other stuff. But hey, that still counts, right? I mean, I'm not really missing anything. Now, this is my first-ever experience with The Mars Volta. I never really had a reason to listen to them until now, although I do remember briefly checking out Antemasque when it came out. For the most part, I don't quite care for what I'm hearing. I didn't expect the vocals to be that high. I like some of the post-hardcore moments, but prog rock has never really been my thing. The music is more technical than musical, if that makes sense. This is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day596.

I don't know if there was something about the vocals that reminded me of Thom Yorke of Radiohead but several times I caught myself thinking if Radiohead had been a rawk band they'd sound like this. If I listen to this again I will probably wonder what I am on about. However while it had moments of interest I don't think I am likely to get the chance to wonder.

Firstly, I can’t tell you how uncomfortable this album cover makes me, secondly, I am so so surprised I don’t hate this album given the genre is extremely not my thing. The melodies though? They’re really good and even though there’s hardcore fast asf drums over most of it (which is rlly not my thing), I could still appreciate certain songs! This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed was my favorite.

I really wanted to like this record, but I simply don't. It drags on for far too long, and the lyrics are nonsensical bordering pretentions.

They're doing some cool stuff on this album but it makes me so anxious. I don't need more anxiety in my life, I need less...

Too many disparate musical ideas on top of each other. Give me At The Drive In instead.

Suenan bien rockers pero demasiado complejo pa my body

This was very odd, some parts were engaging but still not for me.

Didn’t take long to determine this was not for me. I have heard worse.

This could have been so good, like a strong 4, there were some great songs on here, that unfortunately were being played over by less great songs leaving me like .. What is happening?

Klarar inte riktigt av dem.

Not for me

Honestly it was a struggle for me to finish this one. Seems to me like music you listen to when you want to be an elitist and lord your superior intelligence over others who listen to that "formulaic pop music drivel". Math/prog rock. I see you but aint necessarily for me.

This one wasn't really my vibe.

I'm just not a fan of this sound. It's not super annoying, but I just don't get any enjoyment out of listening to this. They're good musicians and all, but the songs don't do it for me. 2 stars.

As much as I love prog's first wave in the 70's, I’ve always struggled with the genre once the influence of metal crept in, it just sounds like noise. Deloused in the Comatorium is a prog album through and through with an indecipherable concept, fantasy narrative, and instrumental wizardry. The problem? For me, it has all of prog's inherent snobbery without any tongue in cheek humor. A glance at the album’s lyrics shows the problem "Last night I heard lepers flinch like birth defects, its musk was fecal in origin as the words dribbled off of its chin." If it weren’t for the band’s explanations or Wikipedia, there’s absolutely no hope of understanding story. To the album’s credit, there's absolutely no possible argument against the solid musicianship here. The guitar playing alternates between lead parts or soundscapes in "Eriatarka". The drumming throughout, and particularly in "Drunkship of Lanterns", is fantastic. The singer has an impressive vocal range, with a solid belt. The problem is that it's all style and little substance. The most melodic we get is in the standout tracks "Eritarka" and "Elevators".The album just feels like dissolving into ambient nothingness. The ending, "Ambuletz", feels insulting to anyone who has sat through this for one hour with genuine excitement, it doesn't provide satisfying closure. It’s a real effort to make it through the whole album, and I’m not sure I’ll be doing it again any time soon. Did I need to hear this before I die? Probably not

yeah no

Very hectic and at times self indulgent. Technically very proficient but not something I would not listen to very often.

My knowledge of this band and its associated bands is very limited. I remember At the Drive-In being very popular in the music circles I tended to read, but I checked out Relationship of Command and didn't really like it. Then when Pearl Jam announced that part of their Riot Act tour would be opened by Sparta, I checked them out and it similarly didn't do anything for me. So I never even bothered to check out the Mars Volta. This music is interesting, but I don't love the vocals (too high-pitched, maybe?) and the lyrics are gibberish. I found a website with the novella they are based on and the context didn't really change my opinion that it's gibberish. "Cerpin taxt stood high above the wobbling miscarriage of oncoming traffic"? Sure thing, man.

??? das prog rock albu it kijische rtime? c

The title is the best thing about this album. 2 stars or D+.

just so mid

A lot going on here. Probably deserves a better listen than I gave it

90s music is so moody. Not a fan.

Reminds me of opeth and dream theater in parts. Sometimes it spent too long in places and I drifted away from it.

Started out with this album thinking high 3 trending 4, but ended up a high 2. It's just too much to digest.

This was a tough listen. Started off thinking I might like it after the first song, but everything after that had me begging for mercy. Narrowly avoided a one star rating as I had to skip the last three tracks for the sake of my sanity.

Progressive, my hoop!

didnt listen to fully… ill listen to half ill give the other half a listen eventually but ive seen these guys in concert and know they aren’t particularly my jam so im unfairly going to judge them off of that, im sure they have some banger and i understand why system has them open for everything but honestly just seems like a weaker soad to me

Not awful but I didn’t love it. Fast guitars and vocals that reminded me of a lite version of muse.

did we not make enough proggy rock with hootin and hollerin back in the 70s

Pretty dull

Not my favorite iteration of this genre

This is just Rush for people born after 1990

Weird. But not terrible.

I have to admit that this genre is really not my thing. I gave it a listen but it didn’t change my mind. I’m glad it connects with others though.

Another one of those "critic's choice" records that they make "important" because it's artsy rock that critics tend to pick. It's not my wheelhouse and nothing I enjoy at all.

Lead singer had a compelling voice and was reminiscent of Freddie Mercury on occasion. The recording is a whole is not something I would listen to again. Too noisy for me

while i was listening to this i was making a face and my brother asked whether i was constipated and i said nearly.

Ugh this was just weird. But it did have potential... which was not used... I liked some of the instrumentals, there was good use of guitar and drums. What I did not like were the vocals- not only were the lyrics so bad, the voice effects made them so much worse and to top it all off there was way too much screeching and screaming. Also the song and album names were really odd for no apparent reason. I think these guys think they were being edgy but all they achieved was being weird.

Favorite Songs: Cicatriz Esp, Inertiatic Esp Least Favorite Song: Televators Cool music, but I unfortunately don’t like the guy’s voice.

Experimental noise, not a fan

31. alright, better than expected

Histrionic and meretricious. When 14 year old emo boys hear this, they will think it’s epic and grandiose, but in reality it is pretentious, pointless and annoying.

not my thing

Lots of mixed feelings. This is very juvenile and of its time, like I definitely feel like a Hot Topic "music is my life" tween when I listen to this, but I'm not gonna pretend it doesn't have its moments. I do like At The Drive-In and I can hear the link there between this and that but this sucks more in like a really fake pretentious way that reminds me of Muse or something. I'm not mad at it but I don't ever wanna listen to it in full again.

Never did it for me

I hate this so much lol. Emo with no nostalgia for me, so I’m forced to confront what it actually is. Also funny how much I love post rock and hate prog rock.

Appreciate the energy of the record and some of the jams! There is better rock music out there for sure.

These guys can really play their instruments and there are interesting moments but I think it's by sheer luck. This just sound like random riffs to me and nothing truly memorable.

Theoretically this is prog rock, and there’s certainly a lot going on with machine gun drum fills, a bit of guitar noodling and a bizarre concept album through line about someone in a coma after taking an overdose of rat poison and morphine. As you do. There are strong echos of early 70s King Crimson here with a bit of Led Zeppelin thrown in for good measure. It feels like the sort of album you have to listen to with the lyrics open in another tab and a wikipedia page to look up the references whilst taking notes because there’ll probably be a test at the end. Far too many notes for my taste!

Noisy .. not really my style

Could be good for a hard run but probably wouldn’t seek it out. Pretty hardcore emo(?) which didn’t speak to me

Stressed melancholia, hated it

It was alright. I appreciate the cool blend of styles but not for me. Even then there are still some cool elements to the songs. Rating: 2.3

Good musicians and a voice you either love or hate. It's very progressive as in there are not a lot of hooks so it's an exhausting listen. Not my cup of tea.

I remembered liking this more when I first heard them. They do some fun musical stuff, but they're a lot more whining than I can deal with.

My initial thoughts of this album reminded me of when I described having a newborn child it's a special type of Hell sprinkled with fairy dust. This was shed with tiny bits of genius. Fortunately that screaming, shitting, meat bag turned into a cool cat that I enjoy being it. Alas, the album didn't improve, it actually got worse and I'm glad it's over.

20 years ago, I would have thought this was awesome. But I think I'm in a quieter time in my life where this just isounds very noisy.

Sure

Not really

A bit much sometimes, but it has some decent parts. Psychedelic... chaotic good? 2,9/5

It’s… fine. Maybe the vocals don’t appeal? Maybe the songs are too similar? Start quiet, get louder, repeat. For whatever reason it’s not awful but doesn’t hold much appeal for me. Would give 2.5 if I could.

Great musicianship but I had hard time connecting with this overall.

Not for me

The soundtrack for when you are feeding bologna to a frenzied school of piranhas.

Neat concept

I quite like the messier jazzier quiet bits. I would have taken a whole album of that instead of their need to blast in with workaday big riffs. Overall it feels like over polished post hardcore.

didn't love it, but didn't hate it. The drums impressed me most, very precise and punchy with a lot of technical skill and complexity. I didn't really care for the vocals, as they had that kind of affected accent used in a lot of emo and punk songs. Taking into account that this isn't a genre I'd normally be into, it's pretty good and I don't regret checking it out, but I won't be listening to it again soon.

rounded up to 2 because of former students who LOVED this album and tried to get me into it

I can kind of see how someone could love this album, but that’s not me. There were parts that were almost good, but it all needed a little more editing and tweaking.

..

Hectic

I wasn’t in to this band back then and I don’t think I can get in to them now either. Sounds like tight black pants and swooping haircuts.

Muse-y metal. Some really good guitar.

This feels like either a radio band trying to do something very artistic or a "real" band trying to capture the radio. Either way it tries too hard. The only song I know was inert esp and I have always been annoyed with that song. I dont know what it is but its just one of those nails on a chalkboard types. But thats one of the better songs here. Not a good sign. Its not all doom and gloomy though. There are some neat ideas here and there but usually its followed by something baffling or layer up with something else that stinks. The vocals too are not for me. It feels like a slightly mature pop punk. That type should be childish and dumb, making songs about their dick not whatever esoteric crap is here. So in short its not good but not the bottom of the barrel. Glad its over but not clawing my ears off

nuh uh ☝️

So lets see... this album somehow makes it on the list but these other 2000s rock classics like Fall Out Boy and Blink-182 and others don't make it on the list. Right. Ok. 4/10.

Not my kinda thing, kinda dissonant and chaotic, less harmonic than I’d like

Some of these were interesting but not really for me

I saw prog rock and expected this would be an easy pass for me, but I didn’t really hate it. I didn’t enjoy it either, but I didn’t just bail early and managed to finish most of the album. It’s just too pretentious for me to enjoy.

josh kline loves! was telling some crazy stories...

These albums are just opaque and confronting. In a good way, but they probably need 50 relistens. Relentless. High 2s.

mengeling van King Crimson en Muse... helaas iets te veel van die laatste

seems hardcore in a good way - just not for me

I can definitely say this is a mash up of many genres of music. Not a mash up I need.

The Mars Volta - that’s a good name for this type of group; and the album cover also fits the image. However, the album title strikes me as one which the band came up with in an effort to be different. The drumming on the album was very good, but overall the music was not memorable. There were several sections with random noises which did not improve the album.

Ho ho! Most of these albums are too old for me to know if they're left-field picks or not, but this one really shocked me. The Mars Volta!? 's Debut album?! In 2025!? On a normie list of must-listens?! I haven't thought about them in at least 20 years, but for a solid block of time they lingered on MTV2's Rock Countdown (I think with 'Televators' and then later 'The Widow' and 'L’via L’viaquez') and I thought "ugggggghhhh -- who even likes this!?". Actually, a lot of my friends' older brothers liked this (shoutout John and Andrew), but not me. Now I know it's 'cause it's "prog".* Very much big guitar time. More music-focused than lyrics-focused. Plus unpleasantly screamy lyrics. Performatively goth. They probably bumped off some of my favorite bands, like Nine Inch Nails or A Perfect Circle!! (lol). Jim Shearer probably loved them because they're like the Beastie Boys (bad)!! Boo!! Hiss!! Even just seeing this album cover again gives me visceral rage! Why is that stupid guy's head there!? That said, this is a delight because it reminds me so of peak-era Rock Countdown. I don't listen to a rock station on the radio anymore (shoutout to my old friends 105.7 the X and KROQ), and AT-40 (my only music listening other than this these days) hardly ever plays that kind of alt-rock stuff (with the exception of Shinedown, for some reason, who must be Ryan Seacrest's Beastie Boys), so it's a nice blast from the past. But of all the albums to represent 2000s rock!! Why The Mars Volta!? Probably because these book creators were prog-loving sickos!! So, this is really hard for me to rate. If I just heard it out of the blue for the first time, it'd probably be a 2. Noisy! Terrible! But the nostalgic glee I felt when seeing this come up was like, a 4. The album was exactly how I remembered, which is both bad and great. I guess I'll try to be objective about my subjective rating and give it the 2 it deserves, but a 2 with a starry-eyed smiley face attached. Apparently they're still making music, which is nice. (And frankly I do like their 'Frances the Mute' album more than this one; I even listened to it on my own volition once, so I am -- yet again -- vexed by the per-artist album choices on this project!!) *While I was looking at the Wiki list of prog artists (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_progressive_rock_artists), which was somewhat elucidating and somewhat baffling (The Decemberists? Tool?), I saw another rock countdown band I haven't thought of in 20 years: (the) Secret Machines! I heard "Nowhere Again" 1000 times in 2004 and then never again (until right now). Frankly, that song doesn't seem very proggy (i.e. bad). Ah, nostalgia.

Aldrig hört talas om the mars volta tidigare. Albumet ska tydligen berätta en historia om en man som hamnar i en veckolång koma efter en överdos på morfin och råttgift. Det är omöjligt att få ut av texterna som mest verkar vara slumpmässiga ord staplade på varandra. Musiken är i mina öron ordinär rock som bandet försöker dölja med tempo- och taktbyten. I all sin strävan efter att vara ombytliga blir de trots allt ganska enformiga i längden. Det går att sminka grisen men den är ändå en gris.

p893. 2003. 2 stars. Poor man's Muse. Points immediately deducted for being prog rock and multiple 6+ minute tracks including a 12+ minute abomination. Well done of its kind but goes on far too long.

Modern prog rock? I like Rush as much as the next guy, but this sounds a lot more like 80’s heavy metal guitar tones. Honestly not my thing. I don’t particularly enjoy the vocal delivery either. I’m not saying it’s objectively bad, this just isn’t for me. All the songs sound samey to me as well - hard to distinguish from each other because they all have the same energy. Kind of has that early 2000’s emo vibe. Would I listen to any of these songs again? No, probably not.

What a load of wank.

Too crazy and wild - I gave it away.

Fits and starts, screams and moans. Is this music or horror? I can’t do anything with this. I feel like I’m about to be carjacked!

This is pretty mediocre, even as far as prog-rock goes. I think if it wasn't for At the Drive In, Jeremy Ward's OD right before the album and Flea's absolutely bizarro appearance on this, it would have just skated under the radar.

Not my style, better than some other stuff though

wankery topped off with an annoying vocalist.

The concept was interesting, the set up promising, but the vocals are very much nails on chalkboard. So very difficult to get over. Musically I think there’s some cool stuff in here, but that vocalist is giving strong whiny emo vibes.

I haven’t listened to the mars Volta before, at least on purpose. This was fine. I might like it if I heard it a lot more but as far as background music goes it’s not bad, quite the opposite. It kind of sounds like if my chemical romance tried to be Led Zeppelin?

Absolutely nothing for me on this record. Not that it’s terrible, it just doesn’t appeal to me. Whatsoever.

So that cool punk band broke up and became nerdy Prog Rock. Unimpressed.

Some really cool parts Can hear 100 Reasons in some songs, then went a bit too Santana for me

<The Beatles The Mars Volta opened for SoaD once when I went to see them live... tmv was the most uninteresting and frustrating live performance I've ever had to suffer through

1.6/dawg what are we doing here

Musical hodgepodge. Wasn’t feeling it.

The Album is full of interesting sounds, unfortunately the voice are lost all the time. I did not enjoy this, but I think for the genre should be a great one !

You know i had Sparta's album from this same era and i loved it. I never bought this album and i never liked it. I think ATDI is obviosly the best together but i think this is the worser of the two independent projects.

2 Stars (5/15)

A lot of individual moments I liked but the whole was just not for me.

Maybe its because I'm not a prog rock guy but man this not for me. I assume if you're a Mars Volta fan then you must really love them. The lead singer just sounds on the verge of tears and some of the vocal filters are incredibly grating. Not to mention the lyrics themselves just feel pretentious? The instrumental prowess is pretty good actually, hard drums, great guitar work, and a pretty great variety of sounds. I think if you deleted all the vocal tracks this would be way more enjoyable. Although it does get repetitive, which is hard to avoid when a number of songs are over 7 minutes each. I know its unfair to compare them to Rush, but its my only frame of reference for this genre. Not once did I experience the joy or emotional fun a Rush album gives during this listen. Maybe thats the intention, but for all the noise and filler, this album feels hollow.

Too much for me. Too loud and jarring.

It's like if Borderline Personality Disorder was an album.

After about 45 minutes of what-the-fuck-is-this, Televators provides a bit of melodic, if grim, respite. I can't say I found most of this the least bit enjoyable, but I appreciate the effort and they definitely have the chops.

This was difficult to listen to. Felt like some lesser prog rock. Nothing for me.

Not for me

It's early Panic or Fall Out, meets Adam Lambert, with a touch of annoying repetitive noise mixed in

deadly

i really wanted to like this album. i know that a lot of people are really into this band. however, i am not one of those people. too weird and chaotic for me. and the singer’s voice is like fingernails on a chalkboard.

Had to skip some songs. They were too irritating.

Listened to most of the album. Didn’t really like it.

The American Muse. That sentence will pretty much determine what you get out of this. For me, as it's post-third album Muse, this means not much that's nice to listen to. So two stars. Also, like the Muse albums, goes on forever.

muse but on more crack ?

If you like Radiohead but wish they would pick up the pace a little and maybe throw in some more spastic drumming, then have I got news for you!

They seem talented, but I didn't enjoy this album. Too frantic and seemingly disjointed, even though I know it's all precisely planned.

Raucous, cacophanous, disonant - no. Junk.

This list is showing it's age with this one...sincerely one of the worst album covers I've ever seen. I kinda liked Eriatarka tho

Heard it before. Just not my thing, honestly. It's boring prog to me 2/5

Ehhh....this was wanna be Muse or Rage Against the Machine but they do it worse. Some songs have good parts (Take the Veil) but then it became awful.

What genre is this? It sounds like herky-jerky dramacore. Flipping back and forth between staccato hammering riffs and spacey tones with lots of drama wailing. Apparently this album is about a guy in a coma? I can't really pick up the poetry and don't like the songs enough to look up the lyrics so I have no idea what he's on about. Basing an album on a guy in a coma sounds like a totally awful idea. What's to say? He's in a fucking coma. I think this is a great example of the prog-mess that can be made when people overthink things. The music has it's moments but the vocals are a little hard to take and the songwriting doesn't really draw me in. I think I would have liked this album more if it were about soup.

Didn’t really like this. They sound like a lot of other bands in this genre/era. I thought this could be interesting based on the concept, but it was really just dark and kind of annoying.

Firstly, this nearly deafened me when I put it on because I didn't check the volume of the van speakers. I would describe this as music from Jupiter in the year 3452. I then read the Wiki page, and it's meant to be a story about a man in an overdose coma, which explains a lot. I don't think I'm going to go back to this at any point

This both did nothing for me and also annoyed me. I don’t know what it is about this style of singing but it just gets on my tits.

Yeah. Nah. This might have worked in 1972. But by 2003 this is like writing a 50s rock song today. Might be good. But won’t be essential. Some good playing. And not completely stupid. 2.

особенно нечего слушать

not for me idk

No likey very much Emo vocals putting me right off

Maybe my old man colors are showing, but for the most part, this sounded like a bunch of noise to me. 2 stars is being generous.

I can hear the musicianship in this. The lyrics are just too much for me, and there feels like there's very little room for that musicianship to breathe in most tracks Playlist adds - Televators, Inertiatic Esp

Background music. Forgot it was on

Yean, it's alright. Again, the tracks being on the longer side really affected my attention. It was okay enough but I'm not entirely sure how someone who has 300.000 listeners got an album here. Just meh.

On the verge on being unlistenable. You really have to put a lot of effort to connect to this.

The Good: It’s a candy bar reference… no? The Bad: or are we referring to a planet turning? The Ugly: Turns out that part of the name was inspired by Fellini… Truth be told, I was actually excited when this band popped up! Not because I am a fan, but more because I have heard of them, but never listened to their music, and that is what I hoped to experience with this journey: listening to music I’d probably never listen to otherwise… So, my thoughts? Nah, not my cup of tea. It has some good things, but mostly, IMHO, bad things as it seems that modern “prog rock” just needs to try too much to be different, and by doing so fails, in my book. So, thanks to the 1001 app for making me listen to this, and boo to the 1001 app for making me listen to this...

Deeply weird experimental art rock /almost metal - this sounds like it would be right up my alley, and some tracks were, but a lot of it I found really grating. Also those tracks could have easily been half the length without losing anything. Not for the "not for me" pile.

En oo ennen tajunnut, että Mars Volta kuulostaa Lapkolta?! Tykkään Lapkosta enemmän, ne osasivat pitää biisit lyhyempinä. Tässä on annettu liikaa studioaikaa kitaristeille. Taustat on ihan älyttömän täyteen ahdettua massaa, vyöryefekti on hyvä ensin mutta läkähdyttää pidemmän päälle. Eriatarkan kertsin melodia tietty vetää aina.

Some interesting sounds and atmospherics floating around on the edges of this, but the songs, the band and the voice are all quite tedious. Trying-too-hard rockist machinations. If they made an ambient album, I might give that a whirl, but this left me cold.

Space cadet shit. There's a lot going off here, and not much of it is any good. I was surprised to read that Rick Rubin was involved. This could easily be mid 80's glam metal. I'd only give it one star if that was the case.

Meh

Annoyingly dissonant, incessantly odd for the sake of oddity. Supposedly they're is a story to this. I think the UFOs battled the robots and absolutely nobody won.

I like prog rock and this sounded ok apart from occasional bursts of cacophony, but the concept behind the album is tiresome. I wouldn’t turn it off if someone put it on, but I wouldn’t spend the effort to concentrate on it as advised in the Wikipedia article. A high 2 or low 3.

Don't even remember what this sounds like

Another no thanks album. Not my vibe.

Found this quite dull. But it take take me about 20 years to get into the band they spawned from so maybe one to relisten to in the 2040s

Poor

Liked the music, lyrics got a little wearing though - trying a bit too hard?

This grew on me, so by the end I wasn't rolling my eyes at every song (or maybe the last 3 tracks were a bit better). It's mostly tedious emo shit. I can imagine at as backing music for some Buffy the Vampire Slayer style ITV fluff. Promoted to 2 stars!

Can’t stand the vocals. Good musicianship otherwise, but not my style of rock music at all.

прог рок это гомосексуальная штука

What was that? There are some widely popular songs with lyrics that don't make much sense but sound like they could have some meaning. This is just bat-shit crazy. Nearly the same goes for the music. It seems like someone took some well-written and structured music tracks, put them in a meat grinder, and, et voila, there's an album.

Linkin Park meets 70s prog rock