Deloused in the Comatorium

These guys are like the new era Rush. Music that sounds complicated and complex, over out of the norm singing with lyrics you don’t care to learn to ask questions about. Songs that you really don’t like and songs you do. You find yourself asking….yourself, do I like this? I want to like it but do I? And you probably do or will. I don’t think there is going to be a lot in the “write home to your family” as far as kick ass memorable songs go. Not from what I’m getting at this point. If you’re wondering, I’m at the “like these guys” stage.

I dont know enough about this genre but this sounds like the patient zero or the template sound for lots of similar sounding emo stuff and it was well done. Lots of energy and drive, seemed a very consistent album and if you like this sort of thing then I'm sure it is seminal.

I despised this.

Deloused in the Comatorium was so good. This music is the kind of post-hardcore that i enjoy so much and it does so much with it's genre that it makes it so much more than just a random album of it's genre. It has all the guitars and melodies i would expect from this genre but it also has all these electronic elements which seriously add to it and the vocals were really good too even if i could see how some others wouldn't like them. In general, i could see how this might not be up some people's alleys due to it's very experimental nature but overall i had a super fun time with this album and I'm sad i didn't experience this sooner. Best Song: Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) Worst Song: Tira Me a Las Aranas

I enjoyed most of this. There were a couple tracks that pulled me back out, but nothing too egregious.

A bit too much at times

I could hear a lot of groundbreaking influences that would be present in a lot of prog in the 2010s / 2020s. But didn't spark joy for me

These guys seem talented, but did anyone tell them that Prog rock does not mean “incoherent jumble of notes”?

It's not really my thing. I didn't hate it though.

Big nostalgia feels, from seeing them perform a lot of this album 20yrs ago. It's hectic, but it's fun.

First time listening to this since my friends recommended it to me in high school when it first came out. I have a broader tolerance for prog now, and definitely appreciate it more than I did back then. The last couple tracks on the album are especially solid.

A bit of a mess

I can appreciate the artistry, but not for me. Like a jazzy Muse, but this dude's no Matt Bellamy.

This is the first time I've listened to this all the way through since it came out and I think I've actually grown to like it more. There are the usual smatterings of incomprehensible soundscapes like there are on any "prog" album, but I think the good parts largely outweigh anything else on here for a fan of the genre. I don't put much stock in to the lyrics or story here; it's not much different than a lot of prog albums where someone does something fantastical or gets too fucked up and imagines something fantastical, plus the singer's voice is really more of an instrument of its own. Which brings me to the instruments themselves, which are incredible. The technical skill on display is really high, and not in the really mathematical or pure chops way, more like in the way of how difficult it must be to keep time on a record like this with so much going on. The drumming is the closest to being recognizable as just "hard" to play, but I can't imagine even playing the basslines on here consistently. A song like "Drunkship of Lanterns" has so much going on that it must've been incredibly difficult to record, and yet it has the most recognizable 4/4 sections out of the whole thing. This is going to be a polarizing album because it's challenging. If that's not your thing then it's not going to be fun to listen to but I really like it. I think it's their best album and representative of the very short lived prog rock revival of the mid 2000's. This wont go down as a classic like Genesis or Yes albums but I think it's every bit as well made with a really great set of missing influences that the others don't have.

Loved this at the time, hasn't aged great but still has it's moments (Drunkship of Lanterns!). very overindulgent and pretentious but can't express how exciting this seemed at the time off the back of ATDI

Throw back fall out boy

The music is like 4 or 4.5 but that caterwauling brings it down to a 3.5.

I liked this quite a bit even though I’d never heard them before.

Have a hard time judging the music itself, the vocals are a real jump scare

Like most of The Mars Volta's output, I find that it generally takes multiple listens to really sink in. This was no exception. Great production, and Flea is on bass! Favourite tracks: Inertiatic Esp, Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of), Eriatarka, This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed, Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt.

It’s alright.

very unique and interesting

I’m getting a lot of muse, even like MCR vibes at times, probably more the vocals and vocal style. It’s an enjoyable album but it’s not an amazing album.

Cool-ish, got a bit sick of it towards the end. 20 mins too long

If emo/pop-punk were progressive rock, it might sound like this. Fairly interesting, but ultimately not something I have much interest in. I will say, I initially mistook The Mars Volta for Jared Leto’s band, and was relieved when I realized they were something different.

Well it was interesting if a bit contrived. The lyrics were pretty cool. Felt a bit like Coheed or vice-versa.

Went to a listening party the day before this was released. Back before listening parties were really a thing. Wasn’t sure why I went. Still not sure now.

Really sick sounding music. Only aware of some of these guys from a few songs of At The Drive In, other than that it's mostly a new experience. One aspect about this I really like is the hot-cold structured songs, where one moment it's slow and at a drop of a hat it jumps up and starts blitzing around. The vocals are a bit hit or miss, it might possibly be a thing I grow to like rather than fully sold on straight away. It has a great atmosphere, especially on those interlude tracks. The guitar playing sounds very fresh to my ears, it doesn't sound typical at all. It combines dissonance and melody pretty well together. I liked this one, might have to check their other stuff. This is definitely a must hear. Highlight Song/s: "Inertiatic ESP", "Eriatarka" and "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt"

Not on Apple Music. Rating based on other album.

Album #220: The Mars Volta – De-Loused in the Comatorium ⭐ I don't like Latin music. I don't like prog music. I don't like emo music. Now, I can find an exception to every one of those. But when this salsa-infused, proggy, Muse-esque/30 Seconds to Mars rock concept album came up, I found no exception. I hated this album. Where do I begin? I'll start with the name. It's got a stupid name: De-Loused in the Comatorium. I misread it as Delousing in the Crematorium, and I thought, "That's dark, that's cool." Then I looked closely and realised, oh, Comatorium, because the dude is in a coma in the album. At least that’s what the wiki says. The concept is pretty hard to follow, due to the fact that you can't understand the lyrics. I hate that emo-style vocal. It reminded me of Muse, that kind of overly dramatic, shouty vocal. He sounds like Jeff Buckley without any of the beauty or character. So I thought maybe the musicianship would help. I'm sure they are very good musicians. The rhythms are pretty impressive at times. But nothing really serves the songs, because underneath all the musicianship, there isn't much of a song there to serve. There are too many riffs, too much mindlessness and too many attempts at trippy dissonance. They're trying to mix atonal and tonal rock music while still making it sound somewhat commercial at times, and it's just messy. It's compressed to fuck as well. It's right in that loudness-war era and Rick Rubin produced it, so it just sounds bad for one thing. Then you've got Jeremy Ward, who died of a heroin overdose very young, just before the album came out. Rest in peace, and I mean no disrespect to him personally. But he's marked down as really influential on the album's sound because of his sound-manipulation techniques. And you can hear them. You can pinpoint when those contributions come in. I genuinely mean they contributed less than nothing to this album. I used to do this stuff in college with my own music when I was stoned out of my gourd on too many drugs. And this is not me bigging myself up, you'll find out. I used to stretch and manipulate sounds, drag them out, echo them, put tape delays on recordings and all this kind of stuff. This stuff is not hard to do. It's not impressive. And I stopped doing it after a while because I realised it doesn't serve the song. It's cool if you're off your head on drugs to hear all this "Oh, it's spacey, it's weird, it's cool, man" stuff. But when these contributions come in here, the song basically takes a break to go do this stupid shit with delays and stretched sounds. It adds nothing. And remembering that I used to enjoy that stuff when I was off my head on drugs brought me to a realisation. These guys were doing too many drugs. They really needed to tone the fucking drug use down and actually listen to the shit they were producing, because all of these frills, effects and genre-bending craic completely try to cover up the fact that this band has absolutely no hooks. Well, I'll give them one. On Roulette Dares (The Haunt of), that "exoskeletal" part relatively early in the album gave me hope, because that is actually a decent hook. Other than that, it's bereft of hooks. I listened to the whole thing twice to double-check, and on the second listen I couldn't recognise anything from the first. Nothing had stuck in my mind. It all kind of sounded the same. The songs are way too long, and they're not long because there are all these different parts to them. They're stretched out with this sound-manipulation nonsense and dissonant guitar stuff. Give me a virtuosic guitar solo, for God's sake. You're supposed to be a prog-rock band. Own it! Give me a bloody extended organ solo or something. Don't just make all these stupid noises that don't add up to anything. You're too noisy for prog rock, not noisy enough for noise rock, not groovy enough for salsa. Not emotional enough to make me care once about this poor dude in a fucking coma. I wish I was in a fucking coma! I wasted two hours on this thing. I will waste no more time on it. I'm sorry. I hated it. One star.

Hmmm. Interesting, more obnoxious than great though. Did we put the dictionary in a blender and scoop the lyrics off the top?

favs: roulette dares (the haunt of) cicatriz esp rating 1/5

I thought this album wasn't too bad even though it ended up being a bit self indulgent in places. I found the fusion of prog rock and elements of experimental jazz to be kinda interesting.

Pretension and overblown sens a bit pointless.

I love it so much, one of my favorite albums.

not for me personally… i hate the constant dissonance

Way too long. The singer sounds like AFI but the musicianship is better if overly showy at times.

Pas mal du tout. Comme la veille, il va me falloir de la réécoute mais j'ai bien kiffé

J'ai passé un vraiment super moment

The voice reminded me of Geddy Lee, but whereas Rush is literate, this is nonsense. The music is decent for the most part.

Can’t say I’ve ever heard anything like this, and I mean that positively. Further listens would probably mark it even higher

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 seems like a divisive one. I've listened to this record a couple times over the years, but it's never really been a record that I go back to. You can definitely hear the post-hardcore roots of this band, along with the progressive aspirations of the band. It's decent enough even though it doesn't entirely click with me. I tend to prefer the moments where things slow down a bit, but its all pretty listenable. I find myself neither as inspired as some nor as irritated as others.

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.

Didn't love it, but I did like some of it. Won't listen again.

Almost great, amazing drumming.

Definitely an ambitious undertaking. I think there’s a message in there but I’m not really in the mood for this at the moment. Will probably listen again with a bit more focused intent when the mood is right. 3

1. Lyt: jeg må have hørt dem før. Fik gåsehud 10 sekunder inde i første "rigtige" nummer. Det lyder som en mindre kaotisk Fall of Troy, eller lidt ala Coheed and Cambria, med noget storhed som muse. Umildbart en 4er, måske 5 efter næste lyt. - Efter et fokuseret lyt, så slår det mig. Jeg har hørt hele albummet før. Det var mest når jeg var træt af metalcore, så fik proggen plads. Her fandt jeg at the drive-in, og faldt i gryden. Men som Metalcore, så holde kærligheden ikke til de mere modne musik år. Fedt genlyt.

Endnu et album der sprænger både min hjerne og mine forventninger. Jeg har hørt navnet før, men har aldrig vidst hvad de lavede. Det er prog’et af H til. Cover, album titel og navnene på numrene stinker af overtænkning og “se hvad vi kan”. Men det rykker super meget. Eksperimenterende, hårdt, udfordrende. Ligger det sig lidt et sted imellem Muse og Tool?

3.5

this is a difficult one for some people. The Mars Volta are such an eclectic band that you love them or hate them. no middle point. I feel this is due to how their music is so chaotic, complex, like progressive rock taken to it's extreme conclusion. Not that they're avantgarde, but more that their energy is that. For me, i love them due to how their sound is unique, like latin prog rock in other groups is a sound that tends to sound similar to anglophone groups. Or tends to focus hard on local identitarian sounds, as you could see with groups like Los Jaivas. The Voltas are a middle point, they have a nice and energetic latin taste, that is seen in some of their following albums, while maintaining a lot of influence and legacy of other American groups. But that sound, is also complicated, is really complex, noisy, can feel too pretentious or rockish. And that isn't helped by the way they played and behaved in the era of this album (and the next). Is literally, a concept album that is contextualized by drug usage, the death of band member, weird sci-fish lyrics. And the way they play high on some live shows, is really raw, but distant from this album. And the lyrics, they are almost abstract. You could say that there's a lot of hidden meanings, but the fact that there's no official interpretation or explanation, says it all. Considering how all their albums are like that, and a lot of them have the "conceptual" weight that expects some kind of meaning or clarity, is easy to understand why it can be distasteful for some people. So, after all this consideration, why i rate this 5 stars? It's because, there's nothing like it. The Mars Volta is a band i love, and almost all their albums have a identity, an energy and sound that is hard to find. They are a band that if you love them, you have a lot to listen to, thankfully. Their shows, a lot of them are archived by fans, even when they usually were jams or live variations on the songs. That is the passion that people have for them, and how versatile and incredible musicians they are. You can even see that on some of the names that have played on the group. This one, is such a good debut album, is a good prog rock album. Is filled with a lot of emotion, of passion, of energy. Even some sadness, some melancholy, some beauty in the tragedy and the gried that marks songs like Televators. After all this years, i love it.

prog hardcore hell yea. was really fuckin with the vocals and then i find its the same guy from at the drive in, and then at that point i knew that this album was gonna be great. dope as fuck. like Relationship of Command on crack bro this is so my shit omg i love it love it

Not a word. Not an absolute word, but I'm not sure it mattered. The voice is great even if it was complete nonsense and when the band properly goes for it it's got a great vibe. A strong 3 that isn't quite a 4.

I love loud crunchy guitars and loud vocals. I loved At the Drive in and this album helped bridge the loss

Cool album, and instrumentally there were lots of things going on that I liked, but I’m not sure what I think about the vocals. At times I didn’t mind them but at other moments they could be pretty grating. Anyways, for an album that is an hour long, this flew by pretty quickly, so that’s good. It kept me engaged and like I said I like a lot of what’s going on instrumentally. 3.5 stars. Favourite songs: Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of), Eriatarka, Take The Veil Cerpin Taxt

I think I like this - but only in smaller doses. It gets too stressful for me

3,4 Highlights: Inertiatic Esp, Eriatarka

Very early 2000's rock-ish, loved it!

Son et lumière 3.4 Inertiatic ESP 3.6 Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of) 3.5 Tira me a las arañas (instrumental) 3.3 Drunkship of Lanterns 3.7 Eriatarka 3.6 Cicatriz ESP 3.4 This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed 3.4 Televators 3.6 Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt 3.6 Score: 3.51

Unexpected surprise. The Mars Volta is a band I only knew by name, so I had little idea what to expect. After listening I’m still not sure what I should have been expecting, but I found this a fascinating trip. There is a thin line between madness and genious and I think this record overstepped the line in both directions. That’s a hardly a diss, I like artists who dare to be different.

I'm not sure what I just listened to because I had it on in the background. The music seemed interesting, but the vocals didn't hold me. I probably need to give this another chance, so for now it is a 3.

Enjoyable but I didn't love it. Interesting to read that Rick Rubin was involved with this one.

son et lumier

Well that was unlike anything I've heard before, I really liked it, it was like a bonker balls fever dream. 5 stars.

I've loved this album since I first heard it almost 20 years ago. I loved hearing something *new* and progressive. So much of the "new" prog at the time was bland retreads of the 70s prog with more distortion on the guitars, more modern synths, and slicker production overall. As much as I love this album (and its follow-up, or really all of their albums) I do need to be in the right mindset to listen to it. It is not conducive to trying to get anything done while it's playing. 5 stars.

It's a conflicting thought that while I don't actively like this it's much better sounding than most others I've encountered here.

I didn't know this group, but they're OK.

Saw them open for RHCP in 2006. Definitely a band I prefer live than their recorded albums, but still very solid!

Excellent stuff. I wish I saw them live

One of the best prog rock albums out there, and Mars Volta's best album in my opinion. There's so many proggy, zany earworms throughout this album. Lyrics are wild and strange but neat. Favourite track is Roulette Dares but they're really all excellent. EXOSKELETON JUNCTION AT THE RAILROAD DELAYEDDDDD

Yeah some pretty damn good songs here but it's half filler, also not really my thing but it's solid

A post punk prog rock masterpiece.

I just can’t get into these guys. It was fine.

Prog emo, but kinda loses what’s good about either genre. The talent and production are here and every once in awhile it clicks, just not enough. Devolves into noise

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.

Amazing album

I expected good things from this but I'm also aware that I've had a bit of a go on The Mars Volta before but always come up a little short. They always felt like a band that required some patience and unpacking so I'm attempting to give this that bit of breathing space and a few listens over a few days. Overall, there’s a lot of clatter and chaos but some great moments amongst the madness. I never wanted or expected 3 minute pop songs and I have plenty of time for chaotic, noisy and unstructured music. But I would have appreciated a little more melody and for the instruments to feel a little more in sync than they do here. There’s a jazz-fusion-like tendency for everyone to go off in their own direction and it can be jarring, but occasionally satisfying when it does come together. Part of me would like to hear more instrumental music from these guys as his reverb-drenched punky wailing irked me at times as well. I think the drums also feel all over the place, racing away from the looming instruments in a blur of fills and cymbals that don't quite fit the mood. I suppose all this can be summarised as amounting to less than the sum of its parts. Lots of interesting things happening but not really working together to create something that's as enjoyable to listen to as it ought to be. I'm intrigued enough that I plan to have a skim through their other albums but again, it probably requires a little more patience than I might be prepared to give.

3.0

After listening to this, I am in agreement that This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed.

This took me completely by surprise. I wasn't ready for so much insanity. I absolutely love the weirdness and the crazy sonic experimentations. I wasn't a big fan of the singer's voice at first, but he's got so much energy that he eventually won me over. The instrumental parts are sheer madness, they're both extremely competent and completely unhinged. Some songs are a bit too long, but with prog rock, it kind of comes with the territory. A great discovery for me. It's a chaotic and complex album, though, and a single listen doesn't do it justice. There's prog rock, metal, Latin music, jazz and even a bit of dub, all mixed together in a unique and surprisingly organic way. I'll need to listen to it again (and probably more than once) to digest everything that's going on here. I might even bump it to a 5*. Exactly the kind of album I was hoping to come across on this list ! 8/10

Very nice descovery, I had a bit too much after the second listening but I might get back and let it grow on me.

What a surprise to see The Mars Volta here! The last album by Cedric and Omar’s previous band, At the Drive-In, is simply one of my all-time favourites, so naturally I’ve already explored The Mars Volta quite a bit. The post-hardcore roots feel a bit distant here, but the urgency is still very much alive, along with the melodic strength and raw emotion in the vocals. It’s more eclectic, more creative, but also more chaotic. And sadly, it might be their only album with some hardcore elements. Energy will slowly fade away and their music after 2010 is far less appealing to me. Yet, I love their few first records, even if the sheer intensity and density make it anything but an easy listen.

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

I've listened to a bit of their predecessor At The Drive-In, but I have never really listened to any Mars Volta. Flea from RHCP played on most of this album and I can tell - it doesn't sound like most of his RHCP work, but it definitely sounds like him. I think this is one of those albums where I can tell it's very good, I can respect it, but it's not really for me. The musicians are really talented and the songs are really well put together. The production is excellent. I don't love the vocals, but I think they work alright with everything else. There's a lot going on, but it's never overwhelming. It just isn't really something I'd choose to listen to. Who knows, maybe it'll grow on me. It's not likely something I'd revisit, but I can appreciate it.

Yehhhhhhh some of this is fucking awesome and some, just so-so but a deserved 4. Better than Pink fucking Floyd that's for sure!

I can see why people find this annoying, which is to say I liked it quite a bit

Gostei do álbum. As guitarras e baixos soam muito bem. É um disco legal. QoA Cloudscape.

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.

⭐️Cicatriz Esp

Great album. I had a very interrupted listen but I could easily see myself going back and giving a 5 when I get the chance to properly listen in full

Someone else said pretentious with no substance. Grating vocals. Couldn't finish it

I always had heard of this band, but had never listened to them. Lot of ambient noises. Not bad.

Das nice

A friend from work tried to get me into this album around the time it came out… and I hated it. I thought it was unpleasant, dissonant, frantic and screechy. I particularly disliked the singers voice. Now, I still think all that is true, but I feel a bit more open to it. I like the Great Imperial Yoyo / Gong style glissando guitar and there’s guitar that sounds like later King Crimson. I like that Glea is in this. About halfway through I thought, “This sounds a bit like At The Drive In” and then read on Wikipedia that they were former members of that band. Overall, I was still relived when it stopped and appreciated the quiet without the horrible screechy noise of this album… but I think there’s something in it. I’ll give it 4 stars as one I MIGHT return to.

Ambitious and liked

Didn't get past the second song.

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.

I had to listen to this album three times in order to actually feel like I got it! I’d heard this album before after I read about their original band… At The Drive-In, in the book SELLOUT. I remembered it was good then, but I was listening casually. This time I took multiple lessons because it felt like it was necessary. Part of me realizes the genius of this album, combining prog rock, jazz, psychedelia, punk: it runs the gamut. But it is that same reason I struggle with it because it is so dense it almost feels inaccessible. Hats off for their musicality! This definitely brings new definition to Texas rock. I don’t know if I have a “favorite song” but Inertiatic ESP really was a buffet sampling of what the album had in story, while Roulette Dares is slow enough for my brain to keep up. This album could be a 4.5…