Is it a bad thing to have too much polish and poise? The thing that I like about Daft Punk is it's two white French guys pretending to be robots, with the Mars Volta, it's six robots pretending to be aggressive music artists. This music is devoid of heart and feeling and any humanistic quality except for maybe ambition. Even the cold blast of air to the face on Inertiatic Esp, the opening track, goes directly into a quick drum wrap and operatic vocals. Which, I might add, the operatic-infused vocals throughout this album were likely pulled directly from American Idol. The Mars Vota and this album in particular embodies everything wrong with early 2000s major label music. It's this overproduced, spot-on perfection of prescripted anger and carefully placed melodies. Just because it's loud and quick doesn't mean it's real. I'm calling bullshit on the band's artistry and 'passion' for creating music. You can't be an artist if you're a robot.