I've long been of the belief that the first two Mars Volta albums are the finest the band have released - De-Loused in the Comatorium was the daring debut and Frances the Mute was the epic follow-up, the pinnacle of what everyone wanted from the band. I enjoyed the albums that followed, but none as much as the first two; when I want to listen to The Mars Volta, I go for those first two almost every time.
A few years ago I read a review saying that Amputechture was the first truly great Mars Volta album. I don't know whether the reviewer had a grudge against the first two, or genuinely believed that the third was better, but I found it surprising either way. Shortly thereafter, the vinyl reissue on morally-dubious Music on Vinyl came out and despite Cedric and Omar's best wishes, I bought a copy. It was very shortly after De-Loused had been re-issued too, so I guess I had in my mind that I'd aim to have a complete collection of Mars Volta LPs (two-and-a-half years later, and I've not bought anymore, so maybe not). That review definitely stuck in my mind - if this guy believed this to be the best maybe I should spend more time with it.
I bought the cd as soon as it came out back in 2006 but struggled with it pretty much from the off - Tetragrammaton jumps all over the place and has too much going on for my liking (or perhaps it just won't stay in one place for long enough for me to enjoy it). Vicarious Atonement was a nice gentle opener, so it's early in the album to have such a song. It's the longest on the album, but in reality there are probably just four 4-minute songs cut up and spread across it. Meccamputechture on the other hand is fine example of the band creating a long song with movements that flow. On top of that, the chorus is huge and is probably the highlight of the album, followed by Day of the Baphomets. Viscera Eyes was the single and you can see why (despite the Spanish lyrics) - it has a huge riff and a chorus and is only 9 minutes long. The end is slightly anti-climatic, but that might be because the end of Frances the Mute was so great.
The release is nice - double red vinyl, a gatefold sleeve and a poster. All are stamped with a number (mine is #386). The placement of the barcode is deeply unsatisfying - the artwork is inexplicably mirrored, so that the legs of the creature are on the front and the head on the back. Then the barcode, number stamp and sticker are placed on the front. I have no idea why they've done that. The barcode isn't a sticker that can be removed either, sadly. Also missing are the locked grooves on each side that the original LP pressing had.
Format: Double 12", gatefold sleeve, poster
Tracks: 8
Cost: £28 new
Bought: Banquet Records
When: 17/06/14
Colour: Red/gold
Etching: none
mp3s: no
