Ancient demons can be credited as the prime driving forces behind The Mars Volta's new album, The Bedlam In Goliath. While touring through Jerusalem, guitarist/producer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez bought a Ouija-esque device as a gift for his band mate, vocalist/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala.
It came to be called Soothsayer, and it was their direct line to the netherworld.
Soothsayer turned into a post-show obsession for the band and friends. They would finish a set and scuttle off to their tour bus and have a chat with whomever the Soothsayer would summon, collectively referred to as Goliath.
Soothsayer was taken very seriously by the band. Even the band's new rhythm man (who could be hastily deemed the alpha male of modern rock drumming), Thomas Pridgen got spooked from his band's eerie fixation. They documented what it spelled, using certain words and phrases as song titles and lyrics.
Bedlam In Goliath is radiating with the Soothsayer's presence. That explains the chaotic, evil feeling of the album. At the first listen of the opening track "Abernikula" it is immediately obvious that what is playing is The Mars Volta; their cosmic musicianship exhibits undeniable talent, typically unattainable to mortal earthlings.
Therein lies a reason not everyone 'gets' The Mars Volta; the songs are so frenzied and layered it can leave listeners' heads spinning like Linda Blair in The Exorcist (who also was possessed by a demon she met on a Ouija board, Captain Howdy).
Songs like "Metatron" reassure the listener that they've steeped themselves in a psychedelic voodoo battle of the wills. It's quirky, catchy, inescapably well played, while all the while makes you want to shake your ass like some religious zealot yelling in unfamiliar tongues.
"Tourniquet Man" elicits a haunted prog-rock carnival ride where spirits are swirling past you like windswept pages from ancient scrolls.
The vocal accomplishments of Cedric are nearly as captivating as the musical masterwork from the rest of the Volta, including the oft-expected guitar contributions from Red Hot Chili Pepper, John Frusciante.
Soothsayer began to frighten the group. The messages they received from it grew more and more cryptic, turning from ambiguous to aggressive. The imagery it would paint for them grew grisly. Soothsayer was destroyed, broken into seven pieces, wrapped in cloths and buried in consecrated grounds. They had disarmed Goliath contained within the vessel, but by no means had they removed his presence from their every action.
Listening to the sheer amount of inventive energy compiled for Bedlam In Goliath makes it certain The Mars Volta have no better way to deal with their demons than to fight them off with their mystically soaked psychedelic music.
If the album doesn't drive away your own personal demons, they must be deaf... or paralyzed.
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