The Mars Volta - Amputechture (2006)
A note before I start: I just want to say this- Following along with the lyrics in front of you doesn't make much sense, but it makes for some great confusing fun. I'd suggest it. They really are beautiful.
1. Vicarious Atonement (7:20)
The atmosphere sets with the first sounds, and by the time the lyrics start- your encased in it. The Mars Volta are progressive geniuses. The instaments and vocals are in no way seperate beings. Their like ****ing lovers, oscillating in between states of existance. The lyrics meaning is hard to decipher, but their cannnotation bends over backwards to reach you. The music is fluent, potent, and powerful. Vicarious Atonement is the first on an amazing album to impress with its creeping atmosphere, just bleeding of talent.
2. Tetragrammaton (16:42)
Whoa! Energy, guitar, and beauty just blasting at you wildly all in the first minute. It changes tons of times from this pace, but is never for a second boring. Always completely stunning. Tetagrammaton is very consistant with this. The entire song is great. The energy grows on the song and the end has sixteen minutes of emotional build-up behind it- which was used extreemly well, to say the least. To put it plainly, Iv'e lsitened to it over a hundred times, and I can never play it without sitting through the entire thing. Ever.
3. Vermicide (4:16)
The atmosphere is still being held-up pretty well. The lyrics are still cryptic and amazing. The emotion is still pouring at the edges. The music is still screaming out decades worth of talent in minutes worth of time. All that has really changed here is the song. The first couple minutes of this song are pretty good, I love the direction it goes about half way through. I think it ends better then it starts.
4. Meccamputechture (11:03)
All of these songs give me the shivers. Okay, admittibly, for an eleven minute song this could have been more fluctuant in the begenning. It kicks-up somewhere around five minutes, but honestly not much. It's sort of repetative and the voice is getting sort of old. But at least there's still talent.
5. Asilos Magdelena (6:34)
The acoustic guitar and Cedrics singing go very well. It is a well deserved break from the other type of singing. It's calming and beautiful. Except for the end, the end gets a little creepily odd.
6. Viscrea eyes (6:34)
Slow and low beat make for more great atmosphere. This is followed by good rock and tremendous power all the way through. Some of the song is in spanish, most of its in english. Viscera eyes is a good song with lots of energy, and, um, spanish.
7. Day of the Baphomets (11:57)
Defenitly a stange, strange song. Very good though. I think the first half of the album is better then the second, or maybe I'm just getting tired of this guys voice and the sound of the music. It is a twelve minute song...
8. El Ciervo Vulnerado (9:00)
Okay, I'm really tired of this music, but I can appreciate this song. It's amazing, the atmosphere is cryptic and chilling, and the vocals are going to give me nightmares. The middle of the song reminds me of Vicarious Atonement (my second favortie song on the album). This is really a great song.
Okay, the album on a whole: I love The Mars Volta. Their music connects to me in a way that isn't related to the lyrics. I'ts just the pure emotional explosion that is Amputechture, and it's beautiful. Albeit, the voice gets to me after an hour and half- but you can't possibly listen to this and not appreciate it, there's just too much put into it for that to be an option.