Mars attacks!
'Amputechture' is the third album from former 'At The Drive In' men Omar Rodriguez-Lopez (bandleader/composer/guitarist) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (lyricist/vocalist). The eagerly anticipated follow up to the surprisingly successful 'Frances The Mute', it finds the pair determined to "step up (their) game".
Seven minute long opener 'Vicarious Atonement' sets the tone for the remainder of the album. A spacey, onanistic creature that seems to unfurl at the speed of your average sloth, its heavily treated guitars and keyboards coalesce into a treacly whole over which Cedric Bixler wails in a sweet falsetto. The song then promptly disappears up its own jazzy back-side amidst a barrage of squealing sax and rinky-dink piano.
'Amputechture' differs from its predecessors in two key respects – each song is distinctive as opposed to being one segment of a much larger continuous whole and there's no over-arching plot. This record therefore represents The Mars Volta's first attempt at writing a non-concept record. The excessive riffing and experimentation on 'Tetragrammation' makes Muse sound like a three chord pub rock band a la Status Quo. It's the longest track on the album (clocking in at a mind-bending sixteen minutes) and perhaps the most impressive, in stature if nothing else. Epic and overblown in scope it features more time changes than you could shake a stick at. Around the half-way mark most will lose the will to live, unless of course you're a musician fascinated by complex, progressive rock chord structures – alas this reviewer doesn't fall into that category.
'Vermicide' is the shortest track here (at just over four minutes) and it's no surprise to discover that it's also the band's most focussed and (dare we say it) melodic number. 'Meccamputechture' re-affirms the right to prog and kicks off with splenetic wah-wah guitars before sloping into a jazzy almost Krautrock-like groove. Typically it all ends in a haze of backwards guitar, organ flourishes and early-seventies rock riffing – so far, so predictable. 'Asilos Magdelena' is an oddity and a brief moment of tranquillity amongst the mayhem though, its lilting classical guitar motif and a sweet vocal performance from Bixler marking it out as an album highlight. The funky 'Viscera Eyes' hints at the influence of occasional collaborator and Red Hot Chilli Pepper – John Frusciante and the impressive guitar work certainly bares all the hallmarks of Frusciante in his prime (perhaps not something you could say of recent RHCP outings). The album closes with the visceral, squealing jazz-prog of 'Day Of The Baphomets' and the languid mysticism of 'El Ciervo Vulnerado'.
If you're looking for catchy, tuneful rock record you'd be best off steering well clear of 'Amputechture'. If you're already a die-hard fan you'll no doubt love this record for its virtuoso playing, tricksy time signatures, love of experimentation and guitar wig-outs. Personally I prefer melodic pop songs so perhaps I'm not in the best position to judge the merits of this album. 'Amputechture' is certainly an 'interesting' album, albeit not one I'd listen to through personal choice.