I'm quite surprised no one has made this topic yet (I think?).

So yeah. The Mars Volta released their new album "The Belam in Goliath" on Jan. 29th (well here in Canada, at least), so I bought it the first day and can't stop listening to it since. I think it's pretty fucking amazing.

Here's the cover art:



Tracklist:

"Aberinkula" – 5:45
"Metatron" – 8:12
"Ilyena" – 5:36
"Wax Simulacra" – 2:39
"Goliath" – 7:15
"Tourniquet Man" – 2:38
"Cavalettas" – 9:32
"Agadez" – 6:44
"Askepios" – 5:11
"Ouroboros" – 6:36
"Soothsayer" – 9:08
"Conjugal Burns" – 6:36


I think their sound has progressed a lot ever since De-Loused (even though so many people still claim everything they do is terrible/doesn't stand up to De-Loused), and this album is no exception. I think their tours with RHCP have definitely rubbed off on them, and there are some elements of funk throughout, which is pretty interesting. The album opens up with "Aberinkula" which really does smack you in the face becuase it has so much energy in it. I don't have a favorite song right now, but I've been playing this disc non-stop over the past couple of days; I'm at about 9 plays overall.
The new drummer, btw, is fucking amazing. Seriously, in some songs I couldn't even hear the other instruments at times becuase the drums were so dominant, it's DEFINITELY a big change from their old drummer...and you can hear the major difference in the very opening track. Also, if you look up their performance on David Letterman (I think it was?), you can see how well he plays there, too. Hell, here's a link:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=uqVD7cxujb0

So, what do you guys think of the album? Is it better than De-Loused/Frances/Amputechture? Discuss.

Yeah, it's a great album and I also think it's their second best album, Deloused being the best.

Although I think it's got the same problem as all Mars Volta albums do, it's too lengthy for its own good. They could had left some songs out (especially Askepios) and it would had been even better. But still, I like The Bedlam in Goliath a lot and my favorite songs are Ouroboros, Aberinkula, Metatron and Goliath. Ilyena, Tourniquet Man and Agadez are great too.

Ah, what an impressive record. I've heard it for 3 or 4 times now (got it yesterday) and it's still growing for me. I think it's a lot better than Amputechture, which I didn't like as much as their other stuff (although it's still a great album) but I'm not sure if Bedlam will kick Frances from its throne, which is still my favorite one :O
Anyway, this record rocks!

I was so pissed off I missed the Toronto show >​. The tickets sold out in 32 seconds and they rose up from their original price ($35) to $100 to $150 on ebay.

32 seconds??? are you sure about that

if that's true, they should had changed a venue.

I'm not sure about the 32 seconds, but I had tried to buy them the first day and they were already sold out, so I went on last.fm and that's what the people there said.

I am not a big fans of The Mars Volta, but they are ridiculously talented musicians.

the first time listening to this album, i could not pay attention to the whole thing; i just kind of lost interest. but after giving it a few more listens, it has really grown on me. overall it is a pretty solid (fuck that word) album. i don't really listen to de-loused much anymore cause i kind of GREW OUT of it or something, but it is up there in terms of quality. also the new drummer is pretty incredible.

favorite tracks: aberinkula, metatron, agadez, askepios, soothsayer

ps bravosector - what.... i hope you are joking, if not i'm just going to pretend you are anyway

i've listened a few times, and this album, just like frances and amputechture, fails to impress me.  save for a few songs, everything i liked about deloused is gone from this band.  they've turned into a meandering stream of random sound.  i liked the structure they held in deloused, while all of these songs are more like "hey, if i play in a completely different rhythm and key, it'll sound MAD PROG".  really annoys me, actually.

deloused is a very unique and enjoyable experience, however.

I wish I would have seen these guys at Soma on the 29th. It was a Tuesday, and not the best day for a concert on account of school and whatnot.

Ticketmaster says they have shows in Ohio and Florida in April. So I'm Probably going to hit up one of those shows despite some buddies of mine telling me they are like the worst live performance ever.