The Mars Volta - The Bedlam in Goliath (2008)

By John Barry

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Cluttered and schizophrenic, "The Bedlam In Goliath" sounds like it wants to be as big as King Kong but instead, is a little like Omar has spent too much time being a monkey in the studio.

What would TMV sound like if the band wrote songs together, instead of Omar writing it in bits and pieces here and there, getting the other members to lay down tiny sections at a time?

At times it is tedious when it doesn’t need to be, yet by the end of the first and second listen I had to listen again. Why? Not because it’s so damn good, but because it gave me the feeling that maybe I missed something. And considering the stories going around about the recording of the album, I can see why it sounds the way it does.

The back story in a nutshell: When in Jerusalem, Omar got Cedric an antique ‘Talking Board’- a kind of Ouija Board - dearly named 'The Soothsayer'. Apparently lots of weird shit started to go down, from Omar’s studio flooding, the spirits of two murdered women slowly unravelling their story to Cedric (thus giving him the lyrics to the album), tracks going missing, people losing their minds, etc. I wonder if any of this has to do with brain damage from drug abuse?

Anyhow, Cedric has had enough and tells Omar to bury ‘The Soothsayer’ and not tell a soul where. The album is a kind of a sanctification. A laying to rest of times that brought a band to brink of meltdown (the vinyl release feature a ‘talking board’ when folded out. Oooooh, oh so spooky).

TMV do explore broader genre horizons than before, but unfortunately not hitting the mark for most of the time.

In Askepios, Cedric’s vocals are actually brilliant for the most part. His wailing moments throughout are breathtaking on the odd occasion, making Askepios an explicit standout. And then, of course, there’s the John Lennonesque vocals in the early verses of Agadez and punk rock Elvis in the Syd Barrett cover, Candy And A Currant Bun.

Askepios has a ‘Starless and the Bible Black’ era King Crimson meets Faith No More vibe to it and the FNM-ness continues into the next track, Ouroborous, for two short, explosive minutes (surely the next single?).

Goliath is a really straightforward song with no complexities at all; basic riffs that build and drop with solos here and there giving all the players the opportunity to shine.

Thomas Pridgen’s drums really hold the album together; his playing is amazingly solid. At certain points, Pridgen was the only thing I could focus on. And other times he shat me to tears for sounding too stiff. During Ilyena, Pridgen’s playing is a tour de force.

Cavalettas is a song that starts like it could have almost been on any At The Drive-In record in an upbeat, post-hardcore way, but then turns into a song sounding like it wants to die but won’t. It’s as if Omar found some awesome riff/rhythmic pattern and had no idea of what to do with it. It’s milked for 8 minutes too long.

That feeling is prevalent for a lot of "The Bedlam In Goliath", as it runs hot and cold throughout. Don’t get me wrong; there are a lot of good ideas and killer moments that will force you to play again. And trust me, it’s better than "Amputechture". But it just can’t seem to find its feet.

Buy it! Or not…or play the online game. That’s right, an online game!

ALBUM RATING: 2.5 out of 5

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