Tentacled Monkey

The prog-rock group Mars Volta has released their latest album, The Bedlam in Goliath, to mixed reviews. I have been a huge Volta fan since before there was a Mars Volta, back when guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala were still involved with At the Drive In. This latest album is more of a return to the powerfully complex rhythms of previous albums without the slower aspects of the later albums, Frances the Mute for example. While this does not detract from the overall product, some silence can be golden, and at times it seems like Bedlam really needs it.

Overall, this is an amazing prog-rock album that fans of the group will enjoy. The story behind the album is one of the strangest I have heard in a while though. Evidently the band was plagued with ghosts and a really bad string of luck that was attributed to a spirit conjured by the group while on tour in 2006-07 from the use of an Israeli ougi board. Making for an interesting read in its own right.