For all its complexity, near-incoherence, and abrupt dynamic shifts, there’s no question that De-Loused In The Comatorium advanced prog rock into the 21st century. While Bixler-Zavala’s verbose lyrical narrative is difficult to understand (there are no printed lyrics), the music impresses and commands listener attention. Their 2003 debut album, De-Loused In The Comatorium, is a dizzying concept record about Cerpin Taxt, a character who following a morphine- and rat poison-induced coma dies by suicide (the story alludes to Bixler-Zavala’s friend, the late Julio Venegas.) For an entire hour, The Mars Volta Group, here comprised of Rodríguez-López, Bixler-Zavala, Flea, keyboardist Isaiah “Ikey” Owens, drummer Jon Theodore, and soundscape specialist Jeremy Michael Ward (who fatally overdosed on heroin a month before the album’s release), takes listeners through a whirlwind of frenetic drums and spacy guitars, layered into sophisticated, virtuosic compositions.

Mastered by: Chris Von Aautenkaanz and Florian Siller at Soundgarden Mastering/Clouds Hill Studiosįollowing their previous hardcore band At The Drive-In’s dissolution, vocalist/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist/producer Omar Rodríguez-López formed The Mars Volta, a progressive rock group. Produced by: Rick Rubin and Omar Rodríguez-LópezĮngineered by: Dave Schiffman and Andrew Scheps The Mars Volta - De-Loused In The ComatoriumĬlouds Hill/Rodríguez-López Productions/VMP Essentials CH 182 gold and black marble colored vinyl 2LP If you’re a casual listener or prefer the stereo mix, then you can skip this one. Is VMP’s mono The Doors reissue worth your money? If you’re a diehard Doors collector and prefer this album’s mono mix, yes. While I find the 7” to be package filler, its glossy flipback sleeve is nice (even though the odd identification tab is susceptible to creases). The 180g green and gold galaxy vinyl pressed at GZ is noisy (as good as it looks, the galaxy combination of green and gold vinyl seems designed to maximize surface noise), though the 7” is quiet. The glossy tip-on jacket feels luxurious, Jeff Weiss’ liner notes booklet is informatively well-written, and Kii Arens’ illustration print is one of VMP’s better art inserts. In the packaging department, VMP’s reissue excels. The clear vinyl 7” featuring “Light My Fire,” “Take It As It Comes,” and “The Crystal Ship” sounds the same as the LP, with more inner groove distortion. I’m sure this VMP edition improves upon the 2017 reissue, though whether it’s enough to justify the $40 cost, I can’t say. How does the VMP pressing sound? I don’t have any other copies to compare, but despite the inherent distortion this mono pressing is pleasingly transparent and punchy. This 2021 mono remaster differs from Rhino’s 2017 Botnick/Grundman mono pressing in that the latter isn’t Plangent-processed, though both reissues replicate the original speed issues and have the censored “Break On Through” (Botnick plans to eventually release a speed-corrected mono/stereo vinyl “twofer”). Bruce Botnick newly digitized the original mono masters at 384kHz/32bit digital using the Plangent restoration process (which eliminates unwanted tape playback artifacts-Botnick says these transfers are “so close to analog it’s imperceptible”), and Bernie Grundman cut the vinyl on his tube system. In June, VMP Essentials reissued the original mono mix on 180g green and gold galaxy colored vinyl with a clear vinyl 7” of the “Light My Fire” French EP. The raw power contained in Jim Morrison's voice, combined with uncommon precision still dominates but appreciating everyone else's contributions becomes easier with the passage of a lot of time and especially with the improvement in one's audio system.” Michael Fremer’s 2012 review says it well: “The album holds up incredibly well, which is why it's revered both by boomers and their children and their (gasp!) grandchildren. There’s not much more to say about the music, aside from that while I find The Doors overrated, this first album is for fair reason highly acclaimed and historically significant. Mastered by: Bruce Botnick (digital), Bernie Grundman (vinyl) This particular Review Explosion discusses four Vinyl Me, Please releases from June-September 2021.)Įlektra/Rhino/VMP Essentials RCV1 653797/081227891176 green and gold galaxy colored vinyl 180g mono LP + clear vinyl 7” EP

Curated by AnalogPlanet contributing editor Malachi Lui, Review Explosion focuses on the previous few months' new releases. ( Review Explosion is a recurring AnalogPlanet feature covering recent releases for which we either don't have sufficient time to fully explore, or that are not worthy of it.

Atliens vinyl me please