Back as aggressively and focused as ever, The Mars Volta return to deliver The Bedlam in Goliath. It’s loud, it’s hard-hitting, it’s progressive, it’s funky: all the things that followers have come to love and expect, from the fury of “Aberinkula” to the infectious grooves of “Ilyena”. If you’ve never heard of The Mars Volta before, you’re in for a mind-blowing experience of epic proportions. It is an absolute sonic attack on your ear drums. At times, there are so many different things going on in one song that it hits you like an errant fastball. The Mars Volta’s 2006 album, Amputechture, critically failed to deliver that same energy and drive of the first two, and the group’s popularity waned as a result. The aggressiveness of this new music seems to display some of their frustration in that experience.

Usually known for doing complex, concept-driven albums, Bedlam was inspired by an Ouija board purchased as a gift by lead guitarist Rodriguez-Lopez for singer Bixler-Zacala. The board was apparently the cause of many troublesome ordeals and difficulties that the band faced while trying to record the album. Not only do many of the lyrics result from all of this drama, but some song titles, such as “Goliath” and “Soothsayer,” come directly from the board. John Frusciante, best known from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, rejoins the band, along with a new drummer, Thomas Pridgen. The group hasn’t lost any of its percussion attack; just listen to the opening of the single, “Wax Simulacra.”

There are times on the record where the music almost resembles the funky power of Rage Against The Machine, or the raucous attitude of Jane’s Addiction. There are slower moments on Bedlam, though, such as “Tourniquet Man,” an eerily crawling, haunting ballad. The opening half is more memorable than the later, although the last two songs close it well, with Bixler-Zavala asking himself, “Where am I now that the music has faded?” Hopefully there is a lot more of this music to come.

8 out of 10

- Review by Todd Hansen