De-Loused in the Comatorium
De-Loused in the Comatorium asks a lot from the start. The Mars Volta take the force of post-hardcore and send it through tangled guitar parts, restless rhythms and long stretches of strange sound. Their 2003 debut can be confusing, but it has enough strong songs to give all that movement a purpose.
The short opening, “Son et Lumière”, leads into “Inertiatic ESP”, where Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s high voice meets an urgent, tightly packed arrangement. It is a useful starting point for a record that often takes much longer routes. The singing is intense, and the words offer few easy explanations. Still, the melodies give the music a human centre even when the surrounding parts become difficult to follow.
The rhythm section does a great deal of the work. The drums and guest bassist Flea keep the songs moving while Omar Rodríguez-López’s guitar moves between sharp riffs, effects and freer passages. “Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)” shows how well these elements fit together. The musicians can pull in different directions without losing the song’s drive. This sense of motion helps the complex playing feel active rather than like a display of skill.
“Cicatriz ESP” stretches that approach across a much larger space. Its heavy sections have real impact, although the extended middle passage can slow the album too much. The quieter “Televators” offers a more direct emotional contrast, before “Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt” brings back the harder edge. Those changes in pace matter. They make the record more varied than its busy surface might suggest.
The main problem is excess. Effects sometimes cover the shape of a song, and some transitions take longer than they need to. At nearly an hour, this is a demanding introduction to the band. Yet the combination of strong rhythmic playing, memorable vocal lines and unpredictable guitar work gives it a clear identity. De-Loused is an exciting choice for anyone who wants adventurous rock with plenty of energy behind the detail.
