The Bedlam in Goliath
The Bedlam in Goliath starts at full force and rarely lets up. The Mars Volta’s fourth studio album brings its ideas into shorter pieces than the huge suites of earlier records, but the music is as crowded and restless as ever. Heavy riffs, funk rhythms and heavily treated vocals compete for space across twelve songs.
New drummer Thomas Pridgen has a major effect on the sound. His playing is busy, forceful and often central to the arrangement. Together with Juan Alderete’s bass, it gives the album a strong physical drive. “Aberinkula” makes that clear immediately, with high vocals and a rush of instrumental activity. “Metatron” keeps the pressure high, building through changing guitar textures and an especially active rhythm section.
The best songs give that energy a clear shape. “Ilyena” has a more approachable groove and a melody that remains easy to follow through the effects. “Wax Simulacra” compresses the band’s heavy riffs, sharp rhythmic changes and vocal drama into less than three minutes. It is one of the most effective tracks here because there is little time for an idea to lose its impact. “Goliath” takes a longer route, starting from a strong bass-driven riff before moving into more unpredictable territory.
There is variety beyond those early highlights. “Soothsayer” brings in violin and a more atmospheric mood, though it still develops into a large, detailed arrangement. The difficulty is that the album offers relatively few breaks from its intensity. Guitar effects and vocal processing can make an already dense sound harder to read, and some later passages repeat the excitement of the opening without adding as much to it.
That makes Bedlam easier to enjoy in sections than as one uninterrupted run. Its strongest moments combine clear grooves with playing that feels ready to burst out of the song. Elsewhere, the constant activity becomes tiring. This is a worthwhile choice for listeners drawn to the band’s heavier, funkier side, with several excellent tracks and enough excess to stop the whole album matching them.
