40 thoughts on “THIS IS SOME WILD STUFF! // The Mars Volta – Goliath // Composer Reaction & Analysis”
this is their best album, every song flows so well into one another and the album has a staggering runtime of 1hr 20mins and the reason that is so crazy is because this entire album is basically the energy of that song in EVERY song (if not more energy)
Ahhhh I’ve been waiting for you to get something from this album! My favorite of The Mars Volta and (not coincidentally) my favorite drumming album of all time. (Thomas Pridgen is just unstoppable for the entire runtime. I think a lot of fans prefer Jon Theodore’s more varied/dynamic drumming on the earlier albums, but Pridgen’s creativity is magnificent.) This was also the first one I’d heard from them, and it was years of just going between this and Noctourniquet before trying their more famous projects, so these two albums have always been my most beloved. I hope you get to check out Noctourniquet at some point too. (My pick for a reaction would be for “Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sounds” fwiw)
This is a great review! 👍 you should review more hella. Preferably (for my own sake) something off of their (hella) album," there's no 666 in outer space". Its like hella meets the mars volta meets primus and then is put in a blender controlled by devo. Wild stuff I just wish the mix was better.
coming from a fan of prog rock, when I first heard Deloused, I could tell that it is progressive rock without falling into the trap of sounding like "prog" i.e.heavily influenced by early Genesis/Yes/Pink Floyd. I realized this is a modern band writing (what I think is) a kind of reflection of the state of rock at the time (with the hardcore/punk influences) but also taking in whatever else Cedric and Omar likes. They kind of lose me a bit after Bedlam, but there will never be another band like TMV.
You've listened to me before about a recommendation and I submit Sparta's "Vacant Skies" to satisfy your post-hardcore post-ATDI listening pleasure.
I like that you take the time to listen to these songs and are not afraid to just honestly give your take. Seeing someone only like certain parts of this song is so foreign to me as a long time TMV fan. This is up there with the best of their work.
But, I appreciate that you just gave us your honest opinion. Otherwise, this would just be a sort of masturbation or trigger porn.
Really should check out eriatarka. I really think you will enjoy that song by them quite a lot. It’s from their first Volta album and has more of the ATDI vibes mixed with Volta.
Their debut (Deloused) may still be my favourite, just because where it came in my life. It was a bridge from relatively normal rock to more proggy stuff. I also prefer the drummer in this incarnation (Jon Theodore).
The second album (Frances The Mute) could've had a little fat pared away but it's a very good modern take on prog.
Third album (Amputechture) has some nice moments and probably maintains the concept as well as any of their other albums.
The fourth (this one) is probably the album I have to be in the correct mood to listen to. It's a full-on assault apart from maybe one track. If you're not ready for it, it can come across as annoying.
The other albums are ok.
I'd go for Day of of Baphomets when you're next undertaking TMV. A bit of everything in there, including a couple of non-guitar solos.
Loved this reaction and breakdown man! I think you'd find more The Mars Volta songs that you enjoy than not if you ever decided to do a deep dive. If you decide to do more off this album I'll suggest 'Agadaz'. It's quite a bit slower and in my opinion really stands out in their discography. It has more of a lounge singer vibe.
If you want more of the same, Omar (band leader) at the time was releasing records under his name, that had all the session music that lead to this album (and almost any other TMV record).
Try Cryptomnesia, Xenophanes and Old Money by Omar Rodriguez Lopez
PS he just reissued his whole discography (50+ albums) on LP.
And you didn't even expirience Omar solo work. I think the evolution of Omar influenced a lot TMV on the later part. Goliath was in fact a music that belonged to Omar solo work, it was called Rapid Fire Tollbooth ahah.
This album is easily the most chaotic album they've ever done. It was supposedly written inspired by some stories they encountered while playing with an Ouija board. This led to the heavier tracks being extremely busy, like this one, and the softer tracks being more on the creepy side rather than calming. So across the 75-minute runtime, you don't really get a moment to breathe.
However, if you stick with it and give it a few more spins, you will discover so many great hooks and songs unlike any other. It's not an easy listen, but very, very rewarding. As much as I personally like all the ambiance on Frances the Mute (the album with the guy in the car), this album is much more all killer, no filler.
I'm all in on at least 1 TMV song every now and then. I'll let others throw up suggestions. I just want you to experience stuff like Cassandra Gemini etc 🤘I definitely appreciate your honesty.
The Bedlam in Goliath (the album) is probably by consensus the best post-Frances the Mute TMV album. It's definitely the album where they started to streamline their sound (by TMV standards at least): reigning in the lengthy psychedelic freakouts and spacy atmospherics and confining them into groovier, catchier forms and more accessible structures. It's still very identifiably TMV, but it was a breath of fresh air after the ungainly ambitions of Amputechture and psychedelic extremes of Frances of the Mute (the one with the driver on the cover). I still think Frances was their peak because it did push their unique elements to their extremes, but for more mainstream audiences I think The Bedlam in Goliath is probably their most accessible, and this track is a great introduction. FWIW, I do think all their later music is closer to this than their early work, so there's still a good chance you'd like it more than their first two albums.
maybe some octahedron would work well. teflon, cotopaxi, desperate graves, even Since we've been wrong. It was their "acoustic" album before the newest one happened
devout fans telling you what the lyrics mean?!?! We're only here to help you let go of the need to know the meaning in the words. They are words, and they surely have meaning…. Moving on
I remember getting this album back when it was new and during my first listen I was thinking "they just won't show my ears mercy" and it made me grin. This is a really meaty, messy album. It's based on their experiences while playing around with a ouija board, and as you read, Goliath is the name of the entity (or entities) they allegedly came into contact with. They kinda created a mythology around the album with weird accidents and mishaps that they attributed to the entity. Not sure if it was just a gimmick or if they really believed it.
I think this song is kind of a masterclass in tension/release, with the ending being an awesome energy outlet. I also really love it! In my book it has a sister song from the previous record Amputecture, "Viscera Eyes", a song with almost the exact same idea with an ongoing groove and then en energy-filled ending, although "Goliath" is crunchier.
Definitely not the first time I've heard people mentioning classic rock (and prog) in reference to TMV. Led Zeppelin and Mahavishnu Orchestra are common comparisons. TMV are definitely blues rock at the core with some messiness on top. The riffs are almost always in pentatonic with the diminished 5th as a favored not for that extra bluesy goodness.
Glad you enjoyed this! There are more fun tracks from this one for future analysis, like "Ilyena", "Wax Simulacra" and "Ouroborous". All of the tracks have awesome moments but those are perhaps the more direct ones.
Im really stoked you have revisited TMV. Since you’ve visted ATDI I knew there was some material youd enjoy from thus group if you circled back. Goliath is such a slept on song here on the reaction community.
I think you’ll love Drunkship of Lanterns and Cotopaxi
This album is definitely more focused and less experimental than Amputecture or Frances the Mute, and it's kind of a bridge between their earlier more experimental works and their later more restrained albums. Not a single track over 10 minutes and the long, cacophonous, and meandering jam segments in their previous works are mostly absent. Most of the songs are really chaotic in the cohesive way you describe and it is an extremely exhausting thing to listen to as the album rarely lets up on the intensity. There's a really ominous, unsettling, and supernatural feel to it as well that I really enjoy. Thanks for reviewing my special selection btw.
I think you’ll like the whole album if you dug this track.
Also…I’d say about 90% of my favorite albums of all time were growers. Most of the time, if I love an album I right away, I easily get bored of it. My absolute favs are the ones that astound me… when I hear something completely new and I don’t quite get it, but i feel I need to keep listening in order for it to make sense. 100 times is an exaggeration I’d say, but it probably took me at least 10 listens through deloused on France’s before they became permanently etched in my brain.
As a mega TMV fan, I appreciate your insight, even if I can tell you don’t really dig some of it, I can tell you have an appreciation for it and the willingness to listen ❤
Hey Bryan, glad that you at least somewhat liked this track 🙂 My personal favorite of this album is "Agadez" so maybe there is a chance you might dig it as well. Don't have to make a video or anything, just saying in case you might like to check another track off this album in the future. That being said, great work as always! <3
lol this is a mess of an album per the requestors comment, but it is a glorious mess that is fearless and highly technical yet very emotive. I've got to start working on getting the song Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt from their first album into your polls. Given your multiple analysis of various TMV songs, I think that may be the one that you vibe with the most.
this is their best album, every song flows so well into one another and the album has a staggering runtime of 1hr 20mins and the reason that is so crazy is because this entire album is basically the energy of that song in EVERY song (if not more energy)
I am the intended audience for this 😊
Ahhhh I’ve been waiting for you to get something from this album! My favorite of The Mars Volta and (not coincidentally) my favorite drumming album of all time. (Thomas Pridgen is just unstoppable for the entire runtime. I think a lot of fans prefer Jon Theodore’s more varied/dynamic drumming on the earlier albums, but Pridgen’s creativity is magnificent.) This was also the first one I’d heard from them, and it was years of just going between this and Noctourniquet before trying their more famous projects, so these two albums have always been my most beloved. I hope you get to check out Noctourniquet at some point too. (My pick for a reaction would be for “Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sounds” fwiw)
Dude when TMV broke up i had a hole in my heart. Im glad they got back for at least one more album. I like the while discography
Hands down my favorite record of theirs, with Frances the Mute being a close second.
Attempt #3 to get a reaction/analysis to Chronostasis by Release Hallucination. Would love to hear your take on it.
You might enjoy Metatron from the same album.
Cedric writes all of the lyrics and Omar writes all of the music.
This is a great review! 👍 you should review more hella. Preferably (for my own sake) something off of their (hella) album," there's no 666 in outer space". Its like hella meets the mars volta meets primus and then is put in a blender controlled by devo. Wild stuff I just wish the mix was better.
There most perfect songy song IMO is "Ilyena."
Most of this album is on a similar vibe. You'd probably enjoy it.
coming from a fan of prog rock, when I first heard Deloused, I could tell that it is progressive rock without falling into the trap of sounding like "prog" i.e.heavily influenced by early Genesis/Yes/Pink Floyd. I realized this is a modern band writing (what I think is) a kind of reflection of the state of rock at the time (with the hardcore/punk influences) but also taking in whatever else Cedric and Omar likes. They kind of lose me a bit after Bedlam, but there will never be another band like TMV.
Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt
Calling Amputechture a mess of an album is sacrilege and you shall be gagged and you should hope that you can fake your pulse.
You've listened to me before about a recommendation and I submit Sparta's "Vacant Skies" to satisfy your post-hardcore post-ATDI listening pleasure.
I like that you take the time to listen to these songs and are not afraid to just honestly give your take. Seeing someone only like certain parts of this song is so foreign to me as a long time TMV fan. This is up there with the best of their work.
But, I appreciate that you just gave us your honest opinion. Otherwise, this would just be a sort of masturbation or trigger porn.
https://youtu.be/fKgnit4vnIQ?t=521
Here is the link to the Sparta song I chose.
Really should check out eriatarka. I really think you will enjoy that song by them quite a lot. It’s from their first Volta album and has more of the ATDI vibes mixed with Volta.
Their debut (Deloused) may still be my favourite, just because where it came in my life. It was a bridge from relatively normal rock to more proggy stuff. I also prefer the drummer in this incarnation (Jon Theodore).
The second album (Frances The Mute) could've had a little fat pared away but it's a very good modern take on prog.
Third album (Amputechture) has some nice moments and probably maintains the concept as well as any of their other albums.
The fourth (this one) is probably the album I have to be in the correct mood to listen to. It's a full-on assault apart from maybe one track. If you're not ready for it, it can come across as annoying.
The other albums are ok.
I'd go for Day of of Baphomets when you're next undertaking TMV. A bit of everything in there, including a couple of non-guitar solos.
Loved this reaction and breakdown man! I think you'd find more The Mars Volta songs that you enjoy than not if you ever decided to do a deep dive. If you decide to do more off this album I'll suggest 'Agadaz'. It's quite a bit slower and in my opinion really stands out in their discography. It has more of a lounge singer vibe.
If you want more of the same, Omar (band leader) at the time was releasing records under his name, that had all the session music that lead to this album (and almost any other TMV record).
Try Cryptomnesia, Xenophanes and Old Money by Omar Rodriguez Lopez
PS he just reissued his whole discography (50+ albums) on LP.
And you didn't even expirience Omar solo work. I think the evolution of Omar influenced a lot TMV on the later part. Goliath was in fact a music that belonged to Omar solo work, it was called Rapid Fire Tollbooth ahah.
This album is easily the most chaotic album they've ever done. It was supposedly written inspired by some stories they encountered while playing with an Ouija board. This led to the heavier tracks being extremely busy, like this one, and the softer tracks being more on the creepy side rather than calming. So across the 75-minute runtime, you don't really get a moment to breathe.
However, if you stick with it and give it a few more spins, you will discover so many great hooks and songs unlike any other. It's not an easy listen, but very, very rewarding. As much as I personally like all the ambiance on Frances the Mute (the album with the guy in the car), this album is much more all killer, no filler.
Thomas Pridgen has bonkers drumming on this. Too bad he's no longer in the band. Such a talent
I'm all in on at least 1 TMV song every now and then. I'll let others throw up suggestions. I just want you to experience stuff like Cassandra Gemini etc 🤘I definitely appreciate your honesty.
I wonder what Brian would think about their most recent, self-titled album….VERY different than what you're used to hearing out of The Mars Volta
The Bedlam in Goliath (the album) is probably by consensus the best post-Frances the Mute TMV album. It's definitely the album where they started to streamline their sound (by TMV standards at least): reigning in the lengthy psychedelic freakouts and spacy atmospherics and confining them into groovier, catchier forms and more accessible structures. It's still very identifiably TMV, but it was a breath of fresh air after the ungainly ambitions of Amputechture and psychedelic extremes of Frances of the Mute (the one with the driver on the cover). I still think Frances was their peak because it did push their unique elements to their extremes, but for more mainstream audiences I think The Bedlam in Goliath is probably their most accessible, and this track is a great introduction. FWIW, I do think all their later music is closer to this than their early work, so there's still a good chance you'd like it more than their first two albums.
You should check out "Televators," "The Widow," or "Eriatarka" by TMV, they're probably more up your alley and less chaotic
maybe some octahedron would work well. teflon, cotopaxi, desperate graves, even Since we've been wrong. It was their "acoustic" album before the newest one happened
devout fans telling you what the lyrics mean?!?! We're only here to help you let go of the need to know the meaning in the words. They are words, and they surely have meaning…. Moving on
I remember getting this album back when it was new and during my first listen I was thinking "they just won't show my ears mercy" and it made me grin. This is a really meaty, messy album. It's based on their experiences while playing around with a ouija board, and as you read, Goliath is the name of the entity (or entities) they allegedly came into contact with. They kinda created a mythology around the album with weird accidents and mishaps that they attributed to the entity. Not sure if it was just a gimmick or if they really believed it.
I think this song is kind of a masterclass in tension/release, with the ending being an awesome energy outlet. I also really love it! In my book it has a sister song from the previous record Amputecture, "Viscera Eyes", a song with almost the exact same idea with an ongoing groove and then en energy-filled ending, although "Goliath" is crunchier.
Definitely not the first time I've heard people mentioning classic rock (and prog) in reference to TMV. Led Zeppelin and Mahavishnu Orchestra are common comparisons. TMV are definitely blues rock at the core with some messiness on top. The riffs are almost always in pentatonic with the diminished 5th as a favored not for that extra bluesy goodness.
Glad you enjoyed this! There are more fun tracks from this one for future analysis, like "Ilyena", "Wax Simulacra" and "Ouroborous". All of the tracks have awesome moments but those are perhaps the more direct ones.
This album might be the one for you.
ever heard of villa lobos? any of the 12 etudes should be a good introduction hehehe
Im really stoked you have revisited TMV. Since you’ve visted ATDI I knew there was some material youd enjoy from thus group if you circled back. Goliath is such a slept on song here on the reaction community.
I think you’ll love Drunkship of Lanterns and Cotopaxi
This album is definitely more focused and less experimental than Amputecture or Frances the Mute, and it's kind of a bridge between their earlier more experimental works and their later more restrained albums. Not a single track over 10 minutes and the long, cacophonous, and meandering jam segments in their previous works are mostly absent. Most of the songs are really chaotic in the cohesive way you describe and it is an extremely exhausting thing to listen to as the album rarely lets up on the intensity. There's a really ominous, unsettling, and supernatural feel to it as well that I really enjoy. Thanks for reviewing my special selection btw.
if you like this you should check out their song “day of the baphomets”! so good
I always heard a bit of Led Zeppelin in their sound…
I think you’ll like the whole album if you dug this track.
Also…I’d say about 90% of my favorite albums of all time were growers. Most of the time, if I love an album I right away, I easily get bored of it. My absolute favs are the ones that astound me… when I hear something completely new and I don’t quite get it, but i feel I need to keep listening in order for it to make sense. 100 times is an exaggeration I’d say, but it probably took me at least 10 listens through deloused on France’s before they became permanently etched in my brain.
As a mega TMV fan, I appreciate your insight, even if I can tell you don’t really dig some of it, I can tell you have an appreciation for it and the willingness to listen ❤
Hey Bryan, glad that you at least somewhat liked this track 🙂 My personal favorite of this album is "Agadez" so maybe there is a chance you might dig it as well. Don't have to make a video or anything, just saying in case you might like to check another track off this album in the future. That being said, great work as always! <3
I'm a simple man; I see The Mars Volta, I click and watch.
Glad you finally dived into one of their best albums! pure chaos the whole time.
lol this is a mess of an album per the requestors comment, but it is a glorious mess that is fearless and highly technical yet very emotive. I've got to start working on getting the song Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt from their first album into your polls. Given your multiple analysis of various TMV songs, I think that may be the one that you vibe with the most.
Glad you enjoyed and were less annoyed by this one lol. It’s definitely got some badass sections. Thanks for doing it! 🤘