Scab Dates

Spin
"The Mars Volta render every other prog-metal-jazz-whatever band out there wholly unnecessary."

Spin
"The most exhilarating rock band on the planet"

Scab Dates

Scab Dates,The Mars Volta,Universal,Neo-Psychedelia,Pop,Post-Hardcore,Post-Rock/Experimental,Rock,Rock/Pop

Scab Dates

Average customer rating:

not for casual fans
Wank fest in your face.
Not as good as it could have been
Someone Stop Omar!
Brilliant, Surreal, Progressive

Scab Dates
The Mars Volta
Manufacturer: Umvd Labels
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Post Hardcore | Hardcore & Punk | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Live Albums | Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Tremulant
Amputechture
Frances the Mute
De-Loused in the Comatorium
A Manual Dexterity: Soundtrack, Vol. 1

ASIN: B000BLI3IY
Release Date: 2005-11-08

Tracks:

abrasions mount the timpani
take the veil cerpin taxt a) gust of mutts b) and ghosted pouts
caviglia
concertina
haruspex
cicatriz a) pt I b) pt II c) pt III d) pt IV

Customer Reviews:

not for casual fans.......2007-01-10

this is not the place to start if you are new to the mars volta, i own every mars volta release including the Live EP (not including tremulant ep) and i love this cd, omar occasionally tests my resolve to love this cd, but the songs recorded at concerts are incredible, my favorite song is concertina which is absolutely incredible, take the veil cerpin taxt is another great, TMV really shines on cicatriz where they spend about half an hour improving, if you love TMV as much as i do this is a must

Wank fest in your face........2006-10-20

I am a huge Mars fan, but this is just bore. I was really looking forward to a cd representive of their live shows, but this is a horrible excuse for a live album from anyone especially from Mars Volta.
I am all for experimentation, but if you look at the liner notes there are a ton of non-band members jerkin' off on this after the original recording and personally coming from a recording and engineering backround it is not creative or good. It seems like a bad painting.
Save your money and buy bootleg of their actual live show.

Not as good as it could have been.......2006-05-12

I am a huge fan of The Mars Volta. I have also see them live twice, so I think I can speak with a little bit of confidence about this album.

First of all, I don't think it's entirely fair or accurate to refer to this album as 'live'. I agree with other reviewers when they say that this is not really a faithful document of what the band sounds like live. Don't be misled into thinking that this is what you will get if you go and see the band in concert. It would be more accurate to refer to this as a musical experiment that contains some live material. This pales in comparison to what The Mars Volta can actually deliver in a live setting.

For one thing,there is very little actual live music on here. Most of the CD is taken up by the random noises between songs, which despite disappointing. Secondly, just as the CD is starting to warm up,'Cicatriz' cuts out, to be replaced by a sort of sound collage. It doesn't quite work, but it's interesting nonetheless.

If you're looking for an accurate picture of what The Mars Volta can offer, this is definitely not a good place to start. Look for their two (full-length) fantastic studio releases instead. If you're already a fan, you'll probably be interested to hear Volta push the envelope even further. Prepare to be challenged by one of the most interesting bands around. Just don't expect to be fully satisfied.

Someone Stop Omar!.......2006-05-10

O.K., Take the Veil and Concertina own, but that's it. Those are the two good reasons to listen to this album, that and the beginning of Ciatriz. Ciatriz I thought was a bit too long on the album at 13 minutes... and they drag it out to over 40 on this one. Most of that ridiculous run time is Omar screwing around with noise, and isn't really music. The same goes for the other "songs" which fill the rest of the album.

Can someone please talk some sense into Omar? The recording, mixing and performance on Take the Veil is so damned good I would love to hear a bunch of other songs from that performance or similar ones, but all I get is 2 other tracks (one of which is now unlistenable) and a bunch of random sound manipulation.

Not to mention that none of the tracks are from Frances, the album they were touring behind. I'd say they were just joking around trying to piss us off except that some real passion has obviously gone into writing and performing these songs. Either I'm completely missing the point or Omar's just... gone completely mad.

Brilliant, Surreal, Progressive.......2006-04-26

On the subject of Mars Volta there are really only two different opinions. One side of fence hears them for the first time and are blown away. They absolutely love Mars; they think that they are an amazing mix of progressive rock, Latin flare, and screeching hair raising vocals that are reminiscent of a rock generation gone by. They love the lyrics that mix surrealism, pragmatism, and on eerie grunge. The others of you, well the others of you won't get it. But that's ok because if you do fall in the first group, you should run out and buy this album immediately. For you others, well go on listening to Maroon 5 on the radio. So what is so special about this album you ask? To start it's new Mars music which for any fan is reason enough. But more specifically this album is the first taste of live Volta music. Those who haven't been lucky enough to witness a live concert will surely realize upon listening to this album that Mars is even more amazing when they have a spontaneous environment to work with. This album is technically a live show, but Omar, acting as producer once again, has noticeably mixed, edited, and added here and there. There have been some who call this album overly produced because of the added "noise" and ambiance. To those I just say bah because if Mars Volta as a band listened to the feedback of you people who want easier and nicer music to listen to then they surely wouldn't be the band they are today. This is not your vision guys, just listen to it and have fun....if it's too much for you then listen to something tamer, like the above mentioned alternative. As is, this album will absolutely remind you why it is you listen to music in the first place. There are parts in this album that are more powerful and more deeply thought provoking then pretty much anything else that is brought to the market today. If you have never heard Mars Volta before this will be a good opportunity to learn about what makes them so special. It's not something that you can necessarily explain, at least not with my spotty writing ability, but it is a difference you will hear from the very first track on to the fantastic finale. And if you are a fan of this band, then well I expect that you already own the album and have listened to it more then anything else in your collection. It is not easy to digest but it has more substance then pretty much anything else out there.