If there is a theme to this record, it’s stated at the beginning of the song “Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sounds” where Cedric Bixler-Zavala sings: “if I trust the wind, she will pave me a different road.” Given the fact that the Mars Volta are easily the hardest band to get into, on Noctourniquet, it get’s even harder. While the main elements that make The Mars Volta are in tact (crazy-ass lyrics, off kilter, guitar changes and strange time signatures), The duo of Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez added some new sounds to the mix, experimented with some vocals, and found interesting inspiration from myth and religion.

The biggest inspiration for this album comes from the nursery rhyme “Solomon Grundy” as well as the Greek myth of Hyacinth, but Bixler-Zavala drops other names as well. Names such as Moloch, the Ammonite god, Saint Christopher, and the Roman god Janus. More strange is the musical influences on here which range from 80’s synth sounds to industrial metal.

The story behind this album is even more strange, accordingly, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez had recorded the music back in 2009, after their last album, Octahedron was released. Bixler-Zavala, not happy with the fast output of material, chose to put off setting lyrics and vocals to the music. After arguments and two years gone by, Bixler-Zavala finally put vocals to the songs, and thus the record was complete.

The album’s lead single “The Malkin Jewel” is the hardest single in the history of music to actually like. It’s complete with a spazy intro and most sinister sounding melodies I’ve ever heard in a song. I’m almost afraid to listen to it further. Songs like “The Whip Hand,” “In Absentia,” and “Zed and Two Naughts” has a very industrial sound, relying on the heaviness that the genre has to lend, along with the vocal effects. Other songs, such as “Aegis,” “Dyslexicon,” “Empty Vessels Make the Loudest Sound,” and “Vedamalady” play very much with 80’s sounding keyboards and synthesizers. The last track, in particular, has a synth sound that could have been culled from any classic Nintendo video game.

Concerning Bixler-Zavala’s vocals, the style is very different; he trades in a lot of his high pitched vocal delivery for vocal effects and more lower register work. While hardcore fans may make it a complaint, the experimentation is met with some interesting results, and accompany the industrial style tracks quite well.

The Mars Volta have always been an experimental rock outfit filled with lyrics that are hard to understand and instrumentation coupled time signature changes that will render the greatest fan quizzical. Noctourniquet is the band at it’s most experimental, and while the combinations may have you raising eyebrows, give the album a chance, there is something for all fans of the band here.

Album Rating: Buy It on CD or Vinyl

Listening Co-efficient: Passive Listen

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