Amputechture

1	Vicarious Atonement 7:19
2	Tetragrammaton 16:41
3	Vermicide 4:15
4	Meccamputechture 11:02
5	Asilos Magdalena 6:34
6	Viscera Eyes 9:23
7	Day of the Baphomets 11:56
8	El Ciervo Vulnerado 8:50

Barnes & Noble

Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala has said that when he and his bandmates set out to craft Amputechture, their primary goal was to replicate the psychedelic experience -- in a chemical rather than a purely musical sense. Well, the alternately mesmerizing and terrifying sounds that emanate from the grooves of the band's third full-length go a long way toward doing just that -- so much so that one might wonder if the Physicians Desk Reference might make for good liner notes. Picking up where Frances the Mute left off, the band unskein an array of disparate sonic threads, twisting them into unlikely shapes that range from the metal-flake jazz of "Day of the Baphomets" to the spidery, Zappa-styled squonk of "Vermicide." Guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, a formidable enough soundscaper when left to his own devices, proves even thornier when working as a tandem with guest John Frusciante, who ups the space-race ante on the 16-minute "Tetragrammaton." Since Amputechture is structured, in typically Volta-esque style, as one long track, the band wisely give listeners a bit of breathing room in the form of "Asilos Magdalena," a delicate filigree of a ballad (albeit one that turns into a doomy digression about demons and vampires near its conclusion). At 76 minutes, it's a long -- and undeniably strange -- trip, but the thrills it provides make the time whiz by at the speed of light. David Sprague

All Music Guide

The Mars Volta are continual contenders for the mantle of most experimental high-profile metal group, along with System of a Down, an artist they've toured with but who usually sell 20 times more records. Mars Volta aren't as popular, not because their riffs are less memorable or innovative but because their cycle of musical buildup and release, although similarly jarring, can last at least 20 minutes instead of System's two. (It's the difference between having a background in acid rock and having one in thrash.) While the early reports on third album Amputechture commented that the duo of Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez had learned a few lessons about silence and forsaken the concept album, don't believe it. The album is little different than their two previous atom bombs, De-Loused in the Comatorium and Frances the Mute -- tense and anxious, continually pushing the boundaries of extreme production, with long periods of dynamics that rise ever higher, followed by an explosion of release (usually screaming hard rock with storms of atonal brass and horns). The album opens with "Vicarious Atonement," five minutes of spectral effects and piercing guitar that gets a boost at the beginning of the next track, "Tetragrammaton," and then blooms into full riffing glory after a few more minutes (and they're still nowhere near the end of the 16-minute track). John Frusciante, eccentric genius from the Red Hot Chili Peppers, returns on guitar, but Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez exert so much control over the sound of Mars Volta that Frusciante makes virtually no individual impression on this record, although most of the guitar work is his. (Granted, his presence leaves Rodriguez-Lopez open for more intricate work on production.) The Mars Volta are one of the most intriguing bands in rock, but their huge musical power is often deflected by Bixler-Zavala's conceptual themes (which are difficult to follow, but also, perversely, impossible to ignore) and blitzkrieg dynamics that are either dialed down to one or up to ten (but rarely in-between). John Bush

Entertainment Weekly

You'd think these guys would've overheated by now, but they still love channeling chaos into one long river of song. (B) Greg Kot