The Mars Volta: Every album ranked from worst to best
Each Mars Volta album is different, shimmering with a rainbow of ideas and sonic expressionism. But which record is their definitive artistic statement?
Words: James Hickie
Although The Mars Volta disbanded some 14 years ago, their entire discography has been released in a lavish 18-LP vinyl boxset titled La Realidad de los Sueños, which chronicles the band’s six extraordinary albums in excruciating detail. And this is just the excuse we need to reappraise every album by the El Paso experimentalists.
The prog rock band, led by vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, disbanded in 2013, when Cedric and Omar reformed their previous band At The Drive-In. Rumours persist, however, that The Mars Volta will reform or already have, with Cedric alluding to it on Twitter in 2019. When pushed to elaborate, the vocalist suggested: “What it’s NOT going to be is your ‘fav member line-up’ playing their ‘classic records’ in full etc. Maybe we’ll play old shit, who knows how we feel.” That was two years and a global pandemic ago, though, so who knows whether their reconnection will still go beyond the caretaking of their reissues to new material and live dates.