Breaking a decade of omert, The Mars Volta reawaken from their lengthy hiatus with an eponymous track that radically reshapes their paradigm.

Formed by guitarist/composer Omar Rodrguez-Lpez and singer/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, The Mars Volta rose from the ashes of El Paso punk-rock firebrands At The Drive-In in 2001. On a mission to honour our roots and honour our dead, The Mars Volta made music that fused the Latin sounds Rodrguez-Lpez was raised on with the punk and underground noise he and Bixler-Zavala had immersed themselves in for years, and the futuristic visions they were tapping into. The albums that followed were one-of-a-kind masterpieces, their songs of breath-taking complexity also possessing powerful emotional immediacy. After the group fell silent, a legion of devotees (including Kanye West) kept up an insistent drum-beat for their return.

Now a year after La Realidad De Los Sueos, a luxurious 18-LP box-set compiling their back catalogue, sold out its 5,000 print run in under 24 hours the duo are back, accompanied this time by founder bassist Eva Gardner, drummer Willy Rodriguez Quiones and keyboard-player Marcel Rodrguez-Lpez. This song shakes loose some of The Mars Voltas long-standing shibboleths and the dizzying, abrasive prog stylings of earlier albums absent.

Instead, The Mars Volta pulses with subtle brilliance, Caribbean rhythms underpinning sophisticated, turbulent songcraft. This is The Mars Volta at their most mature, most concise, most focused. Their sound and fury channelled to greatest effect, The Mars Volta finds Rodrguez-Lpezs subterranean pop melodies driving Bixler-Zavalas dark sci-fi tales of the occult and malevolent governments. Distilling all the passion, poetry and power at their fingertips, The Mars Volta is the most accessible music the group have ever recorded.

Release date: 16th September, 2022

Tracklist:

Blacklight Shine
Graveyard Love
Shore Story
Blank Condolences
Vigil
Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon
Flash Burns From Flashbacks
Palm Full Of Crux
No Case Gain
Tourmaline
Equus 3
Collapsible Shoulders
The Requisition