The Mars Volta
Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez formed The Mars Volta after At The Drive-In broke up, while the rest of the band formed Sparta. After Owens and Jeremy Michael Ward joined the band, they recorded their debut EP Tremulant in 2002. In 2003 Ward died of a drug overdose. Their first full length was released in 2003, called De-Loused in the Comatorium. In 2005 they released the ground breaking Frances the Mute, and a live disc called Scab Dates. In 2006 they released Amputechture, which seems to be their most experimental and 'proggy' work to date. On January 29, 2008 they released their fourth album The Bedlam in Goliath, and on June 23, 2009 their fifth full length, called Octahedron, came out.
The music of The Mars Volta combines free jazz, 70s progressive rock and Latin American dance music, as well as the intensity of punk rock with aggressive, sometimes screaming vocals and fast instrumental sections.
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