I'm not professionally trained, but I have been in a band or two throughout high school and college and continue to practice on and off to this day. Why would I start my review of the latest offering from the Mars Volta with this bit of info? Because Cedric Bixlar Zavala is one of my musical idols. From his insanely dynamic range, to his ability to shift between languages while singing effortlessly, to his beautiful r&b esque vibrato, he's left a massive impression on me. So ... read more
Overall I'd say well enough. The rapping's great. Relatively simple by today's standard and even what would come just half a decade later, but not so much so that it's boring or worthy of dismissal (hell I've heard several lines reinterpreted for years to come). It's the instrumentals that I'd argue time hasn't been the ... read more