I saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers in Madison in May 2003, and the two opening acts were Queens of the Stone Age and before them The Mars Volta. Man, did the Mars Volta suck. Among all my friends who attended, none of us liked their performance. We couldn’t understand a single word that was sung.
Thus, I was surprised a few months later when I read some good reviews for their debut album, which was released in June 2003. So I gave a few tracks a listen and I liked what I heard. I still wasn’t sure what many of the lyrics meant, but at least now I could understand what the words themselves were.
They’re now back with a second disc, this one quite unique. Five continous tracks totalling around 70 minutes, with a few of these songs having various sub-sections. “The Widow” is the first single and is garnering attention right now on the modern rock charts. For a history on the band, check out their entry at the Wikipedia online encyclopedia.