Last month, we told you that The Mars Volta were readying a new album for 2011, and we’ve been anxiously expecting for more information on the new material ever since. Given that the band’s guitarist, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, likes to preview new Volta songs on his solo concerts, eyebrows were raised when it was announced that his March 19th show at SXSW would feature a special guest.
Omar’s group included Juan Alderete, Deantoni Parks, and Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, all of which have been members of The Mars Volta. Then the special guest turned out to be none other than Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the Volta’s lead singer, making for a complete reunion of the group onstage. According to fan reports, Cedric was present during the entire set, and the band played 4 new songs (supposedly from the upcoming album). While we can’t yet confirm this number of tracks, there’s a video evidence proving that at least one track was debuted at the performance. Check it out below, and sorry in advance for the clusterfuck of sound:
Other than Cedric’s obvious lack of a huge afro, it’s immediately noticeable that this track sounds quite heavier than most of their last effort, 2009’s Octahedron, and even includes backing vocals by Omar, something we’ve never witnessed before. On the lead singer’s insane YouTube channel, he recently took the opportunity to make a few remarks on the sound of the upcoming Mars Volta LP – which, it must be noted, should be taken with a grain of salt:
“Sorry no spanish on this record, no Zeppelinesque voyages, no Santana like flourishes or vishnu accuasations. No congas, no Hammond organ stabs, no 30 minute songs, no drums that sounds like mosquitos buzzing in your ear. Just future punk. That’s the only way to describe it from my point of view.”
Whatever this “future punk” is going to sound like, we’re in.
Update: Check out three new songs from The Mars Volta.
