The Mars Volta Return With First New Song and Tour in 10 Years

[5.1 4 Life]

RollingStone.com-
The Mars Volta are back with their first new song in nearly a decade, “Blacklight Shine,” which arrives alongside a complementary short film directed by Omar Rodríguez-López.

“Blacklight Shine,” a classic Mars Volta hit of psych rock carried by a rumbling groove, marks the Mars Volta’s first new music since the release of their 2012 album, Noctourniquet. In a statement, Mars Volta vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala described the lyrics to “Blacklight Shine” in aptly poetic terms, saying they aim to capture the idea of “a wave of rolling blackouts washing memories onto shore, a heartbeat that still remembers everything.”

The band previewed the arrival of “Blacklight Shine” with a public art installation dubbed, “L’Ytome Hodorxí Telesterion” — a giant cube that popped up in Los Angeles’ Grand Park and offered visitors an early listen of “Blacklight Shine” alongside an immersive visual journey. An online version is set to drop July 1.

Along with releasing “Blacklight Shine,” the Mars Volta have also announced a North American tour, which will mark the first time they’ve performed live since 2012 (the same year their last studio album, Noctourniquet, arrived). The run kicks of Sept. 23 at the Factory at Deep Ellum in Dallas and wraps Oct. 21 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles. Tickets will go on sale this Thursday, June 23, with full information available on the Mars Volta’s website.

The Mars Volta’s proper return comes a little over three years after Bixler-Zavala first hinted at a possible reunion for the revered El Paso outfit. Since then, the band has kept quiet about new material, but last year they did drop a career-spanning boxset, La Realidad de los Sueños, featuring all their studio albums and an array of previously unreleased material.

Mars Volta Tour Dates

September 23 – Dallas, TX @ The Factory in Deep Ellum
September 25 – Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
September 27 – Philadelphia, PA – The Metropolitan Opera House
September 29 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5
October 1 – Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
October 3 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
October 5 – Toronto, ON @ Massey Hall
October 6 – Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak Music Theatre
October 8 – Chicago, IL @ Aragon Ballroom
October 11 – Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom
October 14 – Seattle, WA @ Moore Theatre
October 18 – San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
October 21 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium

 

[alansanchez86]

I'm so looking forward to this album.
2022 is turning out to be good of long awaited reunions, or come backs.
Peter Gabriel releasing a new album by the end of the year after 20 years.
Dredg releasing a new album by the end of the year as well, or in early 2023.
RHCP coming back with Frusciante with a loving album.
Porcupine Tree releasing Closure/Continuation this friday.
And now The Mars Volta!

 

[5.1 4 Life]

New Album from The Mars Volta coming Sept. 16, 2022! From the band's website:

Release Date: September 16, 2022

The Kinetic Edition CD of The Mars Volta’s new self-titled album contains:

• Gold foiled digipack with embossed art
• 1 CD

Breaking a decade of omertà, The Mars Volta reawaken from their lengthy hiatus with an eponymous album that radically reshapes their paradigm. The new album shakes loose some of The Mars Volta’s long-standing shibboleths, fearlessly defying all expectations and categorizations. 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 channeled to greatest effect, The Mars Volta finds Rodríguez-López’s subterranean pop melodies driving Bixler-Zavala’s 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 exciting and accessible music the group has ever recorded.

https://us.cloudshillshop.com/products/the-mars-volta-the-mars-volta-kinetic-edition-cd-clo
PS: Nothing yet from Amazon (or other sellers) but they should have it available for pre-order soon.

 

[5.1 4 Life]

RollingStone.com-

After releasing a pair of new songs, the Mars Volta finally confirmed that they will drop their first album in a decade, The Mars Volta, on Sept. 16.

Accompanying the album announcement, the band has shared another new tune, “Vigil,” which arrived with a music video directed by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López. Vocalist/lyricist Cedric Bixler-Zavala shared a line from the tender and swooning new tune in lieu of an actual statement, “And the obits wait for a perfect name.”

“Vigil” marks the third offering from The Mars Volta following the previously-released “Graveyard Love” and “Blacklight Shine,” both of which will also appear on the self-titled LP. A statement notes that the album will mark a departure from the Mars Volta’s earlier material, with only two tracks expanding past four minutes and the band’s prog rock tendencies giving way to more subtle touches and Caribbean rhythms. The Mars Volta’s last album, Noctourniquet, arrived in 2012.

Along with releasing their first album in 10 years, the Mars Volta are set to return to the road for their first concerts in 10 years. The trek will kick off Sept. 22 at the Factory in Deep Ellum in Dallas and wrap with three nights at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, Oct. 21 through 23.

The Mars Volta Track List

1. “Blacklight Shine”
2. “Graveyard Love”
3. “Shore Story”
4. “Blank Condolences”
5. “Vigil”
6. “Qué Dios Te Maldiga Mí Corazón”
7. “Cerulea”
8. “Flash Burns From Flashbacks”
9. “Palm Full Of Crux”
10. “No Case Gain”
11. “Tourmaline”
12. “Equus 3”
13. “Collapsible Shoulders”
14. “The Requisition”

 

[humprof]

I'm so looking forward to this album.
2022 is turning out to be good of long awaited reunions, or come backs.
Peter Gabriel releasing a new album by the end of the year after 20 years.
Dredg releasing a new album by the end of the year as well, or in early 2023.
RHCP coming back with Frusciante with a loving album.
Porcupine Tree releasing Closure/Continuation this friday.
And now The Mars Volta!

What tha'...? A new Peter Gabriel album?!? (Got any links?)

Edit: never mind. Fingers crossed for Atmos.
https://americansongwriter.com/pete...new-album-his-first-in-20-years-tour-in-2023/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I/O_(album)

 

[humprof]

Really nice feature article in the New York Times today:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/07/arts/music/the-mars-volta.html(Use this "gift" link if the paywall keeps you out.)

Also, for anyone who missed it:

 

[5.1 4 Life]

Really nice feature article in the New York Times today:
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/07/arts/music/the-mars-volta.html(Use this "gift" link if the paywall keeps you out.)

Also, for anyone who missed it:

Thanks a million for sharing the NY Times piece about The Mars Volta!

 

[Bill B]

Wow. I didn't think there were many MV fans here. I missed this thread on June 25th and August 5th.
I have all their albums and saw them live once. I had heard they were getting back together but I didn't realize their new album had a release date. I'm in. September 16th huh? I seem to remember some other album being released that day but I can't put my finger on it....

 

[Bill B]

I finally got to listen to this today.... WTF? If it wasn't for the vocals I wouldn't have even guessed TMV. It's like an entirely different group. Not nearly as heavy, progressive and hard rock oriented. Did Thom Yorke join the band?

I'm not ready to say I don't like it... but I'm leaning that way. I will have to give it another listen with a more open mind and not expecting it to sound like classic TMV.

 

[alansanchez86]

I finally got to listen to this today.... WTF? If it wasn't for the vocals I wouldn't have even guessed TMV. It's like an entirely different group. Not nearly as heavy, progressive and hard rock oriented. Did Thom Yorke join the band?

I'm not ready to say I don't like it... but I'm leaning that way. I will have to give it another listen with a more open mind and not expecting it to sound like classic TMV.

Totes a different approach, and I also got the "in rainbows" vibe. I dont dislike it honestly. There's plenty of melodies, and steady and solid drums, not all over the place, like TMV that we ared used to listening to.

 

[5.1 4 Life]

From RollingStone.com-

See the Mars Volta Debut New Songs Live at First Concert in 10 Years​

HOURS BEFORE THE Mars Volta released their first new album in 10 years, the reunited prog-rock outfit staged their first concert in over a decade at the Factory in Dallas.

Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Omar Rodríguez-López, and the rest of Mars Volta debuted a pair of new tracks (“Blacklight Shine,” “Graveyard Love“) from their just-released self-titled LP — but the setlist still leaned heavily on their 2003 debut De-Loused in the Comatorium, with the band playing seven tracks off that album.


Thursday’s concert also featured the live debut of “Vicarious Atonement,” off 2006’s Amputechture, as well as a handful of songs the Mars Volta hadn’t performed even in the years before their decade-long hiatus.

The Mars Volta’s tour in support of their self-titled album continues through Oct. 21, when the band will play a trek-ending gig at Los Angeles’ Hollywood Bowl.


The Mars Volta’s proper return comes a little over three years after Bixler-Zavala first hinted at a possible reunion for the revered El Paso outfit. Since then, the band had kept quiet about new material, but last year they did drop a career-spanning boxset, La Realidad de los Sueños, featuring all their studio albums and an array of previously unreleased material.