De-Loused in the Comatorium by The Mars Volta

De-Loused in the Comatorium,  The Mars Volta's splendid debut album from 2003.

This is truly a beautiful album, unique in its fusion of progressive rock, punk rock, Latin and salsa influences, and even a touch of jazz-rock fusion.

It's a concept album that chronicles the life of Cerpin Taxt (a character based on one of the band members' friends), who attempted suicide by overdose and fell into a coma. In this state of limbo, he struggles to decide whether to live or commit suicide. The epilogue is dramatic: Cerpin Taxt decides to die, but even death can be ironic, and on this album, it is.

A decidedly challenging album, it combines the raw energy of hardcore with psychedelic and Latin influences, featuring complex arrangements and the virtuosity of guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, but with impenetrable and often incomprehensible lyrics bordering on nonsense. The extremely refined production precisely highlights a complexity bordering on excess.

The lineup features some impressive collaborations, most notably Flea on bass (following Eva Gardner's departure) and John Frusciante on guitar, both of the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They would also appear on the next album, the masterpiece  Frances the Mute.

My favorite tracks are "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)," "Cicatriz ESP," "Inertiatic ESP" and "Televators," "Drunkship of Lanterns," "Eriatarka," and the closing track, "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt."

An album that, upon its release, revived a taste for progressive rock in many, and I'm one of them: it's on my personal list of the best albums in any genre. The lyrics are verbose, but the concepts are powerful; the instrumentation is (relatively) sparse and often bare, but always full of energy. There's a haunting passion throughout the album that can be both violent and vulnerable.

An album that's a MUST for any prog lover.

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