The Bedlam in Goliath

Untitled

The Bedlam in Goliath is the forthcoming fourth studio album by The Mars Volta. It was produced by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and engineered by Robert Carranza. Jeff Jordan is once again creating the artwork for the album, which will include several original pieces.

Statements made by the band about the album

Rodriguez-Lopez has stated that the song "Rapid Fire Tollbooth" which has been played live and originally appeared on his solo album Se Dice Bisonte, No Bùfalo will be reworked for this album. Another new song known as "Idle Tooth" on the band's setlists (which later appears as "Wax Simulacra" in Bixler-Zavala's on stage lyric booklet) was played live for the first time at the March 12, 2007 show in New Zealand. In an article published in Rolling Stone on the June 28, 2007, Rodriguez-Lopez stated that they have come up with fifteen-minute songs and a "literally two-minute song".

Robert Carranza described the recording of Bedlam to EQ Magazine:

"Omar, has enough energy to light up a city,” Carranza says of the band’s figurehead guitarist. “He doesn’t bring anything to the table until the last minute; he brings his riffs and then teaches the rest of the band in the studio. Bruce Springsteen is known for doing the same thing — he doesn’t tell anyone what is going on until it’s time to do it."

"A band plays together on stage — that’s their performance. There are moments that are unique unto themselves . . . why can’t that be done in the studio as well? It’s not magic; it’s the result of the camaraderie that happens while playing together. That’s why, for at least 80% of the records I’ve recorded in the last year, I’ve kept the rhythm section from the very beginning. For the last Mars Volta album, we kept almost everything. Set them up in a room and let them go. I’d rather just deal with the bleed. The eye contact, the ability to feel the kick drum . . . you can’t do that with headphones."

"Lately, I’ve made a rule: no more than three whole takes an hour. I want some time to hear the differences before we go forward. You’d be surprised at what that will do to the mood, and what that mood will do to your recording. For the new Mars Volta record, Cedric was great. We’d cut a vocal, hang out for a minute, take a shot of Jaeger, get loose, and then try it again and knock it out of the park."

In an interview with "Time Off" magazine, Bixler-Zavala stated that the next album would be a concept album: "I don’t want to give the plot away right now, but the new one has to do with this gift that Omar found for me when he went traveling once. The gift came with a story that was attached to it, and we’re trying to re-interpret the story again."

The album was leaked September 18th, 2007 across numerous file sharing networks.

Track listing

No official track order or track lengths have been released, but the track titles presented on the ASCAP website are as follows:

• "Abernikula"
• "Agadez"
• "Askepios"
• "Cavalettas - Recall"
• "Conjugal Burns"
• "Goliath"
• "Ilyena"
• "Metatron"
• "Ouroboros"
• "Soothsayer"
• "Tourniquet Man"
• "Wax Simulacra"

Notes

1. Agadez is the largest city in northern Niger.
2. A Cabaletta is form of aria within 19th century Italian opera. It usually refers specifically to the second half of a double aria: a faster or more rhythmic movement following a cantabile section.
3. Metatron is the name of an angel in Judaism and some branches of Christianity.
4. The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail and forming a circle.
5. The word Simulacrum is used to describe a representation of another thing, such as a statue or a painting; especially of a god. It also describes an image without the substance or qualities of the original.

Personnel

• Omar Rodriguez-Lopez – producer, guitar
• Cedric Bixler-Zavala – vocals
• Isaiah Ikey Owens – keyboards
• Juan Alderete – bass
• Thomas Pridgen – drums
• Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez – percussion
• Paul Hinojos – sound manipulation, guitar
• Adrián Terrazas-González – flute, tenor saxophone, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet