De Loused in the Comatorium

Background and recording

Two songs from the album, "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" and "Cicatriz ESP," first appeared in 2001 as the band's very first demo recordings with bassist Eva Gardner and drummer Blake Fleming; notably, the early version of "Cicatriz ESP" (then known as "Cicatrix") was slower and much shorter (4 minutes) than the album one (at 12 minutes being the longest track on the album).

The album incorporates influences from heavy metal, psychedelic rock, Latin jazz, punk rock and blues rock.

Reception

De-Loused became, both critically and commercially, the band's biggest hit, eventually selling in excess of 500,000 copies despite limited promotion, and was featured on several critics' "Best of the Year" lists. The album was ranked number 55 on the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar albums of all time. "Drunkship of Lanterns" was named the 91st best guitar song of all-time by Rolling Stone.

As of June 2016, the album had a score of 82 out of 100 from Metacritic based on "universal acclaim". Alternative Press gave the album a perfect score of all five stars and said it "takes multiple listens to absorb, and, even then, you're probably not going to have a clue to what Bixler's raving about." Yahoo! Music UK gave it a score of eight stars out of ten and said it was "not an album to listen to casually. It insists on taking over your life for an hour, demands a level of concentration rare in rock, amply repays multiple plays." Under the Radar gave the album eight stars out of ten and said that the band "has created the antithesis of ATDI, leaving behind any formula or typicality. What they kept was the fire, the fury, and the passion." Drowned in Sound gave it a score of eight out of ten and called it "truly exquisite and well worth the wait." Playlouder gave it a score of four stars out of five and said, "There are moments of prog rock, jazz fusion and freakydelia in this rush of ideas and if that sounds awful then don't be put off. Instead of the shambolic mess that this kinda influence normally entails Mars Volta have come strictly disciplined." Uncut gave it four stars out of five and said: "Imagine a jam session between King Crimson, Fugazi and '70s Miles. Now imagine it working. That's the Mars Volta." Blender also gave it four stars and said it "Roars like Led Zeppelin, churns like King Crimson and throbs like early Santana." Tiny Mix Tapes likewise gave it a score of four out of five and called it "a very strong debut album for the Mars Volta." Ink 19 Magazine also gave it a favorable review and said it was "definitely worth checking out, but make sure to keep an open mind and check any preconceived notions at the door."

There were fewer reviews that were mixed: Pitchfork Media gave it a score of 4.9 out of ten and said it "just isn't fun." Neumu.net gave it four stars out of ten and called it "a sprawling mess".

In 2014, readers of Rhythm voted it the ninth-greatest drumming album in the history of progressive rock. The album was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. The album was included as number 25 on Rolling Stone's list of "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time".

Track listing

All lyrics written by Cedric Bixler-Zavala with the help of Jeremy Michael Ward; all music composed by Omar Rodríguez-López, except where noted.

"Son et lumière" is French for "Sound and Light". ESP stands for "Ectopic Shapeshifting Penance-propulsion", as opposed to the traditional "Extrasensory Perception". "Tira me a las arañas" is slightly misspelled Spanish for "Throw Me to the Spiders" (the correct spelling is "Tírame a las arañas"). "Cicatriz" is Spanish and Portuguese for "Scar". "This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed" is a play on the warning frequently found on guitar amplifiers and other electrical equipment, "This Apparatus Must Be Earthed".

Personnel

The following people contributed to De-Loused in the Comatorium:

Band

Additional musicians

Recording personnel

Artwork

Singles