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The Bedlam in Goliath

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The Bedlam in Goliath is the fourth full-length studio album by American progressive rock band The Mars Volta, scheduled for release on January 29, 2008 through Universal Motown Records. Produced by guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez with engineer Robert Carranza, the album's creation process was subject to "bad luck controversy" after the band's bizarre experience with an ouija that Rodriguez-Lopez bought as a gift for Cedric Bixler-Zavala. "Wax Simulacra" was released on November 19, 2007 as the album's first single, coupled with a cover version of "Pulled to Bits", originally by Siouxsie & the Banshees. Vinyl editions of the album include an ouija inside the gatefold, claimed to be the band's own take on the board they previously owned.

Having previously contributed the artwork to the 2006 release of Amputechture, Jeff Jordan was again brought in to handle the illustrations for the album, creating 11 original paintings to coincide with the theme of The Bedlam in Goliath, as well as including a piece from his own gallery.[1]

The album was leaked online via promo CDs on January 16th.

Overview

Background

On a trip in Jerusalem, Rodriguez-Lopez purchased an archaic ouija-type talking board at a curio shop as a gift for Bixler-Zavala. They would return to their tour bus after shows to play with it during their 2006 tour with the Red Hot Chili Peppers, as it quickly became the band's post-show ritual.[2] Dubbed "The Soothsayer", the board revealed stories, gave names and made demands, as the band was contacted by three different people who appeared in the form of one, whom was then referred to as "Goliath". The more the band had interacted with "The Soothsayer", otherworldly coincidences began plaguing the band's experience writing and recording The Bedlam in Goliath: Deantoni Parks—their current drummer at the time—had quit mid-tour and left the band with financial troubles; Bixler-Zavala wound up needing surgery performed on his foot due to the shoes he had been wearing, forcing him to relearn how to walk post-surgery; audio tracks sporadically and literally disappeared off the screens; Rodriguez-Lopez's home studio flooded and had been subject to multiple power outages; and the album's original engineer had gone through a nervous breakdown, leaving behind all previous work with no notes as to where anything was.[3] Rodriguez-Lopez was nearly on the brink of starting over from scratch, but instead kept on with the recruitment of Robert Carranza as the replacement engineer, along with assistance from Lars Stalfors and Isaiah Abolin. Midway through the recording sessions, Rodriguez-Lopez buried "The Soothsayer" as an attempt to undo the curse and halt the unforeseen tragedies, who ended the ordeal by swearing never to give away the whereabouts of its burial, and also asking the band not to speak of it again during the remainder of the album's production.[2]

Recording process

Recorded and mixed at Ocean Way Studios in Hollywood and Rodriguez-Lopez's home studio in Brooklyn, New York, song material for The Bedlam in Goliath dates back to April 2006 when demos were first written.[4] Without a stable studio drummer after the three consecutive losses of Jon Theodore, Blake Fleming and Deantoni Parks in a single year, the band was introduced to the 24-year-old Thomas Pridgen, whose youthful presence—as described by Bixler-Zavala—had given The Mars Volta new life.[5] Rodriguez-Lopez worked with Rich Costey to finish the album in a three-week stretch, assisted by Shawn Michael Sullivan and Claudius Mittendorfer as editors.[3]

In an interview, Carranza described the recording process for The Bedlam in Goliath stating that no more than three takes an hour were recorded, as a way to soak in what was recorded and to hear the differences, which in turn improved the general mood and atmosphere of the album's creation. Elaborating on the method, Carranza stated that "when Van Gogh was around he wasn't just painting, painting, painting. I'm sure he took a step back once in a while. You should do the same when you're recording."[6]

Themes

Bixler-Zavala incorporated themes and names into the lyrics that were taken from messages given by "The Soothsayer", also including excerpts from poems that were found attached to the ouija, describing a love triangle between a woman, her daughter and a man. Each song reinterprets the relationship in some shape or form, and as a good luck charm to counteract the cryptic themes, Bixler-Zavala incorporated elements of the Afro-Caribbean religious tradition Santería into the lyrics as a "protective skin" to protect the band.[2]

The album ultimately serves as an attempt to artistically reverse their perceived bad luck by "setting traps" for the listeners to use as a way to undo what "The Soothsayer" had brought upon the band. To aid the concept, vinyl editions of the album contain the band's own version of the ouija inside the gatefold.[2]

Promotion

USB flash drive

The album will be alternatively released on a limited USB flash drive that's designed to resemble a piece of an Ouija board, possibly to coincide with the vinyl release of the album. While primarily containing The Bedlam in Goliath in its entirety, the flash drive will unlock a variety of bonus material on the 29th of each month throughout 2008. So far, the future content is confirmed to include webisodes, concert footage, limited edition wallpaper, b-sides and unreleased tracks.

Goliath: The Soothsayer

Based on the events that took place during the creation of The Bedlam in Goliath, the online game "Goliath: The Soothsayer" was released via Amazon through January 2–29, and later made publicly available at Newgrounds on January 29, 2008. Developed by Leffler Web Design, the game is described as a horror/supernatural "point 'n' click".[7]

File:Tbig flyer.jpg
New Years Eve promo flyer

New Years Eve show and January 2008 club tour

A ticket presale was announced on the band's website for a New Years Eve show at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, California, promoted with flyers that featured exclusive The Bedlam in Goliath artwork illustrated by Jeff Jordan. The band would then announce a following January club tour in 2008 where they would then debut new material from the album for the first time prior to its release.[8]

Webisodes

Four webisodes were posted on The Mars Volta's official website, depicting the band in various and sometimes humorous situations.[9]

  • "Wax Simulacra" contains live footage of the band performing on their Australian 2007 Tour.
  • "Aberinkula" is based around the band performing surgery on a person and finding odd objects inside of the body.
  • "Goliath" consists of the band performing on obscure instruments in the middle of a street.
  • "Askepios" is made up of footage of a celebration party that takes place in front of a green screen.

Another webisode for "Ilyena" was posted at Dailymotion, showing footage of the band in a classroom with Rodriguez-Lopez introducing Adrián Terrazas-González, who appears a police officer to lecture the class. The last half of the video shows everyone on a rooftop watching as graffiti artist Grey and Thomas Pridgen spray paint their tags on a wall.[10]

Cover artwork puzzle

A scrambled picture puzzle was put up on the official website featuring the front cover artwork for The Bedlam in Goliath. If solved, a free MP3 download of The Mars Volta performing a cover version of "Back Against the Wall" by the Circle Jerks is available.[11]

Track listing

  1. "Aberinkula" – 5:47
  2. "Metatron" – 8:13
  3. "Ilyena" – 5:38
  4. "Wax Simulacra" – 2:41
  5. "Goliath" – 7:17
  6. "Tourniquet Man" – 2:40
  7. "Cavalettas" – 9:35
  8. "Agadez" – 6:45
  9. "Askepios" – 6:30
  10. "Ouroboros" – 6:38
  11. "Soothsayer" – 9:10
  12. "Conjugal Burns" – 6:36

Bonus tracks and b-sides

Notes

  • An aberinkula is a special kind of drum used in Nigeria.
  • Metatron is the name of an angel in Judaism and some branches of Christianity.
  • 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. Simulacra is simply the plural form of the word.
  • Goliath is a Philistine warrior mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. He is famous for his battle in the 11th century BC that he lost against David, the young Israelite boy who had already been chosen by God and anointed by Samuel to become the King of Israel.
  • Agadez is the largest city in northern Niger.
  • The Ouroboros is an ancient symbol depicting a serpent or dragon swallowing its own tail and forming a circle.
  • A soothsayer is a person who claims to speak sooth: specifically one who predicts the future based upon personal, political, spiritual, or religious beliefs rather than scientific facts.
  • Ilyena is a reference to Ilyena Vasilievna Mironov, which is the birth name of actress Helen Mirren.

Personnel

References

  1. ^ "Album Preview: The Mars Volta - The Bedlam In Goliath - The Apparatus". grindingtheapparatus.net. December 13, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b c d "Mars Volta's Next Album 'Did Not Want To Be Born' - News Story". mtv.com. November 5, 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "MTV News" ignored (help); Text "Music, Celebrity, Artist News" ignored (help)
  3. ^ a b "The Mars Volta's Descent into Bedlam: A Rhapsody in Three Parts". themarsvolta.com. October 28 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ "Revolver - The Comatorium Community". thecomatorium.com. December 2 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ "Interview with Cedric in Swedish magazine Groove - The Comatorium Community". thecomatorium.com. December 14 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "Robert Carranza". eqmag.com. August 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Goliath The Soothsayer". Newgrounds. December 18 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "The Mars Volta To Unleash 'Bedlam' On January Tour". Ultimate Guitar Archive. December 12 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Text "News @ Ultimate-Guitar.Com" ignored (help)
  9. ^ "The Mars Volta : Bedlam in Goliath". thecomatorium.com. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "Video WEBISODE 4 - Goliath - Mars, volta, rock, bedlam, podcast - Dailymotion Share Your Videos". Dailymotion. December 11 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "The Mars Volta : Puzzle". thecomatorium.com. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  12. ^ a b c "Bedlam In Goliath(DVD付き, デラックスエディション)【CD】-Mars Volta/音楽/HMV". hmv.co.jp. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  13. ^ "BEDLAM IN GOLIATH (BONUS TRACK) (MARS VOLTA): Music: Herald Sun HiT". heraldsunhit.com.au. 2007. Retrieved 2007-12-19. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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