progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...

the Mars Volta The Mars Volta is an American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 2001. The band's only constant members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, producer, direction) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), whose partnership for ...

Gold Standard Laboratories Gold Standard Laboratories or GSL was an independent record label which was founded in 1993 in Boulder, Colorado by Sonny Kay. In 2000, it was relocated to San Diego, California, United States, and two years later, to Los Angeles. It was headqu ...

Universal Records Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch–American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

Omar Rodriguez-Lopez ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate o ...

Jon Theodore Jon Philip Theodore (born December 30, 1973) is an American drummer. He is best known as a former member of the Mars Volta and as the current drummer for Queens of the Stone Age. After contributing to Bright Eyes' 2020 album, ''Down in the We ...

Paul Hinojos Pablo J. Hinojos-Gonzalez (born July 17, 1975), also known as Paul Hinojos, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for At the Drive-In, and former touring member of The Mars Volta. He is also a former guitarist of Sparta. Biogr ...

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (dru ...

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

Omar Rodríguez-López Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López (born September 1, 1975) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has formed or played in several bands, including the Mars Volta, At the Drive-In, Antemasque, and Bosnian Rainbows. He was the bassist for the ...

Rich Costey Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...

At the Drive-In At the Drive-In was an American post-hardcore band from El Paso, Texas, formed in 1994. The band's most recent line-up consisted of Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals), Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, vocals), Paul Hinojos (bass), Tony Hajjar (dru ...

De-Loused in the Comatorium ''De-Loused in the Comatorium'' (commonly referred to as ''De-Loused'') is the debut studio album by American progressive rock band the Mars Volta, released on June 24, 2003, on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal Records. Based on a short st ...

Juan Alderete Juan Alderete de la Peña (born September 5, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the longtime bassist of Racer X, the Mars Volta and Marilyn Manson. Biography Alderete was born in Los Angeles, California the fourth of five children. ...

Paul Hinojos Pablo J. Hinojos-Gonzalez (born July 17, 1975), also known as Paul Hinojos, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for At the Drive-In, and former touring member of The Mars Volta. He is also a former guitarist of Sparta. Biogr ...

Jon Theodore Jon Philip Theodore (born December 30, 1973) is an American drummer. He is best known as a former member of the Mars Volta and as the current drummer for Queens of the Stone Age. After contributing to Bright Eyes' 2020 album, ''Down in the We ...

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

mar Mar, mar or MAR may refer to: Culture * Mar or Mor, an honorific in Syriac * Earl of Mar, an earldom in Scotland * MAA (singer) (born 1986), Japanese * Marathi language, by ISO 639-2 language code * March, as an abbreviation for the third mon ...

Cedric Bixler-Zavala Cedric Bixler-Zavala (born November 4, 1974) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta and the only constant member of the post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, for whic ...

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsJeremy Ward. The liner notes of The Mars Volta's previous album

Frances the Mute ''Frances the Mute'' is the second studio album by American progressive rock band The Mars Volta released in February 2005 on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal. Produced by guitarist and songwriter Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the album incorp ...

feature a credit for "Amputekthure" under the "published by" credits,

Cedric Bixler-Zavala Cedric Bixler-Zavala (born November 4, 1974) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta and the only constant member of the post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, for whic ...

's name under the ASCAP corporation. The word also appeared in the storybook accompanying ''

De-Loused in the Comatorium ''De-Loused in the Comatorium'' (commonly referred to as ''De-Loused'') is the debut studio album by American progressive rock band the Mars Volta, released on June 24, 2003, on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal Records. Based on a short st ...

''.

Artwork

Unlike The Mars Volta's first two albums, ''Amputechture'' contains no original artwork; the background of each page in the album booklet is a section of Jeff Jordan's "Big Mutant", itself inspired by an image of

Robert H. Goddard Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first liquid-fueled rocket. Goddard successfully laun ...

and his colleagues holding a rocket. In addition the CD art itself is "Dwarf Dancing", also by Jeff Jordan. The artwork was originally to be done by

Storm Thorgerson Storm Elvin Thorgerson (28 February 1944 – 18 April 2013) was an English graphic designer and music video director. He is best known for closely working with the group Pink Floyd through most of their career, and also created album or other ar ...

, who designed the covers for their first two albums, ''

De-Loused in the Comatorium ''De-Loused in the Comatorium'' (commonly referred to as ''De-Loused'') is the debut studio album by American progressive rock band the Mars Volta, released on June 24, 2003, on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal Records. Based on a short st ...

'' and ''

Frances the Mute ''Frances the Mute'' is the second studio album by American progressive rock band The Mars Volta released in February 2005 on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal. Produced by guitarist and songwriter Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, the album incorp ...

''. His cover featured a picture of a woman standing in a field warding off the presence of a giant floating skull decorated in a mirrorball fashion. "They had wanted it to threaten a nun," Thorgerson told ''

Classic Rock Classic rock is a US radio format which developed from the album-oriented rock (AOR) format in the early 1980s. In the United States, the classic rock format comprises rock music ranging generally from the mid-1960s through the mid 1990s, prima ...

''. "We preferred Romany, the wild gypsy girl who is telling the mirrored mask to 'sod off'." For reasons unknown, the band was unhappy with the outcome and used Jeff Jordan's art instead. Nonetheless, Thorgerson told ''Classic Rock'' in 2009 that "our last direct encounter with The Mars Volta – in the form of the bizarrely shaped Omar Rodriguez-López – was very friendly and touching."

Reception

The album has a score of 61 out of 100 from

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, indicating "generally favorable reviews"; ''Amputechture'' is the band's lowest scored studio album on the website. '' Slant Magazine'' gave the album a score of four stars out of five and said it "shows a band honing their eruptive sound and bringing it into tight focus for the first time, routinely pushing their music to the wall without ever risking a breach." Punknews.org gave it a score of three-and-a-half stars out of five and praised the band for "producing a solid 76 minutes of actual music, and perhaps their most dynamically diverse performance since ''De-Loused''. The album also sees a reduction in the dependence on concept, with Cedric's lyrics following more of a thematic arc than following a single storyline. The resulting lyrics enabled him to tackle a broader range of topics, though all filtered through the recurring theme of the effects of religion in the world." ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' gave it a B− and said, "Sequenced into one long, continuous piece of music, most of Amputechture's tracks arrive at impressive jazz-fusion pit stops that are all too brief." Other reviews are average, mixed or negative: '' Under the Radar'' gave it a score of six stars out of ten and said, "With each album, the band seems to grab for so much, reaching further and further into the musical abyss, and still managing to craft songs that boggle the mind and dazzle the ears. The only question is whether all this is just too academic." ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'' gave it a score of three stars out of five and said, "It initially seems as if the moments of inspiration between self-indulgences are becoming scarcer. A bracing middle section rescues ''Amputechture''." '' Spin'' gave it a score of six out of ten and said, "As over the top as all this can be, ''Amputechture'' has little of the thrash influence that's made modern prog so deadening, and the impenetrable lyrics... are easily overlooked." '' Billboard'' gave it an average review and said it "isn't for casual listening, so those checking out the Mars Volta for the first time should take it slow to prevent a sonic hangover." ''

Alternative Press Alternative press may refer to: Individual publications * ''Alternative Press'' (magazine), an American music magazine Alternative journalism * Alternative media ** Alternative media (U.S. political left) ** Alternative media (U.S. political ri ...

'' gave the album two-and-a-half stars out of five and said that all the album did was to "test patience".

Tiny Mix Tapes ''Tiny Mix Tapes'' (also ''TMT'' or ''tinymixtapes'') is an online music and film webzine that focuses primarily on new music and related news. In addition to its reviews, it is noted for its subversive, political, and sometimes surreal news, ...

also gave it two-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "a bumpy ride, registering somewhere between 'Frances the Mute''and debut full-length ''De-Loused in the Comatorium''." ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' gave it a mixed review and said it "highlights its predecessor's brilliance rather than asserting its own." '' Q'' gave it two stars out of five and said that the album "sounds like an explosion in a guitar shop." ''Prefix Magazine'' gave it a mixed review and said, "It's sad to see a band that touts itself as experimental sounding like a watered-down, unfocused version of its younger self." ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' also gave it two stars out of five and said it was full of "tiring, spastic jazzy post-punk that smacks of musical masturbation". ''

The Austin Chronicle ''The Austin Chronicle'' is an alternative weekly newspaper published every Thursday in Austin, Texas, United States. The paper is distributed through free news-stands, often at local eateries or coffee houses frequented by its targeted demogr ...

'' likewise gave it two stars out of five and said it was "more a series of events than a complete experience. It's as though the Mars Volta is simply seeing what they can get away with." Some band members have noted that the album wasn't as well-received as their earlier ones. In an interview with '' Geek Monthly'', Cedrix Bixler-Zavala called ''Amputechture'' the band's "most misunderstood record." He continued, "But if we had children and they were our records, AMP would be our autistic child. We're very overprotective of it because it doesn't function in the real world but it does other things that most humans can't do. That's why we really still love it because it's elicited such a strong reaction in the fans."GEEK magazine interview
/ref>

Track listing

All lyrics written by

Cedric Bixler-Zavala Cedric Bixler-Zavala (born November 4, 1974) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta and the only constant member of the post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, for whic ...

, all music composed by

Omar Rodríguez-López Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López (born September 1, 1975) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has formed or played in several bands, including the Mars Volta, At the Drive-In, Antemasque, and Bosnian Rainbows. He was the bassist for the ...

.

Notes

#"Vicarious

Atonement Atonement (also atoning, to atone) is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some other ...

" is the theory that the atonement of

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

was legal in God's eyes and that Jesus died in the place of the humans that sinned. #"

Tetragrammaton The Tetragrammaton (; ), or Tetragram, is the four-letter Hebrew theonym (transliterated as YHWH), the name of God in the Hebrew Bible. The four letters, written and read from right to left (in Hebrew), are ''yodh'', '' he'', '' waw'', and ...

" is a reference to the four-letter Hebrew name יהוה (often rendered JHWH or YHWH in English) for the God of Judaism #" Vermicide" is any substance used to kill worms, especially those in the intestines, or the act of killing worms. #"Meccamputechture" is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsMecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

'' (the holiest city in the Islamic faith), '' amputate'', ''

technology Technology is the application of knowledge to reach practical goals in a specifiable and Reproducibility, reproducible way. The word ''technology'' may also mean the product of such an endeavor. The use of technology is widely prevalent in me ...

'', and ''

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

''. #"Asilos Magdalena" is Spanish for

Magdalene asylum Magdalene asylums, also known as Magdalene laundries, were initially Protestant but later mostly Roman Catholic institutions that operated from the 18th to the late 20th centuries, ostensibly to house "fallen women". The term referred to femal ...

s. #A "

Baphomet Baphomet is a deity allegedly worshipped by the Knights Templar. that subsequently became incorporated into various occult and Western esoteric traditions. The name ''Baphomet'' appeared in trial transcripts for the Inquisition of the Knights ...

" is an object used for idolizing, also confused with popular representations of Satan. #"El Ciervo Vulnerado" is Spanish for 'The Wounded Deer'. In Spanish 'ciervo' is the word for 'deer', although it is pronounced in the same way as 'siervo'. In the

Reina-Valera The Reina–Valera is a Spanish translation of the Bible originally published in 1602 untilAnon. ''¡Refrescante y más brillante que nunca!'' Sociedades Bíblicas Unidas (1995) p.9 United Bible Societies in 1909 revised the earlier translation pr ...

1960 Edition of the Holy Bible,

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label= Hebrew/ Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religiou ...

is referred to as 'El Siervo que fue vulnerado' or the 'Servant who was wounded'.

Singles

*" Viscera Eyes" (2006) *"Vicarious Atonement" (Promo only) (2006)

Personnel

The Mars Volta Group

*

Omar Rodríguez-López Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López (born September 1, 1975) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has formed or played in several bands, including the Mars Volta, At the Drive-In, Antemasque, and Bosnian Rainbows. He was the bassist for the ...

– guitars, bass ("Meccamputechture" verses), sitar ("El Ciervo Vulnerado"), direction *

Cedric Bixler-Zavala Cedric Bixler-Zavala (born November 4, 1974) is an American singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta and the only constant member of the post-hardcore group At the Drive-In, for whic ...

– vocals,

tanpura The tanpura (), also referred to as tambura and tanpuri, is a long-necked plucked string instrument, originating in India, found in various forms in Indian music. It does not play melody, but rather supports and sustains the melody of an ...

("El Ciervo Vulnerado") *

Juan Alderete Juan Alderete de la Peña (born September 5, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the longtime bassist of Racer X, the Mars Volta and Marilyn Manson. Biography Alderete was born in Los Angeles, California the fourth of five children. ...

– bass guitar *

Jon Theodore Jon Philip Theodore (born December 30, 1973) is an American drummer. He is best known as a former member of the Mars Volta and as the current drummer for Queens of the Stone Age. After contributing to Bright Eyes' 2020 album, ''Down in the We ...

– drums * Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez – percussion, keyboards, synthesizers, drums ("Meccamputechture" verses) *

Isaiah "Ikey" Owens Randolph Isaiah "Ikey" Owens (December 1, 1974 – October 14, 2014) was an American keyboardist known for his work with The Mars Volta, Jack White and an array of bands from the Long Beach music scene. Biography He notably performed as a m ...

– keyboards *

Adrián Terrazas-González Adrián Terrazas-González is a Mexican multi-instrumentalist who plays flute, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, and percussion. He was a member of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta from 2005 to 2008. Discography As leader *''Cu Taan'' ...

– flute, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, percussion *

John Frusciante John Anthony Frusciante (; born March 5, 1970) is an American musician, best known as the guitarist for the Red Hot Chili Peppers across three stints since 1988. He has released 11 solo albums and 7 EPs, ranging in style from acoustic guitar to e ...

– rhythm guitar, lead guitar *

Paul Hinojos Pablo J. Hinojos-Gonzalez (born July 17, 1975), also known as Paul Hinojos, is an American musician best known as the bass guitarist for At the Drive-In, and former touring member of The Mars Volta. He is also a former guitarist of Sparta. Biogr ...

– sound manipulation

Additional musicians

* Sara Christina Gross – saxophone on "Meccamputechture"

Recording personnel

*

Omar Rodríguez-López Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López (born September 1, 1975) is an American guitarist and songwriter. He has formed or played in several bands, including the Mars Volta, At the Drive-In, Antemasque, and Bosnian Rainbows. He was the bassist for the ...

– producer *Jonathon Debaun – engineer *Robert Carranza – engineer *Paul Fig – engineer *

Rich Costey Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...

– mixing *Pablo Arraya – mixing assistant *Vlado Meller – mastering

Artwork

* Jeff Jordan – artwork *Sonny Kay – layout

Charts

References

External links

* – From

The Henry Rollins Show ''The Henry Rollins Show'' was a weekly talk show hosted by musician Henry Rollins on the Independent Film Channel (IFC). The show featured Rollins' monologues, interviews with celebrities and uncensored musical performances. The show was cancele ...

, discussing the album
Big Mutant by Jeff Jordan
– Full version of the cover art
Amputechture Lyrics
– At The Comatorium Forum
Omar Rodriguez Official Website
* {{Authority control The Mars Volta albums 2006 albums Gold Standard Laboratories albums Universal Records albums Concept albums Progressive rock albums by American artists Albums produced by Omar Rodríguez-López

Overview

Production

Themes

Artwork

Reception

Track listing

Notes

Singles

Personnel

The Mars Volta Group

Additional musicians

Recording personnel

Artwork

Charts

References

External links