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''De-Loused in the Comatorium'' (commonly referred to as ''De-Loused'') is the debut
studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
by American
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. Init ...
band the Mars Volta, released on June 24, 2003, on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal Records. Based on a short story written by lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and sound manipulation artist Jeremy Ward, the
concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...
is an hour-long tale of Cerpin Taxt, a man who enters a week-long
coma A coma is a deep state of prolonged unconsciousness in which a person cannot be awakened, fails to respond normally to painful stimuli, light, or sound, lacks a normal wake-sleep cycle and does not initiate voluntary actions. Coma patients exhi ...
after overdosing on a mixture of
morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
and rat poison. The story of Cerpin Taxt alludes to the death of
El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...
artist—and Bixler-Zavala's friend—Julio Venegas (1972–1996). Co-produced by Rick Rubin and guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, it is the only studio album to feature founding member Jeremy Ward, who was found dead in an apparent
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
overdose one month before the album was released. Following the departure of Eva Gardner who had appeared on the band's early demos and EP, Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist
Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
performed on ''De-Loused''. The music contained in ''De-Loused'' is distinguished by its enigmatic lyrics,
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...
rhythms, and Rodríguez-López's frenetic guitar
riff A riff is a repeated chord progression or refrain in music (also known as an ostinato figure in classical music); it is a pattern, or melody, often played by the rhythm section instruments or solo instrument, that forms the basis or accompani ...
s, which are often strongly dissonant. The title of the album is taken from the lyrics of the song "Eunuch Provocateur" on the band's previous release, ''
Tremulant __NOTOC__ A tremulant (from Latin: ''tremulus'', "trembling"; french: tremblant, it, tremolo, es, temblor) is a device on a pipe organ which varies the wind supply to the pipes of one or more divisions (or, in some cases, the whole organ). Thi ...
'' (meanwhile, "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" contains the title of ''Tremulant''). The cover artwork is by Storm Thorgerson.


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 is a
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. Init ...
and
art rock Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an art ...
album that also incorporates influences from psychedelia, Latin jazz, heavy metal, punk rock and
blues rock Blues rock is a fusion music genre that combines elements of blues and rock music. It is mostly an electric ensemble-style music with instrumentation similar to electric blues and rock (electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and drums, sometimes w ...
.


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 ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''. As of February 2007 it had sold 434,000 copies in the United States. As of June 2016, the album had a score of 82 out of 100 from
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, 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 arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
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 Yahoo! Music was a brand under which Yahoo! provided a variety of music services, including Internet radio, music videos, news, artist information, and original programming. Previously, users with Yahoo! accounts could gain access to hundreds ...
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 ''Drowned in Sound'', sometimes abbreviated to ''DiS'', is a UK-based music webzine financed by artist management company Silentway. Founded by editor Sean Adams, the site features reviews, news, interviews, and discussion forums. History ''D ...
'' 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 ''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, a ...
'' 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." In 2014, readers of ''
Rhythm Rhythm (from Greek , ''rhythmos'', "any regular recurring motion, symmetry") generally means a " movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions". This general meaning of regular recu ...
'' 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 ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...
''. The album was included as number 25 on ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first kno ...
''s list of "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time".


Track listing


Notes

* "Son et lumière" is
French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...
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

* Cedric Bixler-Zavala – vocals * Omar Rodríguez-López – guitar, bass ("Ambuletz") * Jon Theodore – drums * Isaiah "Ikey" Owens – keyboards *
Flea Flea, the common name for the order Siphonaptera, includes 2,500 species of small flightless insects that live as external parasites of mammals and birds. Fleas live by ingesting the blood of their hosts. Adult fleas grow to about long, a ...
 – bass (except "Televators" and "Ambuletz") * Jeremy Ward – effects and sound manipulation


Additional musicians

*Lenny Castro – percussion * John Frusciante – additional guitar and synthesizer treatment ("Cicatriz ESP") * Justin Meldal-Johnsen – stand-up bass ("Televators")


Recording personnel

* Rick Rubin – producer * Omar Rodríguez-López – producer *Dave Schiffman – recording * Andrew Scheps – additional recording *Phillip Groussard – assistant engineer, recording engineer ("Ambuletz") *Darren Mora – assistant 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 commun ...
 – mixing engineer *
Jason Lader Jason Lader is an American record producer, audio engineer, and mixer from New York. He is also known for playing bass guitar, keyboards, piano, guitar, and as a programmer. He was a member of the band Furslide, and has since worked with Howard B ...
 – mixing engineer ("Ambuletz") *Lindsay Chase – album production coordination *Vlado Meller – mastering *Pete Lyman – mastering (vinyl) *Steve Kadison – mastering assistance


Artwork

* Storm Thorgerson – cover design, art direction *Peter Curzon – cover design, graphics *Rupert Truman – photography *Dan Abbott – illustrations


Singles

*"
Inertiatic ESP ''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 ...
" (2003) *"
Televators ''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 ...
" (2003)


Charts


Certifications


References


External links


Mix Online article
- Technical report/interview on the making of ''De-Loused in the Comatorium''. * {{DEFAULTSORT:De-Loused in the Comatorium Albums produced by Rick Rubin The Mars Volta albums 2003 debut albums Concept albums Albums with cover art by Storm Thorgerson Gold Standard Laboratories albums Albums produced by Omar Rodríguez-López Universal Records albums Albums recorded at The Mansion (recording studio)