Mars Attacks... Again - The Mars Volta

If fun is what guides the consistently progressive back catalogue, then The Mars Volta are the most fun band on the planet. After At the Drive-In destroyed the competition with the untouchable 2000 'Relationship of Command' record, the band began to show cracks. Omar and Cedric hoped to experiment with their sound while Jim Ward guitarist and co-founder, bassist Paul Hinojos and drummer Tony were happy to stay on path. The ‘indefinite hiatus’ was called in 2001 and The Mars Volta was born from a previous side project DeFacto, while the other members formed now defunct Sparta.

The Mars Volta haven’t held back either, releasing five albums in near enough five years. It would be more too, if they didn’t have record label bureaucracy to contend with. All epic concoctions on their own, but together an arsenal of manic punked up rock and roll. Octahedron brings a slower pace to the martian mix. Making live experiences all the more eclectic.

Unfortunately for us, the festival season got in the way. The Mars Volta are only touring Octahedron on a small scale, for now anyway, with a date at Somerset House in July. “We’ll be back. This is just the beginning,” hints Omar.

And so on to the future. The all important reunion that so many want and so few actually believe will happen, until recent reconciliation rumours surfaced, that is. Cedric puts the record straight. “All it was is that we took time to bury the hatchet with the other members. There had been a lot of shit talk, at least on my behalf, and I had stuff that I wanted to say. I wanted to be friends with the guys again.”

This journalist’s heart sinks. “We’re just trying to see if we can still get along,” continues Cedric. The heart fizzes a little. A glimmer of hope appears. And are you ‘getting along’? “So far so good. It couldn’t happen any time soon because we have so much Mars Volta material.” The heart is now pounding. There is light and the end of the dark At the Drive-In tunnel. And we’re happy with that glorious maybe.

“Do you look forward to getting back together with your first boyfriend?” Omar enquires. If he made music like At the Drive-In, then yes you’re damn right I would. “We’re smart enough to never say never as you don’t know how life is going to happen. It’s like your first girlfriend, you learned amazing things together, but do you really want to open that can of worms?” Again, if those worms wrote 'One Armed Scissor' I’d probably give them another shot.

“We want to be peaceful with those people because we were in a band for seven years together,” offers Omar. “We’re in our thirties now, we don’t want to be angry about something that happened ten years ago.”

“The thing with At the Drive In was the excitement of the first time. Like the first girlfriend or sexual experience, you can never recreate that moment,” reminisces Omar. “You can have other amazing highs and learn all sort of things, but there is nothing like the first time when you don’t know what the fuck is going on. There’s nothing like the first time coming to Europe, nothing like the first time being on tour, or putting out a record. The first time smoking crack.” 

Putting the At the drive in dream return aside, The Mars Volta have more than filled the rock void – they have brought more originality, attitude and talent than one band deserves, let alone two, and numerous side projects. It’s not just when would the duo themselves would have time for an At the Drive-In return, it’s when would we?