#8: The Mars Volta – Frances The Mute (2005)
Genre: Progressive/Experimental RockHere we are with yet another The Mars Volta album, this time around, with probably the most controversial album of theirs. It is said by some critics to be one of the sloppiest albums in their career. Well, this album has tons of what people would call ‘overly long’ transitions, but in general, just very long songs that seem long for the sake of it. I personally like to think that this craziness was all intended, of course I’m kinda biased, but I think the range of talent that each individual member in TMV possessed is immeasurable; the musicianship in this band is undeniable. Whether you like the music or not, is another story. I think with Frances The Mute it stretches that big or hit factor about the band even more out of proportion, it’s not even close to their craziest of works from what I’ve heard, but this is one of the albums where I felt they wanted to be taken seriously more than anything. A creative concept with likeable characters, Cedric
(who is a fucking beast 
) at times has sung in Spanish, and it always makes me happy when he does, but on this album it’s all the more enjoyable. The weirdness of this album does not lie in the instruments, it’s the odd vibe that all the transitions deliver, like some psychedelic trip. Even though Cedric is one hell of a singer, yet an in my opinion acquired taste, The Mars Volta is usually best when it comes down to those extended instrumental jams. This album however, it’s balanced out a lot more. I’ve seen the worst review on the internet about this album, and honestly it kinda frightened me to listen to the album, but I love it to bits now, and nothing in the world could convince me otherwise. A killer TMV album, my personal favorite (I only know about half their discography, but still), it’s a shame that they’re no longer together, but I’ll surely check out their other stuff when I have the time.
This album only has 5 songs (unless you count the title-track that is on the Japanese bonus DVD), so the only song not mentioned is
Miranda That Ghost Just Isn’t Holy Anymore, which honestly, would still be worth checking out, but the following have my priority:
Favorite song: L’Via L‘Viaquez: Too often, my idiot friends assume that I’m crazy about reggaeton and that kinda stuff just because I’m Spanish. Well, when I first heard this song I was just stunned by how crazy it was, starting off with a killer groovy guitar solo, vocals are super fun to sing along to, the tango section is awesome. Yea, my favorite TMV song, easily.
Honorable mentions:Cassandra Gemini: Most of the time I like to just do some productive stuff that doesn’t require too much attention when I listen to this 32 minute epic. It has the amazing epic-closer vibe, great experimental jams, but alternates between those and some very relaxing/psychedelic background music.
The Widow: Out of album context, I like this one better than Cassandra, it’s one of the most accessible TMV songs probably, and something I would probably not even be surprised with to hear on a rock radio or something. I decided to link the music video, since the extended outro doesn’t really offer anything out of the context of the album.
Cygnus.. Vismund Cygnus: This is exactly how you should expect a TMV album to begin, utter chaos. This is the song Cedric really shines on, in terms of energy, he is literally all over the place.
#7: Metallica – Ride The Lightning (1984)
Genre: Heavy Metal/ThrashmetalMan, actually every Metallica album brings back memories, this one has less of a nostalgia factor than Master of Puppets, this one’s a little older and has more of that thrash sound that they had during their debut, MoP being more melodic, also a bit more memorable IMO, but this one still stands out as the better album, but why?
The lows on this album are better, and while Escape and Trapped Under Ice have gotten a lot of shit, I think they’re great tracks. The highs are phenomenal. Although I strongly believe that for the die-hard prog fans who are not too familiar with Metallica, this can be one of the toughest albums to digest, very thrashy vocals. This album has some pretty straightforward tracks on it, which are all pretty different on its own, there’s the heavy ass For Whom the Bell Tolls, the softer Escape and the fast-paced thrash metal tune Trapped Under Ice. From soaring guitar solos to balls-to-the-wall riffs, I can’t emphasize how great Ride the Lightning is when it comes to the guitar work. Bass is something that I tend to overlook way too often, but with this album, no way. There’s the simple-yet-awesome bass in the main title-track riff, but can we just all agree on the fact that the Cliff’s bass work on Call of Ktulu was out of this world? I mean it’s not the most complex shit ever, but this is the most unique use of a bass in heavy metal I’ve heard to this day. Overall, this album was a pretty safe output from where they were at after Kill ‘Em All, as it had some similarities, while doing nothing new that seemed out of the ordinary, the new things they did try were rewarding to say the least. This record is a guaranteed killer start to finish. I do think this album gets overshadowed by Puppets a bit, but maybe that’s just me. Ride the Lightning for me, is the clear superior album in that regard.
Favorite song: Fade to Black: This song has everything, good mellow beginning switching back and forth between verses and what I’d say is the closest they get to a chorus (without vocals? apparently), but the second half of the song is what makes this from a top 20 Metallica song into the absolute favorite: catchy riff, killer guitar solo while fading out. It’s like a better version of One.
Honorable mentions:The Call of Ktulu: If I wasn’t sure about it before, this album ranking has made me entirely sure, this is the best Metallica instrumental, and is the closer to this amazing album. Like I said, killer basslines, great ominous guitar intro (Stream of Consciousness says hi)
For Whom the Bell Tolls: Very heavy little song, with lots of creative riffs and powerful James performance.
Creeping Death: I LOVED playing this on guitar hero, oh well. This song has some of the most memorable guitar leads, as well as some very heavy chant-able vocal lines. My favorite moment of this song is that
heavy instrumental breakdown, just a very simple, headbanging riff.
Merry Christmas to all! Stay tuned.
Topic: ToN's Top 50 Albums! #1: Just Push Play (Read 27928 times)
