Dia de la Volta

Pitchfork: 3.5/10

None of this is surprsing: It's the Mars Volta's third proper album and a blizzard of onanism is expected-- to quite a few people, it'll be highly anticipated. Hell, it even had me interested: This is ex-At the Drive In bassist Paul Hinojos' first studio stint with the band after he started touring with them in 2005. Maybe he'd turn back the clock and force his comrades to look in the mirror and see how far they've strayed off course? Sadly not. Which reminds me: Bixler-Zavala and Volta keyboardist Ikey Owens guest on Mastodon's new Blood Mountain album. Maybe they'll brainwash Atlanta's finest metal band into this kinda bullshit so the world can celebrate the crushing loss of two great bands together.

Rolling Stone: 3.5/5

Just a few years ago, it was inconceivable that one of the best American rock bands would make its name on updating prog-rock. But then, what distinguishes most of the best rock bands from the ordinary ones is fearlessness, and the Mars Volta have no shortage of that.

Prefixmag.com: 2/5:

It's sad to see a band that touts itself as experimental sounding like a watered-down, unfocused version of its younger self. Is the band's signature style, showcased so brilliantly on its debut, all the Mars Volta is capable of? Has the artistic freedom earned by De-Loused's success ensnared it in a world of sycophants and blind loyalists, creating the unjustifiable hubris its shown since? With the band's massive imagination, intelligence and musical talent, it's difficult to witness self-indulgence smothering its progress. If it is ever to fully realize its potential, the Mars Volta needs the kind of snap-out-of-it slap that only a strong outside influence can provide. Anybody know Rick Rubin's phone number?

Los Angeles Times: 3/4

Visceral power and mournful, disquieting atmosphere are the heart of the Mars Volta experience. Singer Cedric Bixler Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez have set themselves up as popularity-be-damned visionaries, pursuing their muse into a resurgent blend of progressive rock and jazz fusion.

The Observer: 5/5

The Mars Volta's last (live) album posited a grim future in which the only justification for listening to one of their records all the way through would be that hoary old mountaineers' excuse - 'because it was there'. But this early-Roxy-Music-meets-late Led-Zep-style third studio album finds the band stepping back from total impenetrability with a pithy, eight-song, 76-minute set, guaranteed to restore the faith of those whose confidence in this grand enterprise was waning.

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