"Cotopaxi" is a song from The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta

The Mars Volta is a Grammy award winning American progressive rock band from El Paso, Texas. Founded in 2001 by guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López and vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, the band incorporates various influences including progressive rock, krautrock, jazz fusion, Latin American music, and...

's fifth studio album Octahedron

Octahedron (album)

Octahedron is the fifth full-length studio album by American progressive rock band The Mars Volta, released on June 23, 2009. The album was released by Warner Bros. Records in North America and Mercury Records worldwide...

. It was released as the first single in Europe while "Since We've Been Wrong

Since We've Been Wrong

"Since We've Been Wrong" is a single from The Mars Volta's fifth studio album, Octahedron. It was released in June 2009 as the first single in North America, while "Cotopaxi" was the European single. The band premiered the song during their first acoustic set at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in...

" was released as the first North American single. On April 22, 2009, "Cotopaxi" was played as the "hottest record in the world" for that day on the Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand and grew up in Auckland, where he was a presenter on the local music station Max TV, before moving to England...

 BBC Radio One show.

The song incorporates use of the time signatures 11/8, 9/4 and the common 4/4, with its loud, roller-coaster dynamics marking a high contrast with previous track "With Twilight as My Guide" and with the overall mood of the album in general.