De-Loused in the Comatorium
Encyclopedia
De-Loused in the Comatorium is the debut studio album
of the progressive rock
band The Mars Volta
. Released on June 24, 2003 on Gold Standard Laboratories
and Universal Records
, De-loused is based on a short story written by lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and sound manipulation artist Jeremy Michael Ward. The album is an hour-long tale of Cerpin Taxt, a man who tries to kill himself by overdosing on a mixture of morphine and rat poison. The attempt lands him in a week-long coma during which he experiences visions of humanity and his own psyche. Upon waking, he is dissatisfied with the real world and jumps to his death. The story of Cerpin Taxt alludes to the death of El Paso, Texas
artist - and Bixler-Zavala's friend - Julio Venegas. (Ominously enough, founding member Jeremy Michael Ward
was found dead in an apparent heroin overdose
one month before the album was released.)
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). Both tracks can be legally obtained through The Comatorium's trading forum.
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
.
The music contained in De-Loused is distinguished by its enigmatic lyrics, latin and jazz
rhythms, and Omar Rodríguez-López
's frenetic guitar riff
s, which are often harshly dissonant. The title of this album is taken from the lyrics of the song "Eunuch Provocateur" on the band's previous release, Tremulant. The cover artwork is by Storm Thorgerson
.
and Cedric Bixler-Zavala
.
.
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
of the progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band 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...
. Released on June 24, 2003 on Gold Standard Laboratories
Gold Standard Laboratories
Gold Standard Laboratories or GSL was an independent record label which was founded in 1993 in Boulder, Colorado by Sonny Kay. In 2000, it was relocated to San Diego, California, USA, and two years later, to Los Angeles. It was headquartered in L.A...
and Universal Records
Universal Records
Universal Records was a record label owned by Universal Music Group, and it is now owned by Manny Patino and Michael Jackson, and operated as part of the Universal Motown Republic Group.-History:...
, De-loused is based on a short story written by lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and sound manipulation artist Jeremy Michael Ward. The album is an hour-long tale of Cerpin Taxt, a man who tries to kill himself by overdosing on a mixture of morphine and rat poison. The attempt lands him in a week-long coma during which he experiences visions of humanity and his own psyche. Upon waking, he is dissatisfied with the real world and jumps to his death. The story of Cerpin Taxt alludes to the death of El Paso, Texas
El Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
artist - and Bixler-Zavala's friend - Julio Venegas. (Ominously enough, founding member Jeremy Michael Ward
Jeremy Michael Ward
Jeremy Michael Ward was the sound technician and vocal operator for The Mars Volta and for the dub outfit De Facto. He created many of the soundscapes heard on The Mars Volta's album De-Loused in the Comatorium...
was found dead in an apparent heroin overdose
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
one month before the album was released.)
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
Eva Gardner
Eva Gardner is an electric bassist from Los Angeles, California. She is a graduate of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts, where she studied under trumpet player Bobby Rodriguez. She holds a degree in ethnomusicology from UCLA . Her professional credits include teaching stints at...
and drummer Blake Fleming
Blake Fleming
Blake Fleming is a drummer known for his involvement with several influential experimental bands. Fleming started drumming at age 8, and spent several years in fife and drumming corps, bagpipe bands, jazz bands, orchestras, etc. His first band was Dazzling Killmen, which he joined at age 15. Later...
; 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). Both tracks can be legally obtained through The Comatorium's trading forum.
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
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
.
The music contained in De-Loused is distinguished by its enigmatic lyrics, latin and jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
rhythms, and Omar Rodríguez-López
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, writer, actor and film director who was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico...
's frenetic guitar riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s, which are often harshly dissonant. The title of this album is taken from the lyrics of the song "Eunuch Provocateur" on the band's previous release, Tremulant. The cover artwork is by Storm Thorgerson
Storm Thorgerson
Storm Thorgerson is an English graphic designer, known for his work for rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, 10cc, Dream Theater, The Mars Volta, Muse, The Cranberries, and Biffy Clyro.-Biography:...
.
Track listing
All songs by Omar Rodríguez-LópezOmar Rodriguez-Lopez
Omar Alfredo Rodríguez-López is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, writer, actor and film director who was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico...
and Cedric Bixler-Zavala
Cedric Bixler-Zavala
Cedric Bixler-Zavala is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-American musician known for his work as frontman and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta, and previously as frontman and occasional guitarist of the post-hardcore punk group At the Drive-In...
.
Australian edition bonus disc
These songs are the same songs that appear on Live EPLive EP
-Australian Release:The Mars Volta repackaged the Live EP and re-released it included with the Tour Edition release of De-Loused in the Comatorium, as well as an Australian-only single for "Televators" in January, 2004, coinciding with their tour with the Big Day Out. It featured the recorded...
.
Band
- Cedric Bixler-ZavalaCedric Bixler-ZavalaCedric Bixler-Zavala is a Grammy Award-winning Mexican-American musician known for his work as frontman and lyricist of the progressive rock band The Mars Volta, and previously as frontman and occasional guitarist of the post-hardcore punk group At the Drive-In...
– vocals - Omar Rodríguez-LópezOmar Rodriguez-LopezOmar Alfredo Rodríguez-López is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, writer, actor and film director who was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico...
– guitar - Jon TheodoreJon TheodoreJon Philip Theodore is a drummer, formerly a member of The Mars Volta. He has become best known for his explosive, multi-textural and dynamic playing style.-History:...
– drums - Jeremy Michael WardJeremy Michael WardJeremy Michael Ward was the sound technician and vocal operator for The Mars Volta and for the dub outfit De Facto. He created many of the soundscapes heard on The Mars Volta's album De-Loused in the Comatorium...
– sound manipulation - Isaiah "Ikey" Owens – keyboards
- Flea – bass
Additional musicians
- Lenny CastroLenny CastroLenny Castro is an American freelancing percussionist in the studio recording industry in the Los Angeles area.-Early life:Castro is a percussionist of Puerto Rican descent and was born and raised in New York City. His father, Hector Castro, played the keyboard in a Latin style and gave his son...
– percussion - John FruscianteJohn FruscianteJohn Anthony Frusciante is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, record and film producer. He is best known as the former lead guitarist of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, with whom he had been for a number of years and recorded five studio albums...
– additional guitar and synthesizer treatment ("Cicatriz ESP") - Justin Meldal-JohnsenJustin Meldal-JohnsenJustin Meldal-Johnsen is an American musician and bassist, best known for his work with Grammy Award-winning artist Beck. He served as the touring bassist for Nine Inch Nails during their final tours.-Recording career:...
– stand-up bassDouble bassThe double bass, also called the string bass, upright bass, standup bass or contrabass, is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra, with strings usually tuned to E1, A1, D2 and G2...
("Televators")
Recording personnel
- Rick RubinRick RubinFrederick Jay "Rick" Rubin is an American record producer and the co-president of Columbia Records. Along with Russell Simmons, Rubin was the co-founder of Def Jam Records and also established American Recordings...
- producer - Omar Rodríguez-LópezOmar Rodriguez-LopezOmar Alfredo Rodríguez-López is a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, producer, writer, actor and film director who was born in Bayamón, Puerto Rico...
- producer - Dave Schiffman - recording
- Andrew Scheps - additional recording
- Phillip Groussard - assistant engineer
- Darren Mora - assistant engineer
- Rich CosteyRich CosteyRich Costey is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with many bands including Muse, Cave In, Thursday, Franz Ferdinand, Glasvegas, The Mars Volta, Doves, Bloc Party, Ontronik , Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, Supergrass, Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, Nine...
- mixer - Lindsay Chase - album production coordination
- Vlado Meller - mastering
- Steve Kadison - mastering assistance
Artwork
- Storm ThorgersonStorm ThorgersonStorm Thorgerson is an English graphic designer, known for his work for rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, 10cc, Dream Theater, The Mars Volta, Muse, The Cranberries, and Biffy Clyro.-Biography:...
- cover design, art direction - Peter Curzon - cover design, graphics -
- Rupert Truman - photography
- Dan Abbott - illustrations
External links
- De-Loused in the Comatorium Storybook (via tmvfr.info)
- Mix Online article - Technical report/interview on the making of De-Loused in the Comatorium.
- Song by Song Interpretation and Album Review
- Omar Rodriguez Official Website