The Bedlam In Goliath is out today!

The eagerly expected new CD of The Mars Volta is out today and, as it’s been the case ever since their 2003 debut album, John is a contributor. According to an interview that Omar Rodriguez-Lopez gave to the February issue of the eminent German magazine Musikexpress, John learned all solos by heart and can be heard through the right speaker, which makes the sound atmospherically thighter… and weird. It’s still unclear which exact track he’s on, so if anyone has the album yet, please do read the credits and help out.

To buy the album the old-fashioned way, go to your local record store or, if you live in the middle of Nowhere (and your owners are called Eustace and Muriel ^_^), click here to buy the album online. If you’re eccentric and you like your media delivered in unusual and unexpected ways, the album is also available on an USB stick, which is a fan’s access to monthly updates such as B-sides, exclusive wallpaper, webisodes and live material. Or, as an alternative to both of these options, download the album in mp3

You can also play Goliath, The Soothsayer, here to see what inspired creation of the album.

Some reviews of the album are below. I’ll be adding more as I stumble accross them, you’re more than welcome to submit your own review.

Good Mojo?: Walla’s got a bit of a story behind his new one, but it’s nothing compared to the trials and tribulations involving spirits, nervous breakdowns and love triangles that led up to the release of the Mars Volta’s The Bedlam in Goliath. With Red Hot Chili Pepper John Frusciante, new drummer Thomas Pridgen and a boatload of returning members in tow, the band’s fourth album includes such typically head-scratching Volta titles as “Aberinkula,” “Cavalettas” and “Conjugal Burns.” Tech-savvy fans might want to hold off for a week until a different edition of the album drops. That version will come with a USB stick featuring the album, a video and artwork, and will be encased in a wooden Ouija board, which ties in with the album’s kooky theme. Monthly content updates will also grant fans B-sides, more videos, a video game and beyond.
(MTV.com)

Studio bandmate and Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante is almost indistinguishable from Omar’s playing, and the lead guitar throughout the record is generally airy and counter-melodic. Gone are the constipated guitar solos of old, replaced with complementary and mostly unobtrusive rhythm — the exception being “Askepios,” where the guitar nearly derails the intense drum and bass groove. The record concludes as it begins; “Conjugal Burns” is a melodramatic closer that ends the album with the ferocity and abruptness of a car crash.
(The Daily Of The University of Washington, read the whole review here

The addition of Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante brings an interesting element and proves itself a to be a prolific ingredient to the sonic beauty that is The Bedlam In Goliath. The album features more English spoken lyrics than the previous Amputechture, which was mostly in Spanish. Bedlam has a more polished, commercial sound than the last three albums.
The Chanticleer Online, read the whole review here

On The Bedlam in Goliath, The Mars Volta’s fourth full-length album, the Long Beach, Calif., band continues to explore its Latin-infused progressive rock. Released less than a year and a half after its last effort, 2006’s Amputechture, The Bedlam in Goliath the album features Red Hot Chili Peppers’ John Frusciante on guitar alongside lead guitarist and The Mars Volta co-founder Omar Rodriguez-Lopez. It’s a strange, yet wonderful blend of guitar styles – Frusciante’s funky playing complements Rodriguez-Lopez’s Latin-style very well.
Independent Collegian, read the whole review here

P.S. Many thanks to Melissa for the German magazine interview excerpt once again.