Once The Mars Volta went up in disgruntled flames, it seemed all was lost for fans of the winning formula of Omar Rodriquez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler Zavala. Simply put: Omar makes the music, Cedric sings to it. Well they quickly put their issues aside, but instead of reforming the endless space rock of The Mars Volta, they decided to start a new band Antemasque. Pretty much the polar opposite to The Mars Volta in almost every way. The majority of songs clock in at under four minutes (so no time for 10 minute solos) there is no over arching space opera narrative, and the music is pretty much straight up hard rock.
From the outset the album feels immediate. ‘4AM‘ bursts into with Cedric going from murmurs to wailing in under a minute, as the Omar’s guitar plays a simply but heavy riff. The drumming from Marfred Rodriquez-Lopez is complex without being showy. It manages to set the aggressive tone for each record whilst also rattling through a number of fills during the ‘quieter’ moments. The first half of the album is relentless. ‘4AM’ barely stops to run into ‘I Got No Remorse‘: each song faster and more manic than the last. The choruses are huge but never dumb, they make about as much point as necessary. An early highlight ‘Ride Like The Devil’s Son’ sacrifices none of Cedric’s songwriting, while removing all of his indulgence.
Things eventually come to a brief pause on ‘Drown All Your Witches‘ which is a nice enough balladesque song to slow proceedings, as everything before is unrelenting. Then things pick up again on ‘Providence‘, it’s a lot darker sonically and lyrically, and as great as the proceeding set of songs were, to continue in a similar vein would make Antemasque feel like a one trick pony. The best part of Antemasque is that after all the hype surrounding The Mars Volta, it serves as a reminder that Omar and Cedric are versatile musicians who can turn their hands to any sound. The album never feels like a tribute band. Who play as well as the music dictates and never deviate. Instead Antemasque are as freewheeling as they are in any of their previous incarnations, barely holding to the ‘rules’ of the genre. They have their influences and continue down a path that is their own.
Tapeworm messiahs have no place here, the songs are too fast and fun for typical Mars Volta subject matter. And while it certainly has it’s place, right now it’s a lot ore fun hearing the band have this much fun.
