Artist: Antemasque
Album: Antemasque
Bitrate: 272kbps avg
Quality: EAC Secure Mode / LAME 3.98.4 / -V0 / 44.100Khz
Label: Caroline
Genre: Alternative
Size: 70.89 megs
PlayTime: 0h 34min 32sec total
Rip Date: 2014-12-05
Store Date: 2014-11-21
Track List:
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01. 4AM 2:56
02. I Got No Remorse 3:05
03. Ride Like The Devil's Son 3:00
04. In The Lurch 3:07
05. 50,000 Kilowatts 2:54
06. Momento Mori 3:35
07. Drown All Your Witches 3:31
08. Providence 4:47
09. People Forget 3:54
10. Rome Armed To The Teeth 3:43
Release Notes:
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The messy disbandment of The Mars Volta in 2012 built a wall between the groupÆs
founders. While guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez continued his Bosnian Rainbows
project, vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala set his sights on a new group called
Zavalaz. But despite the perceived animosity the members had with each otherÆs
decisions, the two guys couldnÆt hate each other forever. Even though it had
only been a couple years since The Mars VoltaÆs end, the duo tore down the wall
and formed a new band together called Antemasque, with former Mars Volta drummer
Dave Elitch handling the kit. Antemasque wasnÆt just surprising for showing
Rodriguez-LopezÆs and Bixler-ZavalaÆs fast mending; it also displayed a sound
that hadnÆt been heard before from the duo. The members were notorious for
challenging convention and throwing everyone for a loop. Oddly enough, the #1
convention Antemasque and their self-titled debut challenge is The Mars Volta
itself.
Cedric Bixler-Zavala has gone through a rather large number of vocal
transformations through his musical career. The tenor screams of At the Drive-in
contrasted the rocketing falsetto of The Mars Volta. This time around,
Bixler-Zavala strikes a balance, with a slightly stronger grip on The Bedlam in
Goliath era Mars Volta. His singing sounds raspier and more abrasive than what
he performed on the final Mars Volta recording Noctourniquet, which benefits the
songwriting considerably. Opener ô4AMö is a perfect balance between
Bixler-ZavalaÆs cleaner croons and his rougher snarls; in shift, ô50,000
Kilowattsö follows the former pattern and the snickering ôIn the Lurchö
(formerly ôHanging in the Lurch) follows the latter. Though he jumps around the
spectrum a lot, Bixler-Zavala doesn't reach too far, staying within a tight,
controlled range.
Omar Rodriguez-Lopez has always been an abstract guitarist. From At the Drive-in
and well into The Mars Volta, his guitar playing has bordered on completely
improvisational. As The Mars Volta continued, the abrasive, over-the-top soloing
was tamed down, and on Antemasque, heÆs all but abandoned that level of
loose-as-hell intricacy. This is not the Omar we grew to knowàand thatÆs not
bad. Rodriguez-LopezÆs guitars split the difference between Led Zeppelin
extravagance and more traditional melodic rock riffs. He almost never goes into
full ôwankeryö mode on his axe, but still provides virtuosity. ôIn the Lurchö
has a Red Hot Chili Peppers-style funk to it early on before breaking into
jangly punk in the chorus. ôPeople Forgetö has a nice solo, one that draws more
from classic rock than the speedball prog that Rodriguez-Lopez brought in The
Mars Volta. ôDrown All Your Witchesö slows things down a bit, letting
Bixler-Zavala croon and wave more, a strong companion to OmarÆs softer guitars.
The songwriting is undeniably tamer on Antemasque; the album never goes into the
kind of fever dream prog that the guys became famous for. Only one song on the
album breaks four minutes in length and some songs, like the lifting ô50,000
Kilowattsö, actually reach pop levels of accessibility. Saying the word ôpopö to
describe anything these guys have released is awkward to say for sure, but
despite their connotation with impenetrable avant-garde prog-punk, Antemasque
sound bizarrely comfortable with this sound. That being said, there are some
songs that still hit close to their home. ôProvidenceö sounds like the better
parts of Noctourniquet, with jangly guitars and Bixler-Zavala belting out a
snarling yell before quelling down to eerie echoes, but the song has a slightly
more erratic rhythm that draws inspiration from the steadier parts of Frances
the Mute. ôI Got No Remorseö and ôIn the Lurchö are more punk-inspired, with
drummer Dave Elitch railgunning his snares with bottomless adrenaline. And while
some songs like ôMomento Moriö donÆt possess nearly as much creativity as others
on the album, Antemasque is actually an album with more appeal than many might
have expected. ItÆs so unsettling how a band with such an experimental
background can make something as accessible as this. Even more so, they can
actually make it sound good.
Antemasque is about as far away from The Mars Volta as you can get. With such
great, catchy, accessible tracks like ôDrown All Your Witchesö and ô50,000
Kilowattsö, youÆd think these guys were making this kind of music all their
lives instead of 32-minute-long prog marathons. But at the same time,
Bixler-ZavalaÆs voice and Rodriguez-LopezÆs guitars still manage to sound like
themselves. They tame down the intricacy, while still developing a sound just
obtuse enough to keep from alienating the long-time followers. The classic rock
inspiration is clear as day, usurping the throne from the massively experimental
art punk. Antemasque is unsettlingly accessible, especially coming from these
veterans of spacey prog, but itÆs so well-written and so well-performed that it
really doesnÆt matter. As the official reunion of two of the most bizarre
musicians in their class, Antemasque challenges all precognition. ItÆs the
perfect way to go against the grain of something already so far
against-the-grain.