by: Amy Wagner

Prog rockers The Mars Volta are back with another album that, while big in sound takes a few departures in style. There are still plenty of psychedelic leanings and wah-wah guitar solos, but this time out band leaders Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler Zavala introduce a myriad of sounds, including shimmering middle eastern echoes and snarly punk growls, to their always eclectic mix. The Bedlam in Goliath, the group's fourth LP, does run the risk of being overly dense at times (more than one track clocks in at the nine minute mark) but the album manages to stay just this side of comprehensible by bouncing from sound to sound. "The Tourniquet Man" will hypnotize you with it's Led Zeppelin filtered through Pink Floyd stylings but just as you're about to get nice and comfortable, The Mars Volta are sure to shake you up with some screeching rock and roll.