De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003)

De-Loused in the Comatorium is the debut studio album by the American progressive rock band The Mars Volta, released on June 24, 2003, on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal Records. Based on a short story written by lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and sound manipulation artist Jeremy Ward, the concept album is an hour-long tale of Cerpin Taxt, a man who enters a week-long coma after overdosing on a mixture of morphine and rat poison. The story of Cerpin Taxt alludes to the death of El Paso, Texas artist Julio Venegas.

Co-produced by Rick Rubin and bandleader/guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López, it is the only studio album to feature founding member Ward, who was found dead of an apparent heroin overdose one month before the album was released. Following the departure of original bassist Eva Gardner, interim bassist Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers performed on De-Loused.

De-Loused is distinguished by its enigmatic lyrics, Latin and jazz rhythms, and Rodríguez-López's frenetic and dissonant guitar work. The title of the album is taken from the lyrics of the song "Eunuch Provocateur" on the band's Tremulant EP; closing track "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt", in turn, contains the title of Tremulant. The cover artwork was made by Storm Thorgerson.

The album exemplifies progressive rock, art rock, and post-hardcore while incorporating influences from psychedelic rock, Latin jazz, heavy metal, punk rock, and blues rock.

Background

The Mars Volta started in spring of 2001, soon after the demise of Rodríguez-López's and Bixler-Zavala's previous band At the Drive-In. Intending to break free from the limitations of At the Drive-In and to fulfill his creative vision, Rodríguez-López began to assemble the new group. He first recruited drummer Blake Fleming, whom he first met on tour when Fleming's previous band Laddio Bolocko played with At the Drive-In. Keyboardist Isaiah "Ikey" Owens and sound artist Jeremy Michael Ward from Rodríguez-López's and Bixler-Zavala's dub project De Facto were also asked to join; Owens suggested his friend Eva Gardner (daughter of English musician Kim Gardner) as a bassist. Thus, with Rodríguez-López on guitar and Bixler-Zavala on lead vocals, the first line-up of The Mars Volta was formed. Based in a rented warehouse in Long Beach dubbed Anikulapo (in honor of Nigerian musician Fela Kuti), the band would spend up to 12 hours a day rehearsing and writing material, some of which would eventually end up on De-Loused in the Comatorium. They soon went into to the studio with producer Alex Newport to record two songs, early versions of "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" and "Cicatriz ESP" for a potential single release on Grand Royal. The single never materialized, however, as Grand Royal went bankrupt and drummer Fleming quit the band due to personal differences; a proposed summer European tour also had to be cancelled.

In September 2001, Jon Theodore (of Golden) joined as the new drummer; Theodore's drumming, influenced by the likes of John Bonham, Elvin Jones and Billy Cobham, would become an important backbone to the Mars Volta sound. "I was mesmerized by his deep, spiritual pocket, when playing drums, and his physical beauty", Rodríguez-López later remembered. With Theodore in the lineup, the band finally made its live debut in October and recorded what would be their first official release, the 3-song Tremulant EP; one of the songs, "Eunuch Provocateur", included the lyrics "dethroned by the comatorium, de-loused in the comatorium" which foreshadowed the debut album title. The band's highly energetic and chaotic live shows brought a lot of attention from record companies. After a bidding war, The Mars Volta agreed to a deal with Universal Records via their new imprint Strummer Recordings, which granted them creative freedom as well as providing funding and exclusive vinyl rights for Gold Standard Labs, an indie label co-run by Rodríguez-López through which Tremulant EP was eventually released.

The band spent early 2002 touring in support of Tremulant in the United States, Europe and Japan while continuing to develop material for the future full-length album. However, right after a well-received appearance at the Coachella festival, they would experience a number of setbacks. Gardner, who struggled to cope with the recent death of her father, was forced to leave after committing several "self-destructive acts". Owens was also asked to quit as he, in Rodríguez-López's words, "just wasn't cutting it". Meanwhile, Theodore's commitment to the band was also questioned, as he took a break to reunite with Golden for a brief tour, and Ward was struggling with drug addiction and was forced to enter the rehab under the threat of being fired. Dealing with pressure of holding the band together on the eve of recording their debut album, Rodríguez-López suffered intense panic attacks and acute anxiety disorder, from which he eventually recovered with the help of his parents.