The Mars Volta - Bringing out the dead

You recorded your first LP [De-loused in the Comatorium] at Harry Houdini's old 'cursed' house in Hollywood, which makes you no strangers to having a brush with the occult. But is the spiritual side of life something you set out to incorporate into your music by design on this particular occasion, or would you call it a force of nature?

Cedric: "The way I see it is that we're trying to be journalists in a weird way and tell stories that aren't acceptable to most people. Lyrically, this album fell into place by paying attention to everything I wrote down from [the Ouija board experiences]. The core of the story deals with this love triangle, the environment that it's in lends itself to the whole phenomena of honour killings that happen in Muslim cultures: where women lose their virginity [outwith wedlock] and, in order not to shame their families, they're killed. So, to me, what we made contact with was the spirit of two women who were under the foot of this man. Goliath is the main warden and the album serves as this metaphor for solitary confinement."

Besides this pivotal story at the genesis of the whole story, the collective problems you faced during the sessions for The Bedlam in Goliath makes for a compelling read in itself. But when record labels are seen to be clambering over themselves for a new way to sell records, does it bother you at all that cynics might dismiss the whole thing as shtick and marketing gimmickry?

Omar: "This is definitely all fact; this is what happened to us. That's the wonderful thing about the critical mind. It comes down to environment and upbringing. Being Hispanic, we come from a culture where this is accepted, so when I do an interview with someone from South America, to them it's not a big deal. To them it's more like 'well, you should've known better.' We grew up with Santa Ria where it's very normal to give things to your saints, to name your departed souls and celebrate death and the spirits. But if we go to Germany and do an interview on the exact same album, we'll find they're much more scientific – they'll say: 'No, this sounds like a fairytale and we think it's bullshit.' And that's fine, that's what makes the world so interesting. For those of us raised in a different way, we can share yet another experience."

Cedric: "It felt like it was a story that didn't want to be told because it was highly unbelievable and it would perhaps be as though we were calling attention to the new criminal in town that had just moved into your neighbourhood. This is our way of going door to door."

You've assembled a group of high pedigree musicians to assist you there. Does final creative control still rest with you?

Cedric: "It's definitely our little baby, we have the last say. We've found people who are cool with that and are willing to give up their talent. Omar and I have always said that every single member in our band could start their own band and be their own leader. But, for some reason, they understand there's something you can't really put your finger on about working with us and the result – the process – no one gets to rehearse anything, they pretty much learn it five minutes before they go into the studio and I think sometimes they hate that. But at the end of the day there's scope that they could overcome that struggle, because it's one hell of an exercise in gambling. They can walk away feeling like, 'I don't have a Mohawk, but I feel punk as fuck.'"

Omar: "Whenever you try to approach a group with this whole idea of being democratic and everybody puts in, all you end up having is one great big compromise usually, which was the problem with [At the Drive-in]. So when starting this group, the idea was always: 'Here's the music, you're gonna play it and that's the way it is.' Any time I interview a person to hire them for the group, it's the first thing I tell them. If that's OK then it's: 'welcome to the group' and if not? Well, then…not. That's the one thing with the old drummer [Jon Theodore], he knew the situation quite well but once the band became popular he wanted more all of a sudden and I had to remind him, 'well, you've not had a say before, you're not gonna have one now'. In the end I had to fire him."

You're almost bound to catch criticism from fans arguing that Jon's style of drumming played a big part in the Mars Volta sound. What effect did his departure have on the dynamic of the band? Is there ever a fear that the whole thing might collapse when you lose a longstanding player?

Cedric: "There's definitely that fear, there's the stress of dealing with that. I don't like certain parts of Yes because Bill Bruford isn't there, y'know? I know that kind of thought exists, but you've just got to have thick skin, move forward and understand that this band will always have a high turnaround rate as far as attracting and repelling fans goes. I wouldn't want to cater to that kind of disc jockey mentality of taking requests. This band exists to keep trying new ground. We're appreciative and lucky that we get to make this music with these people, because when I'm 50 I'll be able to look back at this catalogue that isn't one colour…it's a multitude."

Omar: "The only thing that could ever make me have that fear is if there was a falling out between Cedric and I, because that's the core of this group, that's the sound of this group, that's what we're talking about. He's my childhood friend and I wouldn't have the desire to continue making this music and keep this project alive without him."

The last time The Skinny spoke to you, Cedric, you said that you were trying to sound like your favourite films look. Which film would you say The Bedlam in Goliath could score?

Cedric: "I would say Irreversible, it's a hard movie to digest and a lot of the time you feel as though you might be having an anxiety attack – especially towards the end…some of the scenes in there are a lot to take and so I hope we can make someone feel that repulsed as well as make someone else feel the complete opposite of that…they might think it's beautiful. Irreversible is one of the films to really strike fear and an emotional chord in me. If you can walk away and say 'Jesus Christ, I hate that,' or 'it really got under my skin,' then it's a good movie."

Most of your four albums to date - bar 2006's Amputechture - have prided themselves on being fiercely thematic, central to that there always seems to be a struggle of sorts at the heart of it. Have you come to embrace those struggles as a key part of the process, or does it piss you off to be at fortune's mercy?

Omar: "We always need some hurdle to get over to propel us into a new era but this time it all felt quite real and very manifested…living around us all the time. Our records have always been a struggle, whether in terms of having technical problems or just getting over financial hurdles. Each time we make a record, somewhere throughout the year we go broke. I've been lucky, or just smart enough from the beginning to collect my own gear and put together a studio so that when we're having financial troubles we can still work and record. One way or another it seems to be surrounding us; I think in a positive way that pushes us to not get comfortable and keep moving forward."

From your perspective, how has the Mars Volta live experience come to change over the years? Your gigs are notorious for relying heavily on versions of songs that bear little resemblance to the original. Does improvisation still play a dominant role?

Cedric: "The improv will always be there, it'll just be in certain sections of songs that you can't guess unless you've seen us a couple of times. Having someone new like Thomas [Pridgen, drums] aboard has influenced me to go back to my older days of going off on stage…having fun. I think for a long time I tried to prove that I could sing and that always took a lot of standing still. But now I notice that we're all smiling and laughing on stage…generally inspired to jump off the deep end, whether that be literally or figuratively."