The Bedlam In Goliath

It rarely bodes well when a band loses several members in short order -- rarer still when those members play the same instrument, in the case of the Mars Volta the drums, and rarest yet when that instrument is the very centerpiece of the band's sound. The Bedlam in Goliath, the latest album from the El Paso/L.A./Brooklyn group, should be a failure, riddled with inconsistencies and lacking the punch a steady kitminder provides. And yet not only does Goliath work, it works because it's a rhythmic feast. New percussionist Thomas Pridgen may have been just the breath of fresh air this group needed.

Freshness, energy -- these are funny concepts in the case of the searing prog-rockers. Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala have developed reputations as dynamos, famous for electric riffage and frenzied live shows. But with energy comes chaos, and then frustration, and then exhaustion. The problem with energy is that it can run out.

Yet much like the Red Hot Chili Peppers, whose genre-busting mix of hard rock guitars and thrashing rhythms makes them the Mars Volta's stylistic ancestors (and whose off-the-court incidents make them behavioral sires, too), the group has so far only prospered in the crazed conditions of its own devising. And Goliath continues that theme. If anything it sounds more lively and eager than 2006's Amputechre, whose epic-length songs and (John Frusciante-aided) meandering guitars squared more directly with the older prog tradition.

Compared to that disc, Goliath's tracks are relatively short (which, in the world of Cedric and Oscar, means they're under 10 minutes). The corollary is that they're also more focused. The guitar tones here are juicy and visceral, less fiddly, which makes them ideal companions for the snappy drums. Is there any other way to describe the style of Pridgen, who at 24 is nearly a decade younger than his featured bandmates, than "youthful?" In "Goliath," he plays like a crazed jazz drummer, working the whole kit at speed metal rates. And on "Wax Simulacra" -- as close to a radio-ready single as the album's got -- there's a bass drum kick or rolling tom ready to punctuate each lick.

Goliath also sees Rodriguez-Lopez and Bixler-Zavala performing at peak levels. Both "Simulacra" and "Metatron" are serious vocal outings, and the singer finds a sweet spot in the middle of an Anthony Kiedis/Zack de la Rocha/Geddy Lee triangle. The latter may feature Goliath's strongest melody, and it wastes no time getting there, hopping on the searing hook the instant it begins. A similar urgency defines the propulsive "Ouroboros," which centers on both lethal scalework and more textured guitar hazes. After years of endless jamming, these guys finally seem to be in a hurry.