Tracklisting
Personnel
- Omar Rodríguez-López Guitars, synthesizers
- Cedric Bixler-Zavala Vocals
- Juan Alderete Bass
- Thomas Pridgen Drums
- Marcel Rodríguez-López Percussion, keyboards
- Isiah (Ikey) Owens Keyboards
- Adrián Terrazas-González Flute, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, percussion
- Paul Hinojos Sound manipulation
- John Frusciante Guitar
- Henry Trejo "Because" on Agadez
- Edwin Outwater Conducter
- Nathaniel Tookey String composition and arrangement on Soothsayer
- Sam Bass Cello on Soothsayer
- Edwin Huizinga Violin on Soothsayer
- Charith Premawardhana Viola on Soothsayer
- Anthony Blea Violin on Soothsayer
- Owen Levine Double bass on Soothsayer
- Rich Costey Mix
- Charlie Stavish Mix [Assistant]
- Howie Weinberg Mastering
- Claudius Mittendorfer Editing
- Shawn Sullivan Editing
- Isaiah Abolin Recording
- Lars Stalfors Recording
- Justin Phelps Recording [Strings]
- Jeff Jordan Artwork
- Sonny Kay Layout, Design
- Soft Machine Memories written by
- Nick Drake Things Behind The Sun written by
- Circle Jerks Back Up Against The Wall written by
- Chris von Rautenkranz Vinyl master [Clouds Hill reissue]
- Flo Siller Vinyl master [Clouds Hill reissue]
Available Releases (37) View on Discogs ↗
Discogs Tracklist
- 1 Aberinkula 5:44
- 2 Metatron 8:11
- 3 Ilyena 5:35
- 4 Wax Simulacra 2:38
- 5 Goliath 7:15
- 6 Tourniquet Man 2:37
- 7 Cavalettas 9:32
- 8 Agadez 6:43
- 9 Askepios 5:10
- 10 Ouroborous 6:35
- 11 Soothsayer 9:07
- 12 Conjugal Burns 6:35
Credits
- Artwork: Jeff Jordan (2)
- Edited By: Claudius Mittendorfer, Shawn Sullivan
- Layout, Design: Sonny Kay
- Mastered By: Howie Weinberg
- Mixed By: Rich Costey
- Mixed By [Assistant]: Charlie Stavish
- Music By, Arranged By: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
- Performer: Adrian Terrazas, Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Isaiah Owens, John Frusciante, Juan Alderete De La Pena, Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Paul Hinojos, Thomas Pridgen
- Producer: Omar Rodriguez-Lopez
- Recorded By: Isaiah Abolin, Lars Stalfors, Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, Robert Carranza
- Vocals, Lyrics By: Cedric Bixler-Zavala
- Written-By: The Mars Volta
Release Notes
Identifiers
- Barcode: 6 02517 57530 1 (Text)
- Barcode: 602517575301 (Scanned)
- Matrix / Runout: [EDC, USA logo] B00 106 1602 01!! E (Variant 1)
- Mastering SID Code: IFPI L005 (Variant 1)
- Mould SID Code: IFPI 0392 (Variant 1)
- Matrix / Runout: MADE IN USA (Hub area, Variant 1)
- Matrix / Runout: [EDC, USA logo] B00 106 1602 01!! L (Variant 2)
- Mastering SID Code: IFPI L005 (Variant 2)
- Mould SID Code: IFPI 0316 (Variant 2)
- Matrix / Runout: MADE IN USA BY EDC (Hub area, Variant 2)
- Matrix / Runout: [EDC, USA logo] B00 106 1602 01!! J (Variant 3)
- Mastering SID Code: IFPI L005 (Variant 3)
- Mould SID Code: IFPI 0367 (Variant 3)
- Matrix / Runout: MADE IN USA BY EDC (Hub area, Variant 3)
- Matrix / Runout: [EDC, USA logo] B00 106 1602 01!! I (Variant 4)
- Mastering SID Code: IFPI L005 (Variant 4)
- Mould SID Code: IFPI 0391 (Variant 4)
- Matrix / Runout: MADE IN USA (Hub area, Variant 4)
- Matrix / Runout: [EDC, USA logo] B00 106 1602 01!! H (Variant 5)
- Mastering SID Code: IFPI L005 (Variant 5)
- Mould SID Code: IFPI 0367 (Variant 5)
- Matrix / Runout: MADE IN USA BY EDC (Hub area, Variant 5)
Videos
Liner Notes
The Bedlam in Goliath is the fourth full length release by The Mars Volta. It was their last to be released through Universal Records. Jeff Jordan’s artwork was again used for the album cover. The name of the piece is called Agadez.
The Bedlam in Goliath was marketed as having a rather elaborate and intensive lore, more so than even De-Loused in the Comatorium. Through various interviews the story was presented that Omar purchased a Ouija board while on a trip to Jerusalem with the name “The Soothsayer”. The board was given to Cedric as a gift and throughout the 2006 tour they used it on the tour bus. Omar and Cedric claim the board would tell them stories, share names, and also express demands. “Goliath” was a personality they contacted through the board.
Omar and Cedric have claimed that as a result of their interactions with the board they began to have otherworldly experiences akin to being cursed such as audio recordings for the album deleting, Omar’s studio flooding and losing power on multiple occasions, and the original audio engineer having a nervous breakdown and refusing the complete the album, allegedly having said “I’m not going to help you make this record. You’re trying to do something very bad with this record, you’re trying to make me crazy and you’re trying to make people crazy.”
Eventually Omar destroyed the board, buried it, and with the help of new audio engineers was able to complete the album.
The Bedlam in Goliath is the first album to not feature Jon Theodore on drums as he had quit the band after the completion of Amputechture. Thomas Pridgen became the band’s full time replacement.
Wax Simulacra was the first single for the album. The music video was posted online in the Autumn of 2007. As the album was not posted on youtube, instead having its own unique URL, members of The Comatorium quickly uncovered music videos for Goliath and Aberinkula as well by trying to use all the song titles in the URL, accidentally revealing these music videos earlier than planned. Askepios and Ilyena were posted a little later in the year.
The album was promoted far more heavily than any of their other albums. For example, they had a full length set on Yahoo’s Nissan Live Set, played on David Letterman’s show, and even a video game was commissioned to go along with the album. As mentioned, there were five music videos and a myriad of bonus tracks, all of which were uncommon for a The Mars Volta Release.
The album was further promoted by the band’s only New Year’s Eve show and a run of smaller club shows prior to the records release in late January.
Bonus tracks:
The Bedlam in Goliath was packaged with varying bonus tracks depending on the region and format you purchased it.
- Mr. Muggs was a bonus 7” that came with the vinyl release.
- Birthday is a cover of a song by The Sugarcubes. Available on Japanese version of the album and from Best Buy as a bonus download.
- Candy and a Currant Bun is a cover of a song by Pink Floyd. Available on the UK, AUS, and NZ versions of the album. Also from U.S. independent record stores as a VinylDisc single.
- Memories is a cover of a song by The Soft Machine. Available on the Japanese version of the album and on iTunes as a bonus track.
- Things Behind the Sun is a cover of a song by Nick Drake. Available on the Japanese version of the album and on iTunes as a bonus track.
- A DVD containing a live rendition of Cygnus….Vismund Cygnus from the 2007 Australia tour was packaged with the US release at some stores.
- Two demos, one for Agadez and one for Soothsayer, were released through the USB stick release.
Charting:
Australian Albums (ARIA) 3
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) 46
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) 35
Canadian Albums (Billboard) 6
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) 42
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista) 9
French Albums (SNEP) 87
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100) 29
Italian Albums (FIMI) 42
Irish Albums (IRMA) 57
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 22
Mexican Albums (Top 100 Mexico) 47
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ) 13
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista) 10
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE) 58
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) 32
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) 57
UK Albums (OCC) 42
US Billboard 200 3
Photos & Media
Release and variant data courtesy of Discogs.com.