Music

Cedric Bixler-Zavala quits, kills The Mars Volta

by Tyler Munro

While the band hasn’t officially announced a break-up, The Mars Volta’s Cedric Bixler-Zavala announced on Twitter last night that he was out as the band’s singer, indicating that they’d be on a permanent hiatus.

It doesn’t sound like a clean break, either. In his length series of tweets (all of which are below), Cedric effectively indicates that the rest of the band’s heart wasn’t in it anymore, highlighting guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s unwillingness to tour (and even citing his lackadaisical performances with At the Drive-In during their recent reunion). He also blames the band’s label, Warner Brothers, noting that they weren’t fully behind the band’s intention to do their last album (Nocturniquet) justice.

Here’s how it all unfolded (we’ll try to contextualize some of these tweets for you):

If you’re lost, Bosnian Rainbows is Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s new side project.

When At the Drive-In broke up, its members schismed into Sparta and the Mars Volta. After an iffy EP, the latter burst into prominence with Deloused in the Comatorium, a mind meldting blend of progressive rock with the previous projects palpable electric energy.

Nail, meet coffin. The Mars Volta had their day, and while it faded in recent years, their immediate impact with their first two full lengths was something to be hold. Maybe they fell too far down the rabbit hole or maybe it was just time, but whatever the case, this looks like the end of an era.