The Mars Volta Octahedron 2LP (Red & Curacao Transparent Vinyl)

Each of the Mars Volta albums that preceded Octahedron had pushed the envelope further, their music growing larger, more intense, more complex. Each had delivered an implied, unspoken challenge to its makers within milliseconds of its final notes: "Top this." And with each subsequent album, Omar and Cedric had turned their creative dials up one more notch, a further step past "eleven." With the addition of new drummer Thomas Pridgen and their ranks swollen by extra guitarists, more percussion and a sax player, the intensity of The Mars Volta's sound had increased.

Octahedron, however, would follow The Bedlam In Goliath's brilliant excesses with a sideways step few were expecting, even though the group had telegraphed their intentions to take this new direction for years. "This one didn't have multi-layered sub-texts or any sinister spirits," says Omar, referencing predecessor Goliath's traumatic birth. "Octahedron was like an expression of will into reality. Like, 'This one will be easy, this one will be fun.' Everything had a different process."

"Octahedron was a rebellion," adds Cedric. "Us saying, 'This isn't like anything we've done before. This is our "pop" album.' We'd always promised we'd do a 'pop' album. This was it."