At the Drive In, Interalia, A Review (2017)

At the Drive In, Interalia, A Review (2017)

By: Ghost Writer

Rock N Roll Animal

I must say that I was eagerly expecting The Mars Volta to come back one day, but we got Antimasque instead, which sounded as a mostly too streamlined MV, or…At the Drive In, the legendary post hardcore band of Omar Rodriguez Lopez y Cedric Bixler Zavala, honestly I must add that I never expected ATDI to ever comeback, it seemed like something buried very deep in the past of these two musicians, almost an antithesis of their work in MV, but INTERALIA, ATDI´s new record came as a complete surprise, the impossible suddenly happening, probably the most interesting band emerging form the post hardcore scene, picking up the mantle from pioneering bands like Fugazi, ATDI was one of those bands who decidedly expanded the universe of post punk, challenged the genre and ended up imploding as a result, as the band broke up, Omar and Cedric decided to create a band capable of creating a record like Pink Floyd´s Piper at the Gates of Dawn but within a punk context, the result was MV, the res of ATDI went on to form Sparta, with ATDI, elements of the future of the band were already evident, progressive rock elements were starting to emerge here and there, so it was a natural evolution to end up on a band like MV, so the fact that ATDI is back with a new record is kind of a de-evolution set into motion by its former members, now together (without clue member Jim Ward, paradoxically integrating Sparta guitarist Keely Davis) , so INTERALIA could easily be called a true ATDI album? Yes and no, it obviously brings back elements from the previous recordings of the band, but I must add that continuously evolving members Omar and Cedric seems to be miles away from the point where the band came apart in the first place, opener No Wolf Like The Present is just as cryptic as their previous song titles, the work of Omar and Davis is as impressive as ever, with Davis creating the perfect back up for Omar “Robert Fripp inspired” guitar pyrotechnics, Rodriguez playing wilder than ever thanks to the years on the road and his incessant hunger for experimentation, drummer Tony Hajjar sounding tremendous behind the drum kit, also displaying a whole more impressive technique than before, the band astonishingly sounding more confident than ever.

Continuum is undeniable ATDI, with mind numbing lightning fast tempo changes thanks to the tight prodigious work of Hajjar and Paul Hinojos whom as a rhythm section play a wonderful role here, creating a solid rock bottom that lets Rodriguez and Bixler Zavala to scream and shout all along the tune, is impressive how the band is able to communicate in such telepathic level and to perform with such impressive amount of both fury and dexterity, bringing me to mind the powerful performances of the legendary Mahavishnu Orchestra, but at the same time keeping the maniac energy of their punk predecessors like the always amazing Bad Brains, Tilting at the Univendor is less intensive and leans more toward melody, if such a thing is possible here, Rodriguez guitar histrionics gives the song an interesting script for the band to follow, its raw as hell and at the same time full of charisma, letting Bixler to create also a great and charming vocal delivery, probably his best on the whole album, but is on Governed By Contagions that the band´s chemistry really click inn, with every piece of this whole well-oiled machine performing at full perfection, creating a wonderful melody and even letting Hajjar going really wild on this one.

The band explodes with true punk energy on the fast and furious Pendulum in a Peasant Dress, a strange outlet for Rodriguez wildest guitar playing, going from razor blade riffing to Fripp like acrobatics, all this while Hajjar and Hinojos perform a powerful musical dialogue in the background with both musicians displaying a boundless amount of talent here, confirming my theory about the enormous power of Omar and Bixler to become catalyst of the people they are playing with, bringing out the best of each of their collaborators, perhaps the reason why someone as talented as ex Red Hot Chilli Pepper John Frusicante loves to play with these guys, just check the raw power riffing of Davis at the beginning of Holtzclaw, or giving themselves plenty of room for crazy experimentation on tracks like Torrentially Cutshaw, or in the eerie Ghost Tape No. 9, keeping the best for the last on the closing Hostage Stamps that deserves to be included with the best songs of the band, again the band magically fusing Bad Brains with Mahavishnu, stretching the limits of what post hardcore is about, immersing for fractions of time into the unconceivable worlds of prog, jazz and psychedelia, but keeping the mosh pit going on, creating one of the most surprising, dynamic and amazing records of the year.