The Mars Volta Add Drummer, Brace for Bedlam

With ex-drummer Jon Theodore out of the picture, The Mars Volta are preparing for the release of their fourth full-length album, tentatively due out late August/early September. The title, The Bedlam in Goliath, promises nary a slip in the musical fortitude with which they’ve approached albums in the past.

According to fans present for the band’s recent tour dates in Australia with its new drummer, Thomas Prigden, The Mars Volta’s on-stage dynamic has changed for the better thanks to their newfound enthusiasm.

In an interview with TheMarsVoltaItalia.com, frontman Omar A. Rodriguez-Lopez discusses what went wrong with Theodore, who has worked with Trans Am and HiM and performed on Lopez’s 2007 solo release, Se Dice Bisonte, No Bufalo (Gold Standard Laboratories).

“Theodore was a great drummer but he never really liked the band or wanted to be in here,” explained Lopez. “Even if you have eight happy people, you know, seven happy people… if you have one guy that is unhappy and doesn’t wanna be there it really ruins the vibes for everyone…”

Lack of enthusiasm and inability to get along with the rest of The Mars Volta were also problems when Lopez tried bringing original drummer Blake Fleming back into the band. After rehearsing with Fleming for two months just to get him back into shape and going on tour, it became apparent to everyone that the attempt was unsuccessful.

Now, however, the band has found the perfect fit in Prigden, a twenty-two-year-old percussive dynamo. Prigden, who received a four-year scholarship to the Berklee College of Music at only fifteen and is the youngest drummer to be sponsored by Zildijan, brings a new vitality to the band.

Of their new drummer, Lopez gushes,”Thomas would play anytime. anywhere, all day, for four hours… He loves the music, loves the band, so he’s excited.”

New vibes intact, The Mars Volta are keeping up their album-per-year pace, and you can expect The Bedlam in Goliath early this fall from GSL.