Day 24: The Mars Volta, Wax Simulacra | 30-Day Song Challenge 🎶

Listening “Wax Simulacra” by The Mars Volta again makes me lament the band’s breakup all over again on Day 24 of the 30-Day Song Challenge.  

Embracing the trendiness of social media, The Musical Hype unleashes its own, month-long version of the 30-Day Song Challenge.

Day 24 Prompt: A song by a band you wish were still together

“Am I waiting now? / Does my waiting howl? / Am I waiting now? / Does my waiting howl?” Umm… well… Ah, Day 24 of the 30-Day Song Challenge: [choose] A song by a band you wish were still together.  Getting ambitious and a bit wacky, I return to my glorious days as a The Mars Volta fan, who broke up in 2013.

I know that I probably don’t look like your typical experimental rock/prog-metal enthusiast, but, hey, to quote 2 Chainz, “I’m Different”.  Anyways, I became a fan of the now devoid band (Omar Rodríguez-López and Cedric Bixler-Zavala) beginning with their 2005 album, Frances the Mute. How did I discover them? Well, I was in college at the time (again showing my age) and I remember reading about them and my interest was instantly piqued.

While I could’ve opted for the epic, six-minute gem “The Widow”, instead, I move on to the band’s 2008 album, The Bedlam in Goliath. Here, they absolutely compel on the fourth track, the short but incredibly sweet “Wax Simulacra.” Sweet really doesn’t do “Wax Simulacra” justice to be completely honest. This is one totally badass record.  It’s energetic, intense, loud AF, and totally in-your-face.  Rodríguez-López’s guitars and Bixler-Zavala’s vocals pierce right through your heart, while the drumming by Thomas Pridgen is magnificent (those ‘runs’ though – wow).

The chorus, which appears at the beginning of the opening paragraph is terrific.  However, the best section of the song is arguably the bridge.  It’s not only awesome musically, but the lyrics are pretty intriguing as well. Of course, you could say that about the verses as well. Anyways:

“Bring me the tame
Witness germinates in the child
That word of mouth stutters
Blink at the lonely dice.”

The ending kicks ass too… particularly the raucous soprano saxophone solo. Phew… I totally miss The Mars Volta, sigh.

The Mars Volta • The Bedlam in Goliath • The Mars Volta • 2008 

Day 24: The Mars Volta, “Wax Simulacra” (30-Day Song Challenge) 🎶 [Photo Credits: Brent Faulkner, The Musical Hype, Pexels]