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Mars Volta Vocalist Quits In Astonishing Rant

Alex Wilson

Cedric Bixler-Zavala is out of The Mars Volta and takes to Twitter to tell his side of the story

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The Mars Volta vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala has announced his depature from the band, in which he suggests the acclaimed progressive rock group's 2012 'hiatus' actually represents the end of their musical journey, writing:

The announcement, posted as a series of updates to his Twitter account, alleges that Bixler-Zavala's childhood friend and collaborator, guitarist and bandleader Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, was unwilling to tour the band's latest album, 2012's Noctourniquet. Zavala states “I tried my hardest to keep it going, but Bosnian Rainbows was what we all got instead,” specifying Rodriguez-Lopez's new group, who have recently toured Australia and just announced a new single. As the following Tweet specifies, he was none too happy with not being able to tour:

Bixler-Zavala also suggests that personnel issues played a role the band's current state, saying “My dream was to get us to the point where Jon [Theodore, the band's first drummer] and Ikey [Owens, long-time keyboardist] came back but sadly it's over”.

The Mars Volta had been notorious for their constant personnel changes, with members continually cycling in and out around the core duo of Bixler-Zavala and Rodriguez-Lopez. The pair had previously achieved success in the seminal post-hardcore group At The Drive-In.

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Rodriquez-Lopez, however, had often spoken candidly of his strong musical personality and the tight creative control that he exercised on behalf of other band members, including Bixler-Zavala. The singer announced that he has a solo record on the way, which “will see the light of day soon and I'm excited because it sounds nothing like my previous endeavours”.

Despite being clearly frustrated by the circumstances that led to his departure, Bixler-Zavala also expresses his gratitude to the dedication of The Mars Volta's fans, stating: