On April 23rd The Mars Volta released the box set 'La Realidad De Los Sueños' ("The Reality of Dreams"), the first ever full vinyl release of their current (winkwinknudgenudge) catalogue. The box set was limited to 5000 copies at $429 pre-orders and was sold out instantly via distributor Cloud Hill Recordings. Along with a few lesser discovered tracks, and a photo book compilation, arguably the most intriguing part of the package for longtime fans was the inclusion of 'Landscape Tantrums', annotated on the cover as "Unfinished Original Recordings of De-Loused in the Comatorium" [2002], which was the band's first full-length album.
I presume Rick Rubin wasn't involved yet during these original recordings, but tracks "Tira Me A Las Arañas" and "Cicatriz ESP" are absent, and the sound is markedly different from the final product (and as a minor mention, "Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)" jumped from track 3 to track 1 on this version). Entire sections are different, most notably the stylings and often lyrics of front man Cedric Bixler-Zavala, which the cover makes clear as "Vocals Unfinished"; the biggest obvious difference is that the thundering conclusion of "Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt" is completely instrumental aside the final few seconds. It's pretty interesting to hear the metamorphosis the entire album took compared to these recordings, and also how much of it was already intact before finishing production. Translated to an auditory sense, it feels like the equivalent of staring into a gem from a different angle.
The band released 'Landscape Tantrums' on digital streaming formats the same day, which I believe is only available for actual purchase/download on iTunes.
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