Amputechture is the third studio album by American progressive rock band the Mars Volta, released on September 12, 2006, on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal Records.

[9] In an MTV interview posted on July 25, Cedric Bixler-Zavala said inspirations for the album were very diverse, ranging from the recent U.S. immigration marches to the news stories of possessed nuns.

[11] Omar Rodríguez-López stated in an interview with Switch Magazine that the word "Amputechture" (a portmanteau of amputate, technology [citation needed], and architecture) was coined by the late Jeremy Ward.

[citation needed] Nonetheless, Thorgerson told Classic Rock in 2009 that "our last direct encounter with The Mars Volta – in the form of the bizarrely shaped Omar Rodriguez-López – was very friendly and touching."

[13][24] Slant Magazine gave the album a score of four stars out of five and said it "shows a band honing their eruptive sound and bringing it into tight focus for the first time, routinely pushing their music to the wall without ever risking a breach.

"[25] Punknews.org gave it a score of three-and-a-half stars out of five and praised the band for "producing a solid 76 minutes of actual music, and perhaps their most dynamically diverse performance since De-Loused.

"[27] Other reviews were more mixed: Under the Radar gave it a score of six stars out of ten and said, "With each album, the band seems to grab for so much, reaching further and further into the musical abyss, and still managing to craft songs that boggle the mind and dazzle the ears.

"[13] Spin gave it a score of six out of ten and said, "As over the top as all this can be, Amputechture has little of the thrash influence that's made modern prog so deadening, and the impenetrable lyrics... are easily overlooked.

"[13] Billboard gave it an average review and said it "isn't for casual listening, so those checking out the Mars Volta for the first time should take it slow to prevent a sonic hangover.

[13] Tiny Mix Tapes also gave it two-and-a-half stars out of five and called it "a bumpy ride, registering somewhere between [Frances the Mute] and debut full-length De-Loused in the Comatorium.

"[13] Prefix Magazine gave it a mixed review and said, "It's sad to see a band that touts itself as experimental sounding like a watered-down, unfocused version of its younger self.