Octahedron is the fifth full-length studio album by American progressive rock band the Mars Volta, released on June 23, 2009.
"[12] The song "Teflon" is based on Rodriguez-Lopez's solo piece "A Story Teeth Rotted For", recorded back in 2001 and released on Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fungus in September 2008.
Right from the exhilarating feeling you get when you put the ransom note down, the adrenaline rush when you realise a loved one has been taken from you, followed by that bleak, dismal area of not knowing what to do.
"[14] In an interview with Revolver, Bixler-Zavala discussed the theme of "Teflon": "I had been writing the lyrics and sort of testing the waters of how much I could say if McCain had won the election.
In this same interview, it was pointed out that the introduction of "Halo of Nembutals" contains a sample of a Jeremy Michael Ward recording, dating back to 2003, the year of his death.
Peter Mensch offered to contact Cedric Bixler-Zavala and asked if the text could be changed, since the overall meaning of the song wasn't completely clear anyway.
The song feels like it was written during the Salem Witch Trials, and it sarcastically takes the religious right wing slang of how all women were treated.
"[16] On April 22, 2009, the album's first single, "Cotopaxi," was played as the "hottest record in the world" for that day on the Zane Lowe BBC Radio One show.
The promotion also provided a chance to win a pair of tickets to their show at the ICA, London on June 18[18] and a link to pre-order the digipack, limited edition of the album exclusive to HMV.
"[34] The Boston Globe also gave it a favorable review and said, "Guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala are the creative duo driving the band and once again deliver on a standing promise to blow any mind that is willing to stay open.
"[38] musicOMH also gave it a score of three-and-a-half stars out of five and said that for the first time the band "really can do restraint, without compromising the overall impact of the instances where things are let rip.
In many ways it's a typical effort from the guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and the vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who make up the Mars Volta's core.
"[40] BBC Music gave it an average review and said that the album "shows the band maintaining a frighteningly productive work rate... while continuing to mature.
"[23] Q likewise gave the album three stars out of five and said it "bucks the band's trend for obfuscation, though; conventional song structures are very much in evidence, while its relatively trim 49-minute running time is on par with some of Mars Volta's more involved live jams.
"[23] Alternative Press likewise gave it three stars and said the album "will appeal to elderly prog fans immune to attention deficit disorder, who have the patience to let its charm gradually unfold.
Club gave the album a C and called the Mars Volta "a band that excels when its sing-alongs double as freak-outs; on Octahedron, they've largely ditched the chaos in lieu of an admirable, albeit unsatisfying, experiment in being quiet.
"[43] The Austin Chronicle gave it one-and-a-half stars out of five and said, "'Cotopaxi' and 'Desperate Graves' are the Volta's most straightforward carbon-burners since Frances the Mute's 'Cygnus ... Vismund Cygnus' yet lack structure and memorable hooks, while the introductory ballad 'Since We've Been Wrong' soars closer to the Eagles than Led Zeppelin.