The Mars Volta

Anyone who's ever called the Mars Volta too complicated for their own good simply hasn't heard the right songs. That's what our catalog-skimming set is for — diving right into the band's dense, mind-melting disasterpieces, including the interstellar power balladry of "Since We've Been Wrong" and "The Widow"; the jet pack-guided noise-pop of "Wax Simulacra"; the bridge-gaping mission statements of Tremulant; and the sprawling soundscapes of their debut album, Deloused In the Comatorium, a stunning game-changer for anyone expecting At the Drive-In, Part Deux. As if all of the above wasn't daunting enough, our Next Steps balance fan favorites with side projects and scene-stealing guest appearances.

To understand the ridiculous range of Cedric Bixler-Zavala — the Mars Volta's mercurial frontman — you might want to blast the following cuts: his elbow-throwing Black Flag cover ("I've Had It"), the claustrophobic beat tapestries of "Tasmanian Pain Coaster," and the soulful, art-damaged hip-hop hooks of "A Day In the Life," which also happens to feature RZA of the Wu-Tang Clan. Elsewhere, Bixler-Zavala's right-hand man, guitarist/producer Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, sends "Miel del Ojo" spiraling through the stratosphere and colors way outside the lines of "They're Coming to Get You Barbara!" Kinda like how he and Bixler-Zavala treat such Mars Volta tracks as "Cotopaxi," "Aberinkula," and "Drunkship of Lanterns."

No, really. The mad prog-rock scientists behind the Mars Volta are the same two Texans who screamed and soloed their way across the slash-and-burn soundscapes of At the Drive-In. Those shamanistic punk rockers recorded a Pink Floyd cover once, but never embraced the unknown quite like the Mars Volta's lush, labyrinth-like rabbit holes. Simply put, any Mars Volta song can, and will, spin out of control without warning — switching from English to Spanish, robotic to unreal, psych to salsa, and complete calm to absolute chaos. From Amputechture to Deloused In the Comatorium, and every record and side project in between, these are some of the most beautifully modern rock songs out there. So forget choosing between the blue or red pill — regardless, nothing is what it seems here.