Known for their energetic live shows and concept albums, The Mars Volta formed following the break-up of Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala's previous band, At the Drive-In. Seeking to experiment and expand their sound, Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala recruited Gardner, Isaiah "Ikey" Owens (keyboards), Jon Theodore (drums) and Jeremy Ward (sound manipulation) to form The Mars Volta. The band released their debut EP, Tremulant, in 2002, with Gardner leaving the band prior to recording their debut album, De-Loused in the Comatorium. She was replaced by Red Hot Chili Peppers bass guitarist Flea for the sessions. The Rick Rubin-produced album received widespread critical acclaim upon its release in 2003.
The band's second studio album, Frances the Mute (2005), was self-produced by Rodríguez-López and was the first to feature longterm members Juan Alderete (bass) and Marcel Rodríguez-López. The album debuted at #4 on the US Billboard 200 and became the band's biggest commercial success, selling over 500,000 copies in the US and achieving Gold certification from the RIAA. The band's third studio album, Amputechture, was released in 2006 and was the last album to feature Theodore. In 2008, the band released The Bedlam in Goliath, a concept album inspired by the band's turbulent experiences with a ouija-type talking board. The album's first single, "Wax Simulacra" was awarded a Grammy Award in 2009 for Best Hard Rock Performance. The band released its fifth album, Octahedron, in June 2009.
Following the release of their sixth album, Noctourniquet (2012), and a run of reunion shows with At the Drive-In, The Mars Volta entered a hiatus in September 2012. Rodríguez-López subsequently formed a new project, Bosnian Rainbows, and the band formally broke up after disagreements between Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala. The duo repaired their friendship and reunited in 2014 for a new project, Antemasque, and further At the Drive-In tours and recording sessions.
Reuniting in secret in 2019, Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala recorded a new studio album, The Mars Volta, with Gardner, Marcel Rodríguez-López and drummer Willy Rodriguez Quiñones. The band announced their reunion – after ten years of public inactivity – with an art installation called L'ytome Hodorxí Telesterion, in June 2022. For the band's live return, jazz pianist Leo Genovese and drummer Linda-Philomène Tsoungui were added to the line-up.
Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mars_Volta
Studio albums
De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003)
Frances the Mute (2005)
Amputechture (2006)
The Bedlam in Goliath (2008)
Octahedron (2009)
Noctourniquet (2012)
The Mars Volta (2022)
Que Dios Te Maldiga Mi Corazon (2023)
Miranda
The Mars Volta Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To eat glass with you again
But I never knew how
How to talk without
Walls dropping on the eve
The nest they made couldn't break you
Along the fallen
Scowled a fence of beaks
Through your veins
They were scaling
Through an ice pick of abcess rekoning
And when Miranda sang
Everyone turned away
Used to the noose they obey
And whoever said that they would scatter
Separating the mother from child
She can bat a broken eyelid
Raining maggots from it's sty
And with the traces that she leaves
She will skin you out alive
All the children go grinding their jaws
The sweet smell of their toothless canals
And the damn she will break, make an ocean from this lake
As they siphon off all of our blood
And when Miranda sang
Everyone turned away
Used to the noose the obey
The lyrics to The Mars Volta’s “Miranda That Ghost Just Isn’t Holy Anymore” are extremely surreal and packed with metaphorical language that evokes a sense of unease and disorientation. The overall impression is one of chaos and disintegration, with the singer expressing his desire to “eat glass” with someone, which suggests a self-destructive urge. The song is full of references to pain, violence and death, with lines like "raining maggots from its sty" and "she will skin you out alive" conjuring up images of horror and decay.
There are several possible interpretations of the song, but one of the most common is that it is about the breakdown of a relationship. The singer seems to be addressing a former lover, expressing his desire to be with them again despite the fact that they were unable to communicate in the past. This is suggested by the line "I never knew how to talk without walls dropping on the eve", which implies that their discussions were always fraught with tension and misunderstandings. The use of the word "never" also suggests that the relationship has ended definitively, and that the singer regrets what they have lost.
The references to death and decay in the song suggest that the relationship may have been toxic or destructive in some way. The line "the nest they made couldn't break you" implies that the two of them had built a home or a life together that has since fallen apart, and the image of the fence of beaks scowling suggests that there may have been external factors that contributed to this breakdown. The use of the word "scowling" implies that these factors were hostile or unfriendly, and that they caused tension between the two of them.
Overall, “Miranda That Ghost Just Isn’t Holy Anymore” is a haunting and evocative song that leaves a strong impression on the listener. Its surreal imagery and metaphorical language create a sense of unease and disorientation that perfectly captures the singer’s feelings of loss and despair.
Line by Line Meaning
I've always wanted
I have desired for a long time
To eat glass with you again
To share a dangerous experience with you again
But I never knew how
But I never knew how to communicate without barriers
How to talk without
How to speak without
Walls dropping on the eve
Defense mechanisms going down at night
The nest they made couldn't break you
Their trap couldn't impede you
Along the fallen
Beside the failures
Scowled a fence of beaks
A fence made of menacing birds
But the temple is scathing
But society is critical and hurtful
Through your veins
Through your bloodstream
They were scaling
They were climbing
Through an ice pick of abcess rekoning
Using a sharp pain to force a reckoning
And when Miranda sang
And when the muse sings
Everyone turned away
Everyone rejected the message
Used to the noose they obey
Accustomed to accepting a bleak destiny
And whoever said that they would scatter
And those who claimed they would flee
Separating the mother from child
Separating the family units
She can bat a broken eyelid
She remains unbothered
Raining maggots from it's sty
A repulsive reality is revealed
And with the traces that she leaves
And with the influences she exerts
She will skin you out alive
She will psychologically dismantle you
All the children go grinding their jaws
All the youth are nervous and tense
The sweet smell of their toothless canals
The stench of their empty promises
And the damn she will break, make an ocean from this lake
And the barrier will crumble, unleashing a flood
As they siphon off all of our blood
As they drain us of our life force
And when Miranda sang
And when the muse sings
Everyone turned away
Everyone rejected the message
Used to the noose they obey
Accustomed to accepting a bleak destiny
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: CEDRIC BIXLER, OMAR RODRIGUEZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind