The ever-enigmatic Cedric Bixler-Zavala responded to a series of tweets this week indicating the possibility that The Mars Volta may one day reunite, though not anytime in the foreseeable future, as reported by The PRP. After first tweeting to a fan that The Mars Volta would reunite soon, Bixler-Zavala clarified that it would be quite a while before the band would regroup.
Bixler-Zavala is, of course, busy fronting the recently reactivated At The Drive-In, who are still furiously touring in support of their comeback record in•ter a•li•a and their new EP Diamanté. Emerging from the El Paso hardcore scene in the mid-1990’s, At The Drive-In built up a rabid following due in part to the incredible stage performance of Bixler-Zavala, who became known for his boundless energy and manic dance moves.
Eventually, the group fractured after their groundbreaking release, Relationship of Command in 2000, with Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López forming The Mars Volta. After debuting with the Tremulant EP in 2002, the band released a string of incredible albums that mixed hardcore punk intensity with progressive rock, jazz, latin music, electronic, and whatever else Rodríguez-López could think up. Eventually, the relationship between Bixler-Zavala and Rodríguez-López splintered, and in 2013 The Mars Volta officially broke up. Ultimately, the two mended fences and recorded an album with a new group, ANTEMASQUE, before shockingly reuniting 4/5ths of the classic lineup of At The Drive-In.
Fans have been hoping that the two would eventually decide to reunite The Mars Volta and while the tweets make it appear this won’t happen for a long time, there is at least some amount of proof now that there will be a reunion. There is still no word yet on if any of the band’s unreleased material will ever see the light of day though the ever-productive Rodríguez-López did release a slew of solo albums from his vaults in 2016.
You can read the tweets from Bixler-Zavala below:
Damn. I wish I had half the confidence your proclamation has! Thank you for the kind words. We will be back soon
— CEDRIC BIXLER ZAVALA (@cedricbixler_) February 10, 2018
I appreciate the rabid infection that spreads when anything Volta is discussed, but it’ll be a while b4 that ship takes off. Still got a lot of ground to cover w my current family @AtTheDriveIn all I did was praise a fans enthusiasm & casually mention volta being a thing.
— CEDRIC BIXLER ZAVALA (@cedricbixler_) February 11, 2018