NEW DOUBLE LP + 12" SINGLE
New sealed copy. 2021 reissue.
The Bedlam in Goliath is the fourth studio album by American progressive rock band The Mars Volta, released on January 29, 2008, through Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal Motown Records. Produced by Omar Rodríguez-López, the album’s recording was notoriously turbulent, shaped by the band’s experience with a Ouija board that Rodríguez-López had purchased for vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala. That incident—along with a string of studio malfunctions and personnel strain—became part of the album’s mythology and its chaotic creative energy.
The record marked a major lineup change, introducing drummer Thomas Pridgen while serving as the final appearance for guitarist and sound manipulator Paul Hinojos, multi-instrumentalist Adrián Terrazas-González, and keyboardist Isaiah “Ikey” Owens. Musically, it expanded on The Mars Volta’s fusion of experimental rock, Latin rhythms, and jazz influences, channeled through hyperactive drumming and intricate arrangements.
Commercially, The Bedlam in Goliath debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200—still the band’s highest charting release—selling over 54,000 copies in its first week. The single “Wax Simulacra” earned a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance, further solidifying the album’s standing as one of their most aggressive and tightly constructed works. The vinyl edition included a replica of the infamous Ouija board that inspired the sessions.
The artwork was created by Jeff Jordan, who contributed eleven paintings tied to the album’s themes, including the cover piece Agadez. Often cited as one of the band’s most intense and technically ambitious releases, The Bedlam in Goliath remains a defining moment in The Mars Volta’s catalog—an album forged through chaos that captured their creative volatility at its peak.
TRACKLIST:
The Bedlam In Goliath
A1 Aberinkula
A2 Metatron
A3 Ilyena
B1 Wax Simulacra
B2 Goliath
B3 Tourniquet Man
B4 Cavalettas
C1 Agadez
C2 Askepios
C3 Ouroborous
D1 Soothsayer
D2 Conjugal Burns
Mr. Muggs
A Mr. Muggs
B Mr. Muggs
