The Mars Volta has been played over 10 times on NTS, first on 16 May 2017. The Mars Volta's music has been featured on 16 episodes.

The Mars Volta is an American progressive rock band formed in 2001. Its core members are Omar Rodríguez-López (guitar, production) and Cedric Bixler-Zavala (vocals, lyrics), who have remained the group’s central creative partnership. The band’s later line-ups have included Eva Gardner (bass), Marcel Rodríguez-López (keyboards, synthesizers, percussion), Leo Genovese (piano, keyboards, saxophone), and Linda-Philomène Tsoungui (drums).

The Mars Volta was formed following the dissolution of At the Drive-In, the previous band of Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala. Seeking to develop a more experimental sound, they recruited Gardner, Isaiah “Ikey” Owens (keyboards), Jon Theodore (drums), and Jeremy Ward (sound manipulation). The band released its debut extended play, "Tremulant", in 2002. Gardner departed before the recording of the band’s first studio album, "De-Loused in the Comatorium" (2003), for which Flea performed bass. The album, produced by Rick Rubin, received critical acclaim.

The band’s second studio album, "Frances the Mute" (2005), was produced by Rodríguez-López and introduced Juan Alderete (bass) and Marcel Rodríguez-López as regular members. It reached number four on the US Billboard 200 and was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. The third album, "Amputechture" (2006), was the final release to feature Jon Theodore as drummer. In 2008, the band released "The Bedlam in Goliath", a concept album influenced by the group’s reported experiences with a talking board. Its single "Wax Simulacra" received the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2009. The band’s fifth album, "Octahedron", was released in 2009.

After the release of "Noctourniquet" (2012), the band entered a hiatus in September of that year. Rodríguez-López subsequently formed the project Bosnian Rainbows, and The Mars Volta officially disbanded in January 2013 following disagreements between Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala. The two later resumed collaboration through the project Antemasque and additional activity with At the Drive-In.

Rodríguez-López and Bixler-Zavala reunited privately in 2019 and began recording new material. The band publicly announced its return in 2022, accompanied by an art installation titled "L'ytome Hodorxí Telesterion". The reunion line-up included Gardner and Marcel Rodríguez-López, along with drummer Willy Rodriguez Quiñones. For subsequent live performances, Leo Genovese, Linda-Philomène Tsoungui, and Josh Moreau joined the group. The band released the album "The Mars Volta" in 2022, followed by "Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacio" in 2025.

Full Wikipedia article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TheMarsVolta

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 Corazón (2023) Lucro Sucio; Los Ojos del Vacio (2025)