The Mars Volta Disbands; Singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala Makes Announcement via Twitter Rant

Mars Volta frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who has the twitter presence of a teenage girl (seriously, try following the dude– it’s all reality show gossip and tacky internet shorthand), took to the social network late Wednesday evening to announce the end of the influential experimental/prog/fusion/post-hardcore group’s 12-year run. Bixler-Zavala seems to single out guitarist (and former At the Drive-In bandmate) Omar Rodriguez-Lopez’s refusal to dedicate an appropriate amount of time and energy to The Mars Volta as the cause of the group’s split.

In his lengthy twitter rant, the singer explained that he pushed hard to tour in support of the band’s latest album, Noctourniquet, but Rodriquez-Lopez instead shifted focus to his new project, Bosnian Rainbows. Bixler-Zavala also mentioned that he had hoped to eventually reunite with two key original members who had departed from the band: drummer Jon Theodore and keyboardist Ikey Owes. He also mentioned that his “record would see the light of day soon,” which would be the singer’s first proper solo album if released under his own name.

Last fall, the band announced a hiatus which led to initial breakup speculation. In his rant this evening, Bixler-Zavala indicated that he felt classifying it as a “hiatus” was misleading to fans, and cited a desire to be honest and upfront about the band’s future as his reasoning for making the informal announcement. He also showed deep appreciation for the years of support fans have shown the band.

You can check out Cedric Bixler-Zavala’s lengthy Twitter rant below. I’ve omitted some of the more redundant ones:

[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294273086482677761]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294274059234062336]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294274439791656961]
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[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294275495778988032]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294275864588349441]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294276250523037696]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294277212893503488]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294278505871601666]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294279747511406592]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294283616513581056]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294286035578404865]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294298419881717760]
[tweet https://twitter.com/cedricbixler_/status/294308876868808704]

Last summer, Bixer-Zavala and Rodriquez-Lopez reunited with their former At the Drive-In bandmates to perform at Coachella and Lollapalooza. The band was very upfront about having no intentions to continue for any reason but nostalgia and financial opportunities, with no plans to write or record new music. Though any future At the Drive-In performances already seemed unlikely, a falling out between Cedric and Omar makes it seem next to impossible. We also didn’t have much hope to see either band at Bonnaroo this summer, but now it certainly won’t happen. The Mars Volta last performed in Nashville in the fall of 2009, at the War Memorial Auditorium.