De-Loused in the Comatorium is the debut studio album by progressive rock band The Mars Volta, released on June 24, 2003 on Gold Standard Laboratories and Universal Records. Based on a short story written by lead singer Cedric Bixler-Zavala and sound manipulation artist Jeremy Michael Ward, the album is an hour-long tale of Cerpin Taxt, a man who tries to kill himself by overdosing on a mixture of morphine and rat poison. The attempt lands him in a week-long coma during which he experiences visions of humanity and his own psyche. Upon waking, he is dissatisfied with the real world and jumps to his death. The story of Cerpin Taxt is based on the death of El Paso, Texas artist - and Bixler-Zavala's friend - Julio Venegas.

De-Loused became, both critically and commercially, the band's biggest hit, eventually selling in excess of 500,000 copies despite limited promotion, and was featured on several critics' "Best of the Year" lists. The album was ranked number 55 on the October 2006 issue of Guitar World magazine's list of the 100 greatest guitar albums of all time. "Drunkship of Lanterns" was named the 91st best guitar song of all-time by Rolling Stone.

The music contained in De-Loused is distinguished by its enigmatic lyrics, jazz rhythms, odd time signatures, and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez's frenetic guitar riffs, which are often harshly dissonant. The title of this album is taken from the lyrics of the song "Eunuch Provocateur" on the band's previous release, Tremulant. The cover artwork is by Storm Thorgerson. The title takes its name from The Kids in the Hall's 1996 film, Brain Candy, where people addicted to the titular drug are sent to a place called "the comatorium" .

Track listing

Australian edition bonus disc

These songs are the same songs that appear on Live EP.

Personnel

The following people contributed to De-Loused in the Comatorium:

Band

• Cedric Bixler-Zavala – vocals
• Omar Rodriguez-Lopez – guitar
• Jon Theodore – drums
• Jeremy Michael Ward – sound manipulation
• Isaiah Ikey Owens – keyboards
• Flea – bass

Additional musicians

• Lenny Castro – percussion
• John Frusciante – additional guitar and synthesizer treatment ("Cicatriz ESP")
• Justin Meldal-Johnsen – stand-up bass ("Televators")

Recording personnel

• Rick Rubin - producer
• Omar Rodriguez-Lopez - producer
• Dave Schiffman - recording
• Andrew Scheps - additional recording
• Phillip Groussard - assistant engineer
• Darren Mora - assistant engineer
• Lindsay Chase - album production coordination
• Vlado Meller - mastering
• Steve Kadison - mastering assistance

Artwork

• Storm Thorgerson - cover design, art direction
• Peter Curzon - cover design, graphics -
• Rupert Truman - photography
• Dan Abbott - illustrations

Singles

• "Inertiatic ESP" (2003)
• "Televators" (2003)

Charts

Album

Year	Chart	Position
2003	The Billboard 200	39

External links

• De-Loused in the Comatorium Storybook (via tmvfr.info)
• Mix Online article - Technical report/interview on the making of De-Loused in the Comatorium.
• Song by Song Interpretation and Album Review

References

1. Acclaimed Music - De-Loused in the Comatorium
2. Chud Forums
3. The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time : Rolling Stone