At The Drive-In

audiodaveaudiodave Posts: 1,623
edited October 2006 in Other Music
After reading the recent Sparta/Mars Volta thread and seeing all the At The Drive-In love, I thought they deserved their own thred (I searched and didn't find one, apolagies if there already is one).

I've been listening to a lot of ATD-I recently, and it has reaffirmed my love for them. I haven't been a fan that long, I only got into them after seeing The Mars Volta and deciding to investigate Cedric and Omar's past band.

I don't regret it.

The first album I got, as everyone does, was Relationship of Command. I remember listening to it, thinking it was complete garbage, and letting it gather dust for quite a while. I don't know what made me go back, but over a year later I picked up the album again, dusted it off and gave it a few listens, and I was blown away, just as I was last week when I was listening to it again.
It really is an awesome album. Standout tracks for me are Arcarsenal (what a way to open an album!), Invalid Letter Dept (one of my favourite ATD-I songs) and Cosmonaut, though there really isn't a bad song on the album.

After being so impressed with this album, I ordered Vaya, In/Casino/Out and Acrobatic Tenement (I am still to get El Gran Orgo, as it's expensive to get hold of!).

I listened to all of them and the one that immediately grabbed me was In/Casino/Out. With songs like Chanbara and Napoleon Solo, this album is absolutely brilliant. Once again, there is not a bad song here.

I only started listening to Acrobatic Tenement again last week, but I now adore it. I can't get enough of the brief but brilliant Star Slight, or Ebroglio. By far the hardest of their albums to get into, but well worth the effort.

As with most ATD-I fans, I never had the opportunity to see them live, which is a great great GREAT shame. For those of you in doubt as to why it is a shame, simply watch:

This is a performance of Cosmonaut, from Relationship of Command
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fmmLca5L2E&mode=related&search=At%20The%20Drive-In

I'm not sure where this is from, but it has One Armed Scissor and Invalid Letter Dept (the only one I could find)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBmRbMZdsnU&search=At%20The%20Drive-In

This is Napoleon Solo from In/Casino/Out (it has Catacombs beforehand and Arcarsenal afterwards)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISQOLp9bXk4&search=At%20The%20Drive-In

Finally, this is Initiation from Acrobatic Tenement (the only song from the album I could find at all, so forgive the bad quality) with Cedric and Omar WITHOUT afro's!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NtgiA6-kEXI&search=At%20The%20Drive-In
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Comments

  • red mosred mos Posts: 4,953
    I love the song Napoleon Solo- that song is the shit. One armed scissor was not bad either.
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  • I really like ATDI and Mars Volta...but I don't think they are as influential/groundbreaking as everybody makes out. I mean lets face it...RATM and FNM were doing it all better decade earlier...
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  • audiodaveaudiodave Posts: 1,623
    I really like ATDI and Mars Volta...but I don't think they are as influential/groundbreaking as everybody makes out. I mean lets face it...RATM and FNM were doing it all better decade earlier...

    I disagree. I love RATM and FNM, but ATD-I don't particlarly sound like either.

    I didn't say that they were groundbreaking, just that I think they're great.
    ~AKA Dave-of-the-dead~

    I don't wanna think, I wanna feel

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  • MCGMCG Posts: 780
    The vocals in Sleepwalk Capsules are incredible. Relationship of Command is probably in my top 5 favorite albums.
    Which came first,
    the bad idea or me befallen by it?
  • at the drive-in were fucking awesome. i wish they had stayed together instead of splitting up.

    at the drive-in > the mars volta
  • bharQbharQ Posts: 1,201
    yup HUGE fan.. I was completely blown away by them.. and I think other than Mars Volta they are the last band to do that to me.

    When I listened to them when they were out not a lot of people liked them and didn't really give them a chance... but after showing them live videos I had their opinions certainly changed..

    Me and a buddy were planning on seeing them open up for Rage in 1999.. but of course both bands had to break up :(

    Oh well, im still glad the afro doods are still makin music..

    And for the record... I find Sparta really boring both on album and live..
    09/04/05 - Calgary, AB
    08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
  • Yeah, Napoleon Solo is amazing. My favorite album is In/Casino/Out. That one just rocks. I like how Acrobatic Tenement has a more punk influence. They started adding more sounds with In/Casino/Out, but I like to hear the difference from AT to ICO.
    If I could, think I would give in.
  • I really like ATDI and Mars Volta...but I don't think they are as influential/groundbreaking as everybody makes out. I mean lets face it...RATM and FNM were doing it all better decade earlier...
    Are you joking? neither of those two bands sound anything like At The Drive In.
    Jimmy Carter has disco fever.
  • bharQbharQ Posts: 1,201
    Are you joking? neither of those two bands sound anything like At The Drive In.

    yup clearly has no idea what he's talking about

    clean the shit out your ears sir
    09/04/05 - Calgary, AB
    08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
  • audiodave wrote:
    After reading the recent Sparta/Mars Volta thread and seeing all the At The Drive-In love, I thought they deserved their own thred (I searched and didn't find one, apolagies if there already is one).

    They definitely do.A great band indeed.They played in my neck of woods in 2000 but I found out about the fact few weeks later :( My favorite album is Vaya.Relationship comes second.

    And I have no idea why Walkthamile compared ATDI/TMV to RATM/FNM *confused*
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  • audiodaveaudiodave Posts: 1,623
    omniscient wrote:
    And I have no idea why Walkthamile compared ATDI/TMV to RATM/FNM *confused*

    Glad I'm not the only one left a bit bemused by that.
    ~AKA Dave-of-the-dead~

    I don't wanna think, I wanna feel

    Dublin 23/08/06 Lisbon I 04/09/06 Lisbon II 05/09/06 Paris 11/09/06 Verona 16/09/06

    London 18/06/07 Dusseldorf 21/06/07 Copenhagen 26/06/07 Nijmegen 28/06/07
  • intodeepintodeep Posts: 7,228
    Awesome thread. I loved these guys. Relationship of Command is one of my favorite albums. :)
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  • audiodaveaudiodave Posts: 1,623
    Yeah, Napoleon Solo is amazing. My favorite album is In/Casino/Out. That one just rocks. I like how Acrobatic Tenement has a more punk influence. They started adding more sounds with In/Casino/Out, but I like to hear the difference from AT to ICO.

    Definitely. You can hear the progression from Acrobatic Tenenment to In/Casino/Out, and the progession from In/Casino/Out to Relaionship Of Command.

    I can't get enough of Acrobatic Tenement at the moment...it's so good!
    ~AKA Dave-of-the-dead~

    I don't wanna think, I wanna feel

    Dublin 23/08/06 Lisbon I 04/09/06 Lisbon II 05/09/06 Paris 11/09/06 Verona 16/09/06

    London 18/06/07 Dusseldorf 21/06/07 Copenhagen 26/06/07 Nijmegen 28/06/07
  • reeferchiefreeferchief Posts: 3,569
    audiodave wrote:
    Glad I'm not the only one left a bit bemused by that.

    I'm confused by the comparision also.:eek:

    At The Drive-In rocked, I cant love the MV or Sparta the same.:(
    Can not be arsed with life no more.
  • audiodaveaudiodave Posts: 1,623
    I'm confused by the comparision also.:eek:

    At The Drive-In rocked, I cant love the MV or Sparta the same.:(

    I do love The Mars Volta, but they are so different to At The Drive-In, they shouldn't really be compared, but it is inevitible that they will, and are. I really don't care for Sparta at all.

    But yeah, as much as I love Faith No More and RATM, ATD-I are very different. I don't think i've heard anyone who comes close to them, sound wise.
    ~AKA Dave-of-the-dead~

    I don't wanna think, I wanna feel

    Dublin 23/08/06 Lisbon I 04/09/06 Lisbon II 05/09/06 Paris 11/09/06 Verona 16/09/06

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  • alobaralobar Posts: 310
    I dismissed these guys at first too, as I thought they sounded like a RATM rip-off band. But a year or so later, I dug out the copy my firend gave me and heard Relationship Of Command in a whole new way and loved it.
    "I wanna believe in the mercy of the world again."

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  • bharQ wrote:
    yup clearly has no idea what he's talking about

    clean the shit out your ears sir

    Oh well I hear a RATM influence...you don't...maybe I should go jump off a cliff!
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  • I'm confused by the comparision also.:eek:

    At The Drive-In rocked, I cant love the MV or Sparta the same.:(

    Well in many of their songs i see some RATM similarities. Particularly ATD-I. Oh well, that's what I think.
    +--+-Official Upcoming Australasian Tour:Member #9-+--+
  • audiodave wrote:
    I disagree. I love RATM and FNM, but ATD-I don't particlarly sound like either.

    I didn't say that they were groundbreaking, just that I think they're great.
    No I just meant that lots of people refer to them as groundbreaking/influential...And I think that bands like RATM and FNM were doing more groundbreaking stuff back their day. I still love them though, though I prefer Mars Volta.

    I don't know maybe i'm nuts but see/hear some RATM influence in their (ATD-I) stuff, not so much FNM. But they're playing hard music and I never said they sounded the same...
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  • Well they are hard to categorise but I do hear some Rage in At the Drive In. As good as they are, personally they don't hold a candle to Rage...or FNM for that matter.
    My life is a disaster zone
  • Rage - Yes some similarity
    FNM - No none at all...
    IT MIGHT BE YOUR GUILE, IT COULD BE YOUR MIND...IT MIGHT BE THE WAY YOU TAKE YOUR TIME....OH, YOU, YOU, YOU
  • i always heard a lot more fugazi in their music.
  • audiodaveaudiodave Posts: 1,623
    No I just meant that lots of people refer to them as groundbreaking/influential...And I think that bands like RATM and FNM were doing more groundbreaking stuff back their day. I still love them though, though I prefer Mars Volta.

    I don't know maybe i'm nuts but see/hear some RATM influence in their (ATD-I) stuff, not so much FNM. But they're playing hard music and I never said they sounded the same...

    Ah i'm with you now. I believe I misunderstood.

    I can see what you mean with the RATM influence (though only slightly) but without sounding similar, and I now see what you mean about them both being "groundbreaking" in many people's eyes.

    We seemed to have moved away from the point of the thread, and that is that ATD-I rock, not that they do or don't sound like another particular band!

    :D
    ~AKA Dave-of-the-dead~

    I don't wanna think, I wanna feel

    Dublin 23/08/06 Lisbon I 04/09/06 Lisbon II 05/09/06 Paris 11/09/06 Verona 16/09/06

    London 18/06/07 Dusseldorf 21/06/07 Copenhagen 26/06/07 Nijmegen 28/06/07
  • bharQbharQ Posts: 1,201
    i always heard a lot more fugazi in their music.

    yup a much more accurate comparison.. especially in the older albums. Jim Ward's backup vocals remind me of Fugazi a lot
    09/04/05 - Calgary, AB
    08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
  • Brisk.Brisk. Posts: 11,557
    ahh

    relationship of fucking command!!!
  • the best thing about at the drive-in was they would go fucking nuts at their shows. the mars volta was like that early on but i think they've mellowed out now.
  • bharQbharQ Posts: 1,201
    Oh well I hear a RATM influence...you don't...maybe I should go jump off a cliff!

    i say this because this is what everyone thinks when listening to ATDI for 3 seconds.. so.. clean the shit out of your ears.. let the album really sink in and you will relize its briliance.
    09/04/05 - Calgary, AB
    08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
  • bharQ wrote:
    i say this because this is what everyone thinks when listening to ATDI for 3 seconds.. so.. clean the shit out of your ears.. let the album really sink in and you will relize its briliance.

    Hey it does'nt mean they sound the same...Many bands have influences but that influence does'nt dominate their sound, Pearl Jam are a good example of this. But I still think you can draw some comparison...They're hard to categorize but I still think they drew something from Rage. Hey I have heard everything from ATDI and I do realize their brilliance, even though I do prefer Mars Volta.
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  • Just gotta say Sparta kicks ass, & TMV suck. Sorry, but there was too much MV love & Sparta dislike...Carry on.
    "Oh, a flower you are to my land..."
  • bharQbharQ Posts: 1,201
    Just gotta say Sparta kicks ass, & TMV suck. Sorry, but there was too much MV love & Sparta dislike...Carry on.

    Have you seen both bands live?

    I almost fell asleep during Sparta.
    09/04/05 - Calgary, AB
    08/02/07 - LOLLA!!!
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