Music fans rejoice - The Mars Volta are returning to Australia and New Zealand! The Mars Volta head back to Australia and New Zealand in support of their critically acclaimed fourth album The Bedlam in Goliath (out now through Universal Music) – arguably the band’s most accomplished to date.

The Bedlam in Goliath was born after a fateful visit to a curio shop in Jerusalem by Omar where he purchased a Ouija board as a gift to Cedric. Renamed ‘The Soothsayer’ the Ouija board became the band’s post-show ritual. As interaction with The Soothsayer increased, otherworldly instances began to overwhelm the band – including physical ailments, studio flooding, music tracks disappearing and the album’s original engineer suffering a nervous breakdown.

On the eve of restarting their project, Omar buried The Soothsayer, in an attempt to reverse the curse that had plagued them. The Bedlam in Goliath follows the stories told to The Mars Volta by The Soothsayer, as they attempt to reverse curse set upon them.

Upon listening to The Bedlam in Goliath, Alternative Press declared that “The Mars Volta have created the first great record of 2008,” and Mojo confirmed “…The Mars Volta are making music built to last.” Uncut were left content, describing The Bedlam in Goliath as “their most digestible record yet”.

Rolling Stone awarded the album four stars, heaping praise on Omar and Cedric: “But there is a great leap in the songwriting — closer to classic hard-rock force and melodic drama — that, in "Goliath," "Cavaletta" and the Holy City atmospheres of "Soothsayer," is even more jolting than the weirdness”

But perhaps it was NME that described The Bedlam in Goliath most appropriately, as they named it “a grand catharsis from the forces of evil.”

On stage, The Mars Volta is a frenzied attack from start to finish. Epic and chaotic, they are an assault on the senses that only leaves you wanting more. A ‘science fact’ – according to those in the know – is that if The Mars Volta comes to your town for a show, you must be there, otherwise a little bit of your soul will die.

Their last visit to Australia and New Zealand was an exceptional experience for all involved. Following the tour, the Sunday Mail wrote of the band “…there’s something compelling about the band’s tangible love for its craft which makes them an experience for the mind and body and the most exciting example of contemporary prog rock today.” With an ever-growing profile, there is no doubt tickets to The Mars Volta’s forthcoming shows will be snapped up virtually instantaneously.