Noctourniquet

Noctourniquet is the sixth studio album by American progressive rock band The Mars Volta, released on March 26, 2012 on Warner Bros… Produced by guitarist and songwriter Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, it is the band’s first studio album to feature drummer Deantoni Parks, and the first not to include contributions from guitarist John Frusciante and keyboardist Isaiah “Ikey” Owens.

Inspired by the children’s nursery rhyme, Solomon Grundy, and the Greek myth of Hyacinthus, Noctourniquet is a concept album, with vocalist Cedric Bixler Zavala stating, “It’s about embracing life for what it should be. There’s a view of the elitist lifestyle - that being an artist is unattainable. I’m trying to write this story that reminds people that we’re all artists.”

Noctourniquet debuted on the Billboard 200 at #15 with 21,000 albums sold in its first week. In Canada, the album debuted at #44 on the Canadian Albums Chart. In its second week of sales, the album dropped 85 places to #100 on the Billboard 200.