The Mars Volta return with a fresh dose of epic rock 'n' roll on their third studio album, Amputechture. The eight-track set opens with the seven-minute Vicarious Atonement, the closest the group has ever come to a ballad. The album then moves back to familiar expansive musical territory on the nearly seventeen-minute Tetragrammaton and also features two other tracks that clock in past the eleven-minute mark. In addition to contributions from Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, Amputechture also features Paul Hinojos' first studio work with the Mars Volta since joining as a touring musician in 2005. Hinojos previously played with Mars Volta principals Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez in At The Drive-In.

Amputechture is the follow-up to 2005's Frances the Mute, which debuted at a career-best number four on Billboard.