When the hyper art-punk band At the Drive In announced an indefinite sabbatical last year, the members amicably split into two groups.
The Mars Volta has already garnered the lion's share of attention, owing to the fact that it contains ATDI's more high-profile members -- vocalist Cedric Bixler and guitarist Omar Rodriguez. But Sparta, which consist of ATDI's Jim Ward, Paul Hinojos, and Tony Hajjar, as well as newcomer Matt Miller, sound a lot more like ATDI. This has little to do with the fact that The Mars Volta veered off into prog-rock and Sparta are a more conventional-sounding postpunk band. It's more that Ward, with his scraggly guitar playing, had as much to do with ATDI's unique sound as did its Afro-topped frontmen.
Moreover, Ward has fully commandeered Bixler's manic vocal style.