The Mars Volta Frances the Mute Debuts No 4; Euro/UK Tour Completely Sold Out!

NEW YORK (Universal Motown Records Group) - Having scored 4-star and/or lead reviews in ROLLING STONE, SPIN, BLENDER, PLAYBOY and GUITAR WORLD, covers of ALTERNATIVE PRESS and BASS PLAYER, and major Sunday spreads in the NEW YORK and LOS ANGELES TIMES, The Mars Volta's second full length opus Frances The Mute entered the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart at #4, selling in excess of 120,000 units in the week following its March 1 release.

The band is currently in the midst of an SRO Europe/UK tour, where the record was released a week earlier, crashing into the top of the charts from the UK to Iceland-even entering at # 1 in Norway! U.S. tour dates will be announced this week, including a two-night stand commemorating Cinco de Mayo at NYC's Roseland Theater.

At radio, Frances The Mute's first single, "The Widow," has been generating #1 phones at Los Angeles' KROQ, and similarly huge response from others across the board, including WHFS, 91x, KITS and WXRK.

The Mars Volta was formed in 2001 by vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez, and released the Tremulant EP the following year on their own GSL label. The band's first full length, De-Loused In The Comatorium, was released by GSL/Strummer/Universal in 2003, selling over half a million worldwide and garnering unanimous critical acclaim as the band established itself as an incomparable live experience.