Is there anything like The Mars Volta?

Probably the best recommendation is to go get the rest of their albums first - none of it will be such a departure that you can't recognize the things you liked about the band in the album you own.

Frequency Fall is somewhat similar. I find it just a scosh more conventional, with much better vocals, and a slightly higher emphasis on creating soaring melodies than on creating strange trippy sounds. Recommended if you like TMV though.

http://cdbaby.com/cd/frequencyfall

and

http://cdbaby.com/cd/frequencyfall2

and they've got one more coming real soon. You can listen to clips there.

Also try this: http://cdbaby.com/found?artist=&soun...&album=&style=

Kayo Dot, Maudlin of the Well, Ruins, Mr. Bungle, Secret Chiefs 3, Trevor Dunn's Trio-Convulsant, Estradasphere, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Idiot Flesh, Sir Millard Mulch, Cocteau Twins, Deus Ex Machina, Apocalyptica, Tortoise, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, Return to Forever, Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Dave Weckl Band, Virgil Donati Band, Chicago Underground Trio, Cab, Hiromi, Vienna Art Orchestra, Fantomas, Cynic, Behold... the Arctopus, Watchtower, Spastic Ink, Spiral Architect, Aghora, Atheist, Meshuggah, Alarum, Clockwork, Control Denied, Necrophagist, Death, Coprofago, Canvas Solaris, Gorguts, Technician, Alchemist, Theory in Practice, Martyr, Dysrhythmia, PsyOpus, Reflux, Tandjent, Linear Sphere, Gordian Knot, The Tangent, Abydos, Riverside, Porcupine Tree, Circus Maximus, Beyond Twilight, Ayreon, Fates Warning, Bumblefoot, Redemption, Conception, Ark, Magnitude 9, King Crimson, Frank Zappa, Planet X, Pain of Salvation, The Flower Kings, OSI, Glass Hammer, Dreamscape, Dream Theater, Liquid Tension Experiment, Transatlantic, Genesis, Vanden Plas, Jon Finn Group, IQ, California Guitar Trio, Andromeda, Ozric Tentacles, Frameshift, Threshold, Queensryche, On the Virg, Upsilon Acrux, Zero Hour, Explorer's Club, Pagan's Mind, Frantic Bleep, Bubblemath, Freak Kitchen, Kong, Ephel Duath, Candiria, Conlon Nancarrow, Tony Macalpine, Thomas Lang, Al DiMeola, Vitalij Kuprij, Don Caballero, Isis, Arsis, Evergrey, Opeth, After Forever, Earthtone 9, Agalloch, Vintersorg..

..in no particular order, but i'd easily recommend any one. there's a lot of metal there.. prog, tech, folk, fusion, death, math, astral.. some avantgarde, some free jazz, and many things that are generally unclassifiable. explore, do some reading, sample a few tracks (most of the above artists should have full tracks available on their respective websites).. and most of all, have fun and revel in the fact that great music still exists and is going strong

yay Don Cab!

Another one, not sure if it's on your list.. Flying Luttenbachers?

My vote goes to Muse. They're not as complex and layered as TMV is, but their music is generaly more accessible.

Try early Santana. And don't forget the earlier incarnation, At The Drive-In. They were a great band, very heavy punk rock.

hahaha
Name-dropper fo sho.

*copies*

(Thanks for the list. n_______n)

Couldn't have said that any better myself.

Start with 'Origin Of Symmetry'.

nope.. they sound decent though, from what i've read. no harm in checking them out.

Muse is good, too.

how about relationship of command from the pre-tmv days of at the drive-in.

OoS is their second. IMO marginally their "worst" but still very good with some devestating songs. But not a bad place to start anyway. I don't think they're quite in the same genre as TMV, but I do think you'll like em if you like TMV.

I can agree with the muse recomendation, origin of symetry is a good album with some killer tracks. my favorite album of theirs is absolution... good stuff. of course if you like muse then youll like radiohead (kid a and hail to the theif are my two fav albums by them)