10 Bands To Listen To If You Love Led Zeppelin

10. The Mars Volta

After the disbandment of Texas post-hardcore quintet At the Drive-In, three members (drummer Tony Hajjar, bassist Paul Hinojos, and guitarist Keeley Davis) formed the somewhat similar Sparta.

In contrast, vocalist Cedric Bixler-Zavala and lead guitarist Omar Rodríguez-López created one of the most daringly multidimensional and alluring progressive/jazz rock bands of the 2000s: The Mars Volta.

While their music tapped into a vast array of idiosyncratic innovators – from Frank Zappa and King Crimson to Björk, Miles Davis, and Fela Kuti – The Mars Volta always wore Led Zeppelin on their sleeves. Obviously, the acoustic guitar strums, regretful verses, uproarious choruses, bluesy rhythms, fiery electric guitarwork, and quirky synths of The Widow make it the most concise and overt example.

That said, shades of their music are strewn throughout The Mars Volta's catalog. For instance, Inertiatic ESP is adventurously frenzied and mesmeric, whereas Tetragrammaton is warmly bizarre, Since We’ve Been Wrong is tenderly atmospheric, and The Malkin Jewel is full of inventive syncopation and dreamy melodies.

There are barely any Mars Volta songs that don’t tie back to Led Zeppelin in some way, so fans are guaranteed to dig what Bixler-Zavala, Rodríguez-López, and company conjured up during their monumental (and tragically brief) run.