It started in the summer of 2001. [Cedric Bixler's] and [Omar Rodriguez's] (both from At the Drive-In) fame had been playing in their dub band De Facto with [Ikey Owens] and [Jeremy Ward]. They had been playing for years, but after ATDI split up, De Facto teamed up with drummer [Jon Theodore] (Golden) and bassist [Eva Gardner] to start The Mars Volta.

They went on tour with The Anniversary in the fall of 2001. They got very mixed responses to the material. Some people expected another ATDI, some just wanted to see what the buzz was about, and a whole lot of people wondered who the freaks with the afros were and why The Anniversary weren't playing yet. With a less than apparent "sound", more often improvised than not and without clear cut beginnings and ends of songs, The Mars Volta was a disappointment to some, but won the hearts of many more.