The Mars Volta This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed (The Rise Of Moatilliata) Lyrics & Meaning

The Mars Volta This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed Song Meaning and Lyric Interpretation

This article discusses the meaning behind the The Mars Volta song ‘This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed’. This is track 8 on the album ‘De-Loused In The Comatorium’ and is the 8th chapter in the Cerpin Taxt tragedy.

You also read my interpretations of the other tracks on the album to get the full story.

In This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed Claviatika’s dead carcass lies in the desert. Some Giants who come from the city “Topiltzen” find her body.

One of the giants named “Hectros” puts her body in his pouch.

The Giants travel back to Topiltzen. Koral Mataxia is the Mayor of Topiltzen, an obese boar.

Koral has convinced the entire town that they must sacrifice their children in order to keep Moatilliatta from coming out of the ground and killing all of them. He promises that he will not spill any of their blood, but suffocate them instead. This is a lie. In fact, Koral Mataxia eats the children given as a sacrifice.

But everyone in town believes him to be trying to help them, they were brainwashed and would do anything the Boar told them to do.

In the back of Koral’s head as two eyes lives “El Mago Adastra”. He is the real controller of Koral, manipulating him into doing his bidding. To provide some rest to his conscience, he buries the remains of the sacrificed children in his garden under 2 Claviatika statues.

Two 3 year old twins, Zxiat and Ghiest, know all about Koral Mataxia and his eating habits. But no one listens to them, because they are just children. The Twins play in the Garden with the two statues and have conversations with the statue on the left. But whenever they play in the garden, someone watches them.

It was Neuralgia who watches them. And whenever they leave, she would go up to the statue on the left and start to sing it hymns and worship it. But watching her, was Koral Mataxia. He lusts after her and tries to make her his lover, but she refuses.

When the Giants come to Koral, Hectros takes out Claviatika telling Koral that she is the seed they have been looking for. At the time that Claviatika was taken out, Cerpin Taxt wake up. If only just for a second, enough time to see all his friends and family surrounding his hospital bed. He falls back into the Comatorium.

Adastra orders Claviatika’s remains to be incinerated, upsetting the Giants, because they revere her. He takes her ashes and buries them underneath the statue on the left in his Garden.

As the two twins come back and talk to the Statue, it reveals its identity to Gheist as “Moatilliatta”. Koral also comes to talk to Moatilliatta. He then brainwashes Neuralgia to make her serve him.

Koral Mataxia decides to “sacrifice” the two Twins in order to bring him closer to Moatilliatta. He kills them with a machete.

After Koral kills the two twins, Moatilliatta bursts from the ground. He goes on a rampage, killing the people in the town, and ripping the throat from Neuralgia, because she served Koral. Koral is in his bed sleeping through most of it, when he finally smells the bodies he looks out his window to see what all the commotion is about. He sees outside his window a gigantic pile of dead citizens. Waiting for him on his roof is Moatilliatta. As Koral sticks his head out the window to get a closer look, Moatilliatta reaches down and bites off the top half off Koral’s body.

As Moatilliatta (Cerpin Taxt’s most evolved form) finishes demolishing the city, Cerpin Taxt awakes from his sleep. He spends the next 3 days recuperating from his coma.

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Lyrical Interpretation

This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed starts by describing how the citizens of Topiltzen need someone to save them from Koral and his brainwashing tyranny.

I’ve been waiting for so long
For someone to
Mend all the blame
I’ve been searching for so long
For something to
Anonymous
Avenge my name
Right now

The first few lines of This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed’s Chorus are fairly obvious in meaning. The only line that may be confusing is when he mentions “Anonymous”. In this line he is referring to the children who are being “sacrificed”. They are crying out, needing someone to avenge their wrongful deaths.

Came here on time
Hope that it’s not to late,
Seen you at night…
Biting the frost of silence
Can you cure us of this fate
Mock the litany in its face
Is that you Moatilliatta

The 1st Verse of This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed comes out of the mouths of the children Zxiat and Ghiest. They are talking about their visits that they spent in the garden talking to Moatilliatta. The words are actually directed at Moatilliatta himself. We know this when they say “Is that you Moatilliatta”.

When they say “Biting the frost of silence” they are talking about how no one will listen to them, even though they know about Koral’s evil deeds. Once again they are crying out for someone to stop Koral from eating them when they ask “Can you cure us of this fate”. Along side with that line, they ask Moatilliatta to “Mock the litany in its face”. The litany is what Koral Mataxia uses to brainwash the citizens of Topiltzen.

The next Verse talks about Moatilliatta’s rise from the ground.

Hex zero rouge
He’ll hibernate no more
Altars run dry
Prefect dictate final words
Does it sting of augur truth

“Hex Zero Rouge” is just another name for Moatilliatta. His rise from the ground is described further when it says “He’ll hibernate no more” because the “Altars run Dry”. It is saying how Moatilliatta’s rise has come because of the massive evil that has occurred in the city. The lines “Prefect dictate final words, Does it sting of augur truth” are essentially mocking Koral Mataxia. They are saying that this was something that was destined to happen, and asks “does it sting because it was already prophesied?”. Similar to saying “I told you so!”.

In the last Verse, Moatilliatta is now talking to the people of Topiltzen, including Koral Mataxia and Neuralgia. He says

This is the altar
The one that you let me die in
On your knees
How you wept
Much like Omerta
The quiet has shielded all intent
On the ground it appears
Like wrath
Avenging the lamb as bait
In a bed of nails you made

He makes a reference to “Omerta”. Although he uses it like a name, it is actually a noun meaning to swear a vow of silence, because the silence that the people have about the children being sacrificed is so strong, it actually becomes a key player in the story.

He continues on to say how he used the people of Topiltzen as bait so he could find Koral Mataxia and kill him. This is shown in the lines “Avenging the lamb as bait, in a bed of nails you made”. When he says this he is meaning that Koral’s death is his own fault because of his evil deeds.

Musical Interpretation

This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed Starts with a sound that is very much like that of a mosquito, or pesky bird. This is a representation of the setting of Claviatika’s dead body, lying in the desert as there would be bugs and vultures flying around her body, buzzing around.

Back in Topiltzen, the people cry out for someone to help them in the Chorus. The only really notable thing about the Chorus is the insane drumming and the incredibly weird harmony. The Harmony sounds as if someone is gagged, but still trying to sing it.

During the Verse This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed quiets down, but keeping the same pace, as Zxiat and Ghiest ask Moatilliatta to save them from their fate. The smooth feel of the Verse is really awesome.

At the end of each Verse, Cedric screams out “Moatilliatta”, but the word is almost unrecognizable. That alone isn’t all that neat, but here’s the trick. When you actually know what he is saying, every time you hear that part of the song, something just clicks in your mind and your attention is brought back to the song. Follow these steps!

  • Listen to this song
  • Find the spot where he says Moatilliatta
  • Now listen to it while trying to do something else.

Every time he says “Moatilliatta” your attention will be brought back to “This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed”. I thought that that was interesting enough to point it out to you.

This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed” continues in the same fashion, but at the very End of “This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed” it breaks into an intense industrial beat. This would be the last part of the Comatorium where Cerpin’s heart become more frantic. It eventually becomes so intense that it wakes Cerpin out of his coma. Thus Ending the song.

To let you know, this is my second least favorite song (next to Tira Me A Las Aranas). This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed is still is an amazing song, and the story is one of my favorites. I would still prefer it over pretty much anything from any other band, just not as much as the rest of the CD.

Full ‘This Apparatus Must Be Unearthed’ Lyrics

I’ve been waiting for so long
For someone to
Mend all the blame
I’ve been searching for so long
For something to
Anonymous
Avenge my name
Anonymous
Avenge my name

Came here on time
I just hope that it’s not too late
I’ve seen you at night
Biting the frost of silence
Can you cure us of this fate
Mock the litany in its face
Is that you Moatilliata

I’ve been waiting for so long
For someone to
Mend all the blame
I’ve been searching for so long
For something to
Anonymous
Avenge my name
Anonymous
Avenge my name

Hex zero rouge
He’ll hibernate no more
The altars run dry
Prefect dictate your final words
Does it sting of augur truth
Was your temple left in ruins
Is that you Moatilliata

I’ve been waiting for so long
For someone to
Mend all the blame
I’ve been searching for so long
For something to
Anonymous
Avenge my name
Anonymous
Avenge my name

This is the altar
The one that you let me die in
On your knees
How you wept
Much like Omerta
The quiet has shielded all intent
On the ground it appears
Like wrath
Avenging the lamb as bait
In a bed of nails you made
Who is this effigy
Is there straw dressed in these fields
And now it won’t be long

I’ve been waiting for so long
For someone to
Mend all the blame
I’ve been searching for so long
For something to
Anonymous
Avenge my name
Anonymous
Avenge my name

But don’t fret, because next we get to move on to the bridge jumping elegy, Televators.

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