Sparta

If it is a positive point to remember from the split of At The Drive-In, it is that it will have allowed two very good formations to be born. On one side, on the basis of the band's rhythm, Sparta with Jim Ward, Paul Hinojos and Tony Hajjar; on the other the Mars Volta with Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Omar Rodriguez-Lopez.
It all started for Sparta in early summer 2002, following the signature by Geffen (Blink 182 , Bloodhound Gang ) and the recruitment of Matt Miller ( Belknap ) to bass, the band released its first disc on the tip of the feet. This is the EP Austere . Composed of four tracks, it outlines what Sparta will be: a melodic and powerful rock. Added to this, high-quality live presetations during a tour of presentation, this release is a promising future for the band.
And this future does not take long to develop, as early as the end of the summer of the same year comes out Wiretap Scars produced by Jerry Finn ( Alkaline Trio, Rancid, Blink 182). Long haunted by At The Drive-In, this time, a full-fledged band takes off. If a puppet now needs to come back, it is that of formations of the 1990s like Fugazi for voice or Texas Is The Reason . Still as good in concert, Sparta will perform in the following months alongside The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Queens Of The Stone Age or Pearl Jam.
In August 2004 Porcelain appeared in the bins. Officiating always in a simple rock style, this time embellished with some strings (violon, cello, alto...) This album reveals a strong melancholy in the writing due to the loss of three friends of Jim Ward. A little less clothesy on stage the band appears next to Ash or Incubus.
After a live EP: Live At La Zona Rosa at the end of 2004, arrives the first line-up change mid-2005. Paul Hinojos left the band to join... The Mars Volta, and Keely Davis (Denali , Engine Down ) replaced him in early 2006. It was under this training that Sparta released his last opus in October of the same year: Threes .
It should be noted that during the recording of Threes , the group also looked at the realization of a short 16 minute film. Eme Nakia , of which Sparta obviously makes the soundtrack, tells the story of drummer Tony Hajjar during the Lebanese civil war in the 1970s.