Other reviews are average, mixed or negative: "Under the Radar" gave it a score of six stars out of ten and said, "With each album, the band seems to grab for so much, reaching further and further into the musical abyss, and still managing to craft songs that boggle the mind and dazzle the ears. The only question is whether all this is just too academic." "Uncut" gave it a score of three stars out of five and said, "It initially seems as if the moments of inspiration between self-indulgences are becoming scarcer. A bracing middle section rescues "Amputechture"." "Spin" gave it a score of six out of ten and said, "As over the top as all this can be, "Amputechture" has little of the thrash influence that's made modern prog so deadening, and the impenetrable lyrics... are easily overlooked." "Billboard" gave it an average review and said it "isn't for casual listening, so those checking out the Mars Volta for the first time should take it slow to prevent a sonic hangover."