It’s been four years since the esteemed ex–Mars Volta drummer began playing in QotSA. Now we’ve been gifted with the multifarious Villains, and at long last we get to hear what he sounds like on a full-length record with the group. What’s immediately clear is that drummer and band push each other to new heights of artistic expression. Perhaps less obvious is the sheer amount of time, effort, dedication, focus, and outside-the-box thinking involved in getting there. In the mid-2000s, Jon Theodore made a tremendous impact on the drumming community with his playing on the first three studio albums and pair of live releases by the Mars Volta, a progressive-minded heavy rock band that consistently challenged the status quo while establishing global audiences. For many observers, De-Loused in the Comatorium (2003), Fran