I first heard about this band about 8 months ago when I heard Bliss on Kerrang. I didn't like it at first but it slowly grew on me. By the time I heard that they had a new album coming out, I quite Bliss so decided to go out and buy it. At first I had doubts about whether or not I would like it but form the moment I started playing it, I was hooked.
For all of you who are unaware, Muse are a three piece from Devon. Their music is best described as a livelier, heavier version of Radiohead. They have released three albums so far: Showbiz, Origin of Symmetry and the one I am currently writing about, Absolution.
The album starts off with 'Intro' which starts off with the sound of a marching army getting louder and louder. Then, all of the sudden, crashing pianos come in for the start of 'Apocalypse Please' it is a heavy track which still manages to include some operatic elements - a sign of things to come. "This is the end of the world" Matt roars during the chorus and it sounds really stupid but you can't help but believe him!
Next up is 'Time is Running Out'. It starts off with an irresistible bass riff with quiet vocals and finger clicks before exploding into the chorus. The song doesn't really get any quieter after that until after the second chorus where the vocalist decides to indulge in some slightly embarrassing “ooohhhh ooohhh oooohhh yeah yeah yeah" style opera before going into the final chorus. The song is not as spectacular or as original as some of the songs later on in the album
but is insanely catchy and I can assure you you won't be forgetting it in a hurry!
'Sing for Absolution' begins in rather surreal fashion. The intro sounds more like something you would hear coming out from a Fisher Price toy than a serious rock band. The vocals are fairly soft in the verses with the occasional computer added echo. The choruses are much louder yet still rather slow. There is very little guitar work until there is a solo leading up to the final chorus. After the final chorus there are a couple of shouted lines before the keyboard fades out beautifully.
There is no chance to catch your breath as the intro to the first single 'Stockholm Syndrome' comes soon after. It has a very nice riff mixed in with some pounding drums. The vocals overall are fairly operatic and dramatic especially in the chorus.
The next track 'Falling Away with You' is probably the weakest song on the whole album. It is your pretty typical quiet-loud-quiet-loud type tracks with "I feel my world crumbling" lyrics and an intro that shares a passing resemblance to the theme tune from Gardeners' World! The song also sounds very fuzzy which I think was intentional but doesn't sound very good.
'Interlude' is a very nice 30 second long fuzzy keyboard piece which while quite good seems to serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever.
The 7 tracks after ‘Interlude’ transform this album from very good to possibly one of the greatest albums of the century so far.
'Hysteria' opens with a keyboard intro like many of the tracks here before some more pounding drums which give way to a wonderful guitar piece. The vocals in the verse are distorted but not to the point where they are difficult to understand. The chorus is loud and catchy and there is a very funky guitar solo in there too. All in all, one of the best tracks on the album.
Considering the previous 6 "Full length" tracks, Blackout will come as a shock. It is soft and mainly orchestral with only a bit of keyboard playing and no guitar work what so ever. It is exactly the type of track that I would never have previously given the light of day, however this truly is beautiful. The lyrics here are extremely moving and powerful "This life is too good to last and I'm too young to care". These lyrics and the hummed tune in the background set a delightfully somber atmosphere (I know it’s an oxymoron but you just have to listen to this track to realize what I mean!)
'Blackout' was different but nothing can prepare you for the OTT insanity ‘Butterflies and Hurricanes’ has to offer. Many people are heralding this as a modern day 'Bohemian Rhapsody' and while that is a bit of an overstatement, I can kind of see where they are coming from. This track has it all - whispers, shouts, a choir, keyboards, strings and best of all, a 1 and a half minute minute long Rachmaninov style strings/piano bit. It starts of very quietly with more whispered vocals then gets louder after some strange piano playing, The choir then kicks in for a while before the said classical part. It starts with strings which slowly fades into silence. After this is the piano section. The piano is played with great talent even though it is a rip off of a classical musician. The vocals come back with soe more quiet whispering which then explodes into the final chorus. This is my favourite song on the album and in my opinion is worth the £8 the album costs just to listen to.
'The Small Print' is nothing but pure rock. It is an all out thrash track and to be honest is what I was expecting the entire album to be. It's a great track for head banging to but isn't quite the classic that this album has got in abundance.
'Endlessly' is the softest track on the entire album. It has a relaxing keyboard tune accompanied by soft vocals. It is a very nice song if a little dull. The best way of describing it would be Coldplay combined with any dance group out there.
'Thoughts of A Dying Atheist' must be one of the greatest song titles ever invented. It kicks off with a pretty simple riff and despite its title and lyrics ("It scares the hell out of me and the end is all I can see) it is actually very uplifting! It is simply another all out rock track a bit like The Small Print but not as heavy. The sheer catchiness of this track more than makes up for the obscure "yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah owwawyaw" sound at the end of the chorus.
The final track is 'Ruled by Secrecy'. This track has been criticized by a lot of people as being dull but it is actually another one of my favorites! It is one of those songs where you have to close your eyes and let the music allow your imagination to run wild. You will have to turn it up pretty loud though because the vocals are pretty hard to hear as they are so quiet.
One criticism I would put against this album is that the cover and inlay content are both lacking in accuracy. There is a mistake on the back of my cover which puts the tracks 'Interlude' and ‘Hysteria’ the wrong way around. There are also quite a few mistakes with the song lyrics inside the inlay. The cover does no actually feature the band's name. Instead the name appears on a cheap, tacky looking sticker on the front of the case which leaves a horrible white mark on the front of the case when removed. Very picky aren't I lol.
Overall, this album will be loved by some and hated by others. It requires you to give up about 50 minutes of your life to really concentrate on it to have any effect - it certainly isn't background music! If you are in doubt then I suggest you give it a try - you might like it!
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A great review, Muse are easily the best band ever...and I get to see them live :-D yayyyy hehe Hannah xxx
freeloader2006 14.09.2006 18:15
Excellent, well summed up review. Muse are a great band too!!
Will77 07.06.2006 17:16
Very good review. Id never considered listening to them until a friend said that I would like them so I gave them a whirl and was very pleasently surprised
With Absolution, size is most definitely an issue. Hoping that it will finally propel them ... more
into the musical major leagues, Muse have set out to create a cross-genre monster, a contemporary meisterwerk, the biggest-sounding album in years. That they alm...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Advantages: Nice step forward, fantastic music, some excellent songs and hardly a duff track here Disadvantages: Can understand why some people dont get Muse
Padds 08.01.2004 (08.01.2004)
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