Absolution - Muse > Reviews > One great album

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Flawless
How does it compare to the artist's other releases	Good
Value for Money	Excellent

Advantages:	Great variance, superb tracks, brilliant instrument work .
Disadvantages:	Too short !

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

I never used to like Muse. This album wasn't what converted me, either. I saw a little bit of their Glastonbury gig on TV and never looked back. When live, they are truly amazing.

This is reflected in their albums. With an interesting sleeve design, Absolution is one of the best albums in my collection. From "Apocalypse Please" to “Ruled By Secrecy”, Absolution is an album that will tingle your senses.

Matt Bellamy is a great musician. Nothing more can be said really. He has exceptional guitar skills and is a great piano player, not to mention his fantastic, almost haunting singing voice. Like his voice, the guitars and keyboards have a haunting presence and sound to them and the absolute power to Bellamy’s guitar style is what legends are made of. Chris Wolstenholme compliments Bellamy on two levels. His subtle backing vocals add to the sound of the song while his brilliant bass guitar skills bring an extra tonne of power to the music. Dominic Howard is indefatigable on the drums, making sure not a beat is missed.

THE TRACKS

Briefly:

1 – Apocalypse Please – A great opener to a great album. Powerful pianos combine with powerful drums and loud bass and guitars. Brilliant. – 9/10

2 – Time Is Running Out – Terrific bass riff that will stick in your head for days afterwards. Great lyrics. – 8/10

3 – Sing For Absolution – A good song, but doesn’t really stand-up compared to the first two tracks. Nice keyboard riff. – 7/10

4 – Stockholm Syndrome – This could easily be the best track on the album. Extremely powerful guitars and drums. – 10/10

5 – Falling Away With You – A possible weak link, this song doesn’t really stick in your mind for long. – 6/10

6 – Hysteria – Another great song with powerful instruments. This will be the lasting memory of the entire album. – 10/10

7 – Blackout – Bringing down the tempo a fair bit, this song is no weak link. It is lyrically brilliant and the instruments make this a memorable “slow ‘un”. – 8/10

8 – Butterflies And Hurricanes – This is a simple song, yet Muse have made it sound so complicated that you love it. Matt’s piano solo in the middle is superb. – 8/10

9 – The Small Print – This brings the tempo up a wee bit more with extremely powerful drums and guitars. This is one of the best songs on the album with a great guitar riff and good solo about halfway through – 9/10

10 – Endlessly – I love this song. I don’t know what it is about it but I always find myself tapping my foot or nodding my head to it. There is no guitar, but the bass, keyboards and drums all fuse together to cushion Matt’s calmer voice to create a wonderful sound. – 8/10

11 – Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist – A slightly more “punkish”, if you will, track. There is some neat guitar work here, with good rhythm and nice bass work (as always). – 8/10

12 – Ruled By Secrecy – Again, the tempo is turned down to this mellow tune. Matt’s voice is, again, found to be calmer. The piano solo more than makes up for the lack of guitar. The usual, even expected, good bass and the drums are ever present, just slower! Good end to a great album – 8/10

OTHER COMMENTS

This album is great if you like powerful guitars, drums, pianos, basses…the lot! If you prefer calmer stuff, this album wouldn’t be for you. I’ve heard some people say that this album is too depressing. I can understand that point of view, but I haven’t actually found it to be that. It’s all a matter of taste. As far as a description of this album is concerned, I feel that “thought provoking, inspiring heavy-yet-calm rock” sums it up.

OVERALL

If you are a fan of Radiohead, the chances are that you’ll enjoy Muse. This is one of the best albums in my huge collection, and is certainly worth the £8.99 that it is now.