For their third studio album in the fall of 2003, Muse entered brave new territory with the heralded "Absolution" release. Their previous two works had seen them take on a huge fanbase in Europe and it was always going to be a tough task to top the magnificent Origin of Symmetry LP. Have they done it? The jury is undecided. Regardless, the jury is still delighted with a complete sounding record and some fantastic operatic songs of extraordinary proportian. This is Muse cranked up to their eccentric best. Critics and fans alike have absolutely devoured the latest works from Bellamy and co.
It all started so very differently. The release of Showbiz saw the Devon trio cop the unenviable tag which so many bands have received in the wake of their first album; Radiohead II. While it may be a privilege to be compared to such an accomplished act, such an anecdote has been thrown out so often by the media that it's become a mere statement of everything we've seen before. Admittedly, there may be more than a hint of Yorke-esque wailing to Bellamy's tone, but the music that Muse have produced with Absolution is very much an artifact of their own abstract talent. Never has an album cover name been more appropriate. This is absolution.
Muse have blossomed over the last couple of years. They've been on the circuits for a relatively long time, but as performers in their mid twenties, we can hopefully look forward to bigger and better things. That said, the band will have considerable difficulty producing anything that sounds bigger than Absolution. Finding their niche quite clearly, this is one of the most exhilirating rock records of recent years. It makes just about everything in its wake look tiny in comparison to the gigantic riffs and chaotic choruses of impending doom. Bellamy is a song writer in the British mould. In person, he looks like a mad scientist. Twitching and convulsing with frighteneing vigour. For those of you who have yet to see Muse play live, you're missing out on a mind blowing experience. Bellamy, in particular, skips from instrument to instrument, racking up sound that you simply wouldn't believe possible from a three piece band.
Dom is a master on the drums, and he gets the chance to shine in Absolution. Chris is as good a bass player as you're going to find in mainstream bands. Just watch his fingers rushing to the next note frenetically in the opening of Hysteria and you'll see for yourself.This is an album which doesn't just pass you by; it drags you through an epic hour of thrills and spills, highs and lows. And through it all, the theme is obviously. Muse are obsessed with the world ending, armies taking power and they do their utmost to leech every last drop of post-9/11 anxiety in to their music. "Come on, it's time we saw a miracle. It's time for something biblical." pleads Bellamy as the album roars in to life amid the sound of marching troops. Perhaps a fitting sign. While Absolution may not quite fit in to the realms of biblical folklore, it certainly is a once in a lifetime experience.
Apocalypse Please - ( Declare this an emergency / Come on and spread a sense of urgency ) - 7.5/10
The sound of a marching army grows louder and Bellamy blasts us in to the stratosphere with the drumming of his toy piano. "This is the end." he screams before the album has even finished it's first track. He really means it. We're introduced to Absolution with a hint of desperation that tells us immediately where Muse's intentions lie. They're as paranoid as ever and they produce such a ferocious sound that you're instantly elslaved to Bellamy's tortured screams. The chorus is uneducated by effective. Not a spectacular song in its own right, but by the nature of the album, it slots in perfectly. It simply wouldn't work anywhere else on the record.
Matt: "There's been this religious fear in the air the last few years, a belief that religion could cause wars. … I'm not a religious person myself. But I wanted to put the mood into words, and I used the words of a religious fanatic.''
Time Is Running Out - ( You can't push it underground / You can't stop it screaming out ) - 9/10
The
media's darling song. TIRO received a great deal of acclaim for it's poppy catches and lively chorus. It managed to heave itself a sixable share of play on the music stations, but it remains one of the less intricate works on the album. You get the feeling that as the first single, the band added this to try and spread their fanbase across to American shores. It's not particular heavy, it's a perfect little radio tune. While i have no problem with variation, i'm certainly glad that the rest of the album shies away from mainstream hooks and extras. Whatever the motives behind the song, it does what it says on the tin. A rip-roaring chorus which is guaranteed to please the ear after the deluded opener.
Chris: "Time Is Running Out is one of those songs that is one of the most popular on the album. It was the first single and if there was a pop song that we have written that would be it. It was our first single in America and it was the first song a lot of people would have heard from the radio. It is one of those songs that has to be in the set. It is a key moment in the set and has to be there anyway".
Sing For Absolution - ( Lips are turning blue / A kiss that can't renew / I only dream of you / My beautiful ) - 8/10
An experimental song on a record where experiment is the name of the game. The sound is spooked and chilling with vocal distortian and haunting vocals from a ghost-like Bellamy. The song is a lot slower than most of the rest and it has a more measured approach where you're finally able to predict the next line. Some seductive lyrics make this a particularly memorable listen and the chorus oozes to life as Matt falsettos his way in to a pining cry of falling from our grace. By the end of the track, chaos has been unleashed. Heavy clattering guitars crash down on the parade and threaten to tear up your ear drums as Bellamy finally loses the plot and ascends in to a torrent of noise. Certainly an interesting song, with a great video. I personally prefer the Muse of OOS where roaring riffs were the preffered norm, but this is still a captivating product.
Matt: "There is something oppressive in this song, with a gothic sound. The couplets speak about some kind of a dead relationship or something like that. There was a big improvisation part. Making music or singing for me is an act of exploring absolution. In fact, this is my own personal way of finding a way to understand myself, to understand all the confusing elements about me, those things that scared me and reappear suddenly of this song."
Stockholm Syndrome - ( This is the last time i'll abandon you / And this is the last time i'll forget you ) 10/10
Vintage Muse. Just when you begin to wonder whether they've said a lasting goodbye to the booming sounds of Origin, they come back with a rip-roarer of a rock song which tears apart just about everything you compare it to. Phenomenal riffs and incredible usage of the guitars make this an almighty track to be reckoned with. The chorus is perfect for the expansive festivals which Muse have made their own and there are a couple of solo guitar jams which will blow your mind. Bellamy wails and screams, continuing the vision of a dystopian world where the skies are falling in. The drums crash, the backing vocals harmonize perfectly and you're left with a hair raising anthem worth the price of the album on its own. One of Muse's finest tracks to date.
Chris: "Ever since we have been touring Absolution we have been ending on that song pretty much every gig. It is just a blistering rock track. Wherever you are in the arena it just has this catchy kind of rock riffs that even if you don't like it, it just turns heads".
Falling Away With You - ( I'll love whatever you become / And forget the reckless things we've done ) - 7/10
A tender song in the middle of a battlefield. Gentle strings open this track beautifully as Bellamy sings rather than screams. I don't particularly like the bland chorus but the build-up to it is excuisite, showcasing the softer side of Muse which was evident in the ballads of "Falling Down" and "Unintended" on Showbiz. The meaning of the song is sad and reflective, the complete opposite of falling in love. Ever felt yourself slowly detaching yourself from a love which you once held so passionately? "Promise to hold you close and pray, watching the fantasies decay, and all of the love we threw away." ponders Bellamy, before launching himself in to another viciously rewarding stretch of the vocal cords with a falsetto chorus. Anothe rinteresting song for Muse, unlike anything they've produced before, but not particularly memorable. A shame considering the lyrics are beautiful.
Matt: I don't know why this song is tender, with this harmony that accords with the guitar. The song handles about the difficulty of recalling the good or the bad moments. Your memory selects certain moments of your life and switches them. What makes you have pain to do things of going forward It's probably a good thing to forget certain moments
An interlude follows before we skip in to the second part of the album.
Hysteria - ( I want it now / Give me your heart and soul ) - 9.5/10
Another track which roars to life with the clatter of guitars being plucked wildly and an incredible bass opening by Chris. This is another of the media friendly songs on the album, it's been utilized in several other mainstream industries - a testament to it's instant catchiness and ability to drag you to your feet. The riffs are spectacular and Bellamy is at his blistering best with verses of apathy before a blood boiling chorus. He tears in to the guitar and provides another vintage solo through the middle of the track. This is one of the songs that you recommend to somebody who's new to Muse. It's an instant grower and a fantastic piece of music in its own right. Always reminds me of Plug In Baby from OOC.
Chris: "Hysteria was the second single we did in the UK [from Absolution] and I also think it is the next single that is going to be released in America. We always felt with that track was that it was very good track to open a gig with. It is just one of those tracks that is a simple song but has an immediate effect. It was one of those tracks that grabs attention from people. I think for that reason we chose to open the set with that. It is just a good, rocking track".
Blackout - ( Don't kid yourself / And don't fool yourself / This life could be the last ) - 9/10
A beautiful slow track which fizzes from the speakers as Bellamy mourns our own stupidity. I can depict a lot of religious overtones through the lyrics, a displeasure at the way we attach ourselves to the great hope of "something else". Bellamy insists that this life is indeed the last, and that we're all growing up too fast. Excellent song writing with a slightly melancholy feel to it, as if Muse have found their niche and they're pretty damn proud of themselves for it. Just when you think the track is going to explode in to another mish-mash of riffs and catches, it continues in to another emphatic yet gentle plea from Matt not to kid ourselves. One of my personal favorite songs on the album, for it's meaning alone. It also provideds a much needed break from the ear shattering volume of the previous hysteria.
Matt: "The arrangements make you really think of a BO adventure movie. I listen a bit to classical music of the beginning 20th century. Prokofiev, Rachmaninov and Debussy. The style of those people have a lot of influence on the composers of films who mix it with traditional music on the place where the action happens. The music like the movie of Indiana Jones are very inspired on composers like Prokofiev and Rachmaninov. The traditional Egyptian music or North African music has influenced a lot of superb pieces."
Butterflies and Hurricanes - ( Fights and battles have begun / Revenge will surely come / Your hard times are ahead ) - 10/10
An epic masterpiece and the standout track on the album for me personally. Words can't express the majestic sound which Muse have concocted with this stunner of a song. It steals a trick from "Citizen Erased" and divides the song in to seperate sections, very much following the Radiohead formula but churning out an absolute gem. Bellamy's voice creeps in at a barely audible volume, but it soon ascends in an instantly catching bridge towards what's almost an unbreakable chorus. The sound is huge. Just about every instrument that could make a noise does in the six minutes that Butterflies and Hurricanes occupies your speakers for. Bellamy controls the guitar before skipping to the keyboard and mesmorising with a Rachmaninov-esque interlude where he literally makes the notes his own. Just when you think that the song is finally going to fade, it blasts in to top gear with a rehash of the chorus - a goosepimples moment. Hearing this song live isn't just a musical experience, it's an experience period.
Chris: "We weren't sure whether to play that at first [for the tour with The Cure in the US, 2004] because it is one of the most experimental tracks on Absolution, but it is also out favourite track on Absolution. We actually recorded strings on there. It is one of the ones we do that has a strange arrangement. It is not really a conventional song as such. We were unsure of doing it but we decided at the first gig that maybe it was another side of the band that would be good to show people who are seeing us for the first gig. The reaction we got from the first gig was really surprising. The crowd seemed excited that we were playing that one song. We have played it at every gig so far on this tour. I'm not sure if we will keep playing it. We are trying to mix it up. At the moment that one song is going down really well".
The Small Print - ( I'll sell your memories for fifteen pounds per year / But just the good days ) - 8/10
A poppy rock song with more religious overtones. The Small Print tells the tale of a man selling his soul to the devil, and selling just about everything to go with it. It's a bit of a desperate track but it roars along at a frighteneing pace by the end of which you have to wonder whether the band are going to pass out. Bellamy's vocals are frantic and slightly distorted as he yells that he's the priest that God never paid. All kinds of strange and wonderful sounds crop up between the verses and the bass is extremely good, a trademark of the album. In fairness, it's not one of the best songs on the album, but it'll have you singing along regardless. There's a couple of inviting little hooks that'll have you replaying it over and over. One of those songs that falls just short of being a classic.
Endlessly - ( There's part of me you'll never know / The only thing i'll never show ) - 6.5/10
A delicate love song with more ghosty vocals from Bellamy and a strange synthesised beat that ticks along without ever really deviating from its course. The song packs no hidden punches. It is what it is. The chorus is touching in its own right but it won't win any medals for musical complexity. "I won't give you up, and i won't let you down." insists Bellamy, which is basically the theme of the track. Nice, but stick to what you do best, boys. Unintended was a fine little love number on Showbiz with much more appeal.
Matt: "Endlessly is one of the two titles together with Blackout where we have used a symphonic orchestra. There are also parts played with a synthesiser. We wanted to do more like that, but we didn't had the courage. It's an ambitious title, that's true, but I think that not even one rockband has tried to mix roc with symphony as good as we did."
Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist - ( Look through a faithless eye / Are you afraid to die? ) - 8/10
Slow singing to accompany a frantic messy riff. A nice sing-along with Bellamy's voice trailing off in to mere noises that accompany an attractive melody. More religious banter but done in such a way that you have to take notice of what's being said. The chorus is another simple touch, it refuses to change it's structure and will attract a lot of first listeners for that very fact. It's not a masterpiece, and it doesn't touch the "filler" tracks of OOS, but it does its job fairly well.
Matt: "This song is inspired by The Smiths. And also a bit The Police. It's about what an atheist thinks right before he's going to die. "I know you're in this room", the "you" is representing the death."
Ruled By Secrecy - ( You're working so hard / And you're never in charge ) - 8/10
Possibly the heaviest influence from religion on a record which is full of references. The song takes on your typical spacey 'wind-down' closing elements. There's plenty of empty sound and it sooths you after a journey of emphatic rock. Bellamy takes up his position on the piano and taps out some final fragments of a melody that serve as an accompaniment rather than an attraction. His vocals escalate in to one final effort of a plead. He cries that "no-one knows who's in control" and that will remain our final remnant of a rollercoaster record.
Matt: "The song is like about some geezer (guy) who comes back from work, and he has just kinda shot and blown everyone up, and then coming back to his wife with lots of blood all over his hands, and he said "I just blown it, I've lost it, I lost the plot!", and the reason being because it's slowly dawning on him that everything he's doing is out of his power."
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To round up, Muse have taken their sound to a completely different orbit with this release. Absolution makes it's fellow pretenders look shallow and weak in comparison to the roaring riffs and epic blends. If you're looking for more of the guitar-orientated rock that you heard on Origin of Symmetry, you should be satisfied with what you hear from Hysterial and Stockholm Syndrome. The rest of the album is very much a concept piece, you'll either love it or loath it. I love it.
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