Black Holes and Revelations - Muse

Advantages: Blinding 4th album with an uneasy lyrical twist
Disadvantages: Topping it next time round.

...Starlight (3'59) 3. Supermassive Black Hole (3'32) 4. Map Of The Problematique (4'18) 5. A Soldier's Poem (2'12) 6. Invincible (5'20) 7. Assassin (3'31) 8. Exo Politics (4'47) 9. City of Delusion (4'48) 10. Hoodoo (3'43) 11. Knights of Cydonia (5'50) ~ Released in the UK: 03/07/2006 ~ ~ Produced & Mixed by Rich Costey ~ ~ The Ramblings ~ Often described as a small sleepy harbour town in South Devon, Teignmouth (pronounced ...
...with less syllables). Black Holes and Revelations is not, as one reviewer recently claimed, lyrically 'tongue in cheek' nor is it over-rated as its recent nomination for a Mercury Music Award would allude to …what it is however is an often very dark, highly political, highly incensed, progressive rock guitar and retro 80's synthesizer offering of extreme magnitude all rolled into one. It made my ears weep! The fact that it was recorded in 3 separate ... Read review

Advantages: Soaring guitars and haunting vocals. An original album.
Disadvantages: You will either love it or hate it.

Black Holes and Revelations, Muse's fourth full-length effort, can only be described as overindulgence to the extreme. With this record Muse have finally unshackled themselves, opened themselves up to a whole new set of influences and finally shaken their 'poor man's Radiohead' tag, which has seemingly clung to their legs like a horny jack russel. It is a testament to Muse's technical and creative ability when I say that no other band could have ...
...tallest heights, first single, Supermassive Black Hole. This song is like no other Muse have ever written and blends a funky, disco style riff with heavy, brazen drums that, put simply, could level a building. No matter how many times I hear this song the sleazy, almost dirty guitar riff never fails to send a shiver down my spine. There is something special about this song- it demands your attention like no other - for three minutes you are literally ... Read review

Advantages: An awesome piece of work. No music fan should be without.
Disadvantages: Not long enough! Could be challenging to beat in terms of quality.

...second of want. Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations is their best album to date. From the haunting “Take A Bow” to the western influenced prog-rock soundscape that is “Knights of Cydonia”, this album will blow your head off your body and kick it into orbit around the Sun. Muse are: Matt Bellamy – Vocals, Guitars, Pianos/Synths; Chris Wolstenholme – Bass, backing vocals; Dominic Howard – Drums, backing vocals. THE TRACKS 1 – Take A Bow – Rapidly ...
...9/10 3 – Supermassive Black Hole – This was the first single to be released from the (then forthcoming) album. It’s is completely different from anything Muse have ever done before, yet it still works and sounds like a Muse track. Why? Brilliant instrumentation of Matt’s vocals. He himself says that he uses his voice as an instrument, not just as a word-deliverer. The bass is brilliant, and the guitar matches it. A breakdown section features a guitar ... Read review

Advantages: 11 Superb Songs- Taking Muse In A New, brilliant direction
Disadvantages: Possibly Not Quite As Good As Absolution

...Of Symmetry (2001) Absolution (2003) Black Holes And Revelations (2006) Black Holes And Revelations: Tracklisting Take A Bow (4:35) Starlight (3:59) Supermassive Black Hole (3:29) Map Of The Problamatique (4:18) Soldiers Poem (2:03) Invincible (5:00) Assassin (3:31) Exo Politics (3:53) City Of Delusion (4:48) Hoodoo (3:43) Knights Of Cydonia (6:06) Black Holes And Revelations: Info UK Release Date 3rd July 2006 Album Length: 45:25 ...
...vocal harmonies. Put Simply, in Black Holes And Revelations, there is more of everything. This sudden turnaround was credited to the hills of France, where the band first started to record. They persuaded the owner of a mill to open up the old recording studio there for them, and they got to work on their 4th studio album. The dynamic shift in the music was explained by Chris. “We just stopped caring about how we would play them live.” ... Read review

Advantages: No other band sounds like them in the world. How many others can say that?
Disadvantages: Not as cohesive as their previous work.

...Radiohead themselves. Their fourth album, Black Holes and Revelations, rose to the top of the charts - albeit for a short lived stay - and ranks above the rest of their outings as the most mainstream friendly so far. Will the Devon trio finally obtain the crossover success that their undoubted talent seems to command? We will find out over the course of the coming months. But if Black Holes and Revelations is anything to go by, they stand a fighting ...
...every song. But how does Black Holes rank against their previous work? It's certainly different. While i would stop short of branding it as endearing as their previous releases, there can be no doubting the significant steps that Muse have taken since they arrived on the scene in 1998. My first impressions were that in fine-tuning the songs with much greater precision in the studio, a certain ammount of energy had been lost in the process. Origin ... Read review

Advantages: Wide range of styles; MotP; live, these songs are amazing; band's talent is immense
Disadvantages: So many different styles, some may not appeal to you

...Black Holes & Revelations is the most recent album by Muse. Muse have been named Best Live Act by many awards institutions over the years, and earned that by putting on a spectacular live show, fusing the fantastic guitar riffs, drum beats and crunchy bass with new music technology. This effort made this album, Black Holes & Revelations. The album then: - Take a Bow is a lash-out at world leaders for letting their countries fall into "ruin" and possibly destruction in the future; no names mentioned! Mainly synth-driven but with a fantastic dirty guitar section to add more grandeur. Sounds very Queen-like in places. - Starlight is the typical love-song, set to a cosmic backdrop. A basic song really, with the usual mix of guitar riffs, essential synth-bass, a catchy drum beat and the trademark Muse synth arpeggios in the background... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: Muse take their sound on further and more furious
Disadvantages: 'Invincible'

.... Homage indeed! Artwork: The artwork for 'Black Holes and Revelations' is incredible. Credited to 'The Men of Mystery', it depicts four strange bald men seated around a wooden table on Mars. Tiny horses run on the tabletop, and each man is wearing a bizarre suit, one a pattern of eyes, one gold, one of religious symbols and one of reflective glass. The religious suited man wears blinkers. I am lucky enough to have read in an interview the deeper meaning of the artwork as described to Muse in a treatment. Apparently the four men represent the four horsemen of the Apocalypse, who have outgrown their now tiny horses. Each wears a suit to represent the 'ailments' of mankind. I am guessing these could be money, religion, desire and vanity? Anyway, it is gorgeously done, i could analyse it for hours. The inside (cd tray) contains a depiction... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Incredible lyrics, cohesion and strings by the band
Disadvantages: Standard drops a little near the end

...'s (occaisionally) booming drums. The album is about frustration about the callous society of the eighties and feeling abandoned by that culture. It's about feeling alone, and wondering if you'll ever stop feeling alone, but it's also about optimism and change. This, along with subtle political and environmental undertones, make it an extraordinarily compelling album. The second half of the record isn't quite as strong as the first half, although it certainly isn't bad. I'm incredibly tempted to give the album a 5 star rating, but I know that it's not quite flawless. I don't want to give it a 4 star either, as it's better than Muse's Black Holes and Revelations, which I also rated 4/5. If I could, I would give it 4.5/5, but since I can't, I'll give it 4/5. The album is built on a strong quartet of songs that show Stipe at his best - 'You... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful