Black Holes and Revelations - Muse > Reviews > Muse: Going New Places

Author's product rating:   

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

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

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

MUSE: Band Members
Matt Bellamy- Vocals, Guitar, Piano
Chris Wolstenhome- Bass
Dominic Howard- Drums & Percussion

Muse: Discography
Showbiz (1999)
Origin 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
First Single: Supermassive Black Hole
Second Single: Starlight
No. Of Songs: 11

Review
In their early days muse were forever compared to british alternative giants "Radiohead" with piano and forsetto moan vocals, it is easy to see where this idea came from. Indeed, muse were dubbed the "New Radiohead" for a time.

However, by the release of single “plug in baby” of the 2001 album “origin of Symmetry”, it was clear that muse had outgrown that particular media assumption, plug in baby had a guitar riff nothing like anything on any Radiohead CD. By the release of 2003’s “Absolution”, Muse were probably one of the biggest bands in the world. After a year long world tour, finishing with two sold out dates at Londons Earls Court, and a headlining performance at 2004’s Glastonbury. Muse were at the peak of their career. The simple question in front of them was, what next?

After the Success of 1997’s “OK Computer” Radiohead decided to take a U-turn, to release an album completely different, with synthesizers taking the main role in the album, and the old focus of the albums forgotten. Muse have not gone for anything as drastic, but they have introduced more levels to their songs. more depth, more instruments, more synths, guitar effects, 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.” Indeed, after Glastonbury, muse were a new band, with their minds open to new things. and so they took this into the studio, and that is immediately obvious to anyone listening to this album.

The key though, is whether this move was successful. The answer to that, is undeniably, yes. Black Holes And Revelations is more complex than anything muse have ever made, and it has on it, some of their best work so far. Tracks Like “map Of the problamatique”, “supermassive black hole”, “assassin” and “knights of Cydonia”, would easily walk onto any best of muse collections.

With the album only being 11 tracks long, it was very important that there not be any bad songs on the album. the very idea of that is ridiculous on this album, as every single track reeks of quality, complexity, and the limitless talent that these musicians clearly have at their disposal.

The strangest thing about the album however, is the variety that is in the songs. A fitting title for the album would be “11 assorted songs by muse.” none of the songs sound anything like any of the others on the album, a fact I feel is the best part of it. whether it be the synths riff on “take A bow” (first played at Glastonbury 2004), the disco pop of “supermassive black hole”, or the ridiculously brilliant vocal harmonies on “knights of cydonia” every song on the album is fresh and new when set aside the rest of the album. Similarly, none of the songs reflect anything on any previous albums, with the possible exception of “Soldiers Poem” with “blackout” (absolution) and “hoodoo” with “ruled by secrecy (absolution). However, when these similarities occur, it is interesting that the songs on Black Holes and Revelations out-do their Absolution counterparts.

Lyrically, Black Holes And Revelations is another step forward. The lyrics on the album have a far more political feel. they sound as if they were written by a political activist on the moon who could see everything that was going wrong in the world, and decided to write songs about it. with take a bow literally telling the world leaders they will “burn in hell for their sins” and knights of cydonia telling everyone that “the time has come to make things right”, Black Holes And Revelations show that Matt is more concerned with things here than in space, another step forward from absolution.

Black Holes And Revelations: Track Breakdown

Take A Bow:
We start with a riff played by Matt first two years ago, following the rendition of “citizen erased” at Glastonbury 2004, but the riff is now played by synthesizers. when Matt stars singing, his voice echoes in the vacuum. before a singing pattern, slowly getting louder and higher with every rendition until we get to a build up, using many more layers of synths and Dom’s drumming to great effect. when the buildup is over, we first get some guitar, with a guitar riff that mirrors the song so far perfectly, and then the same vocal pattern as the intro is sung, but in complete crescendo mode, until the song comes to a climax with 3 layers of singing, and electronic distortion.
Song Score: 8/10

Starlight:
Futuristic keyboard riffage starts this song off, before we get into a verse that sounds like Matt Bellamy, just as he always has been, but with a heavily distorted bassline behind him. In the second verse he is backed up by a spaceage guitar riff, and then into the chorus which has the sort of synths on it heard on “bliss” (origin of symmetry). Then everything goes quiet, except for a space guitar, and a small amount of synths, while Matt signs the albums title lyric “Black Holes And Revelations” the song the follows the same pattern again, before the “black holes and revelations” party again, although this time with backup singing and more loudness, urgency and more….muse.
Song Score: 9/10

Supermassive Black Hole:
Spawned when Matt tried to master DJ’ing at a club in new york, supermassive black hole is unlike anything Muse have ever done, it is a Funk/pop/Disco song, sung entirely in forsetto, with the exception of 2 layers of low singing in the chorus. This Change in direction makes Supermassive black hole difficult to describe. When compared to every other pop song out there, it is by far the best. But some diehard muse fans have been criticising it for not being “muse enough.” Released as the first single of this album, its obvious to see why, as people may have thought the hole album would be like this, but that could not be further from the truth.
Song Score: 10/10

Map Of the Problamatique:
We start with delayed guitar chords, before the bass and piano join. It is a tribute to the new directions of muse, that it is the first time in a muse song that both guitar and piano have been used simultaneously. the band are more open minded on this album, not worrying as much about live performance, and just letting their creativity flow. Once the singing starts in this song, the music of the song is perfectly summed up by the first vocal line. “fear and panic in the air” the song sounds like, as we have grown used to, the apocalypse, but in a good way. and this song is one of the greatest muse attempts so far, a superb song
Song Score: 9.5/10

Soldiers Poem:
We now have an anti-war song, but not in the traditional sense. a soft lullaby, with as many vocal harmonies as can possibly be crammed into 2:03, this song looks at war from a soldiers point of view, thinking about the futility, and why they are dying, and what for. The vocal harmonies make this song nothing short of beautiful.
Song Score: 8/10

Invincible:
Starts with sliding guitar, then Dom starts to play the drums like an army march. The singing throughout the song mirrors that of “butterflies and hurricanes” not in the way it is sung, but by the way a similar rhythm is repeated, and the way the lyrics are as uplifting as possible. All about standing up for what we believe in, making a stand. After two verses and choruses, we hear chris playing his bass, a riff almost as good, and in a similar mould, as “hysteria”. We then hear the most difficult and fast guitar solo that Matt has every produced on a cd, it sounds like Machines having sex, and is done with tapping on 4 fingers. a ridiculously difficult skill to master. After the solo, we get one more hit of the chorus, but it is done with so much more volume and skill, bringing the song to the sort of crescendo that muse to so well.
Song Score: 8/10

Assassin:
Possibly the heaviest muse song ever written, assassin starts with a riff that sounds like its being played by 2 guitars at once, whereas it is only one, then we get the intro, which has a similar pattern, in a much lower and heavier way. all of a sudden the music stops, and we are treated to a brief but spectacular drum solo. When the singing starts, its is once again, two different vocal patterns overlapping each other, until the chorus, where the second singer repeats what the first has just said. A piece of vocal and lyrical splendour, where Matt Bellamy puts himself in the shoes of a, shocker, assassin.
Song Score: 10/10

Exo-Politics:
A funk riff starts this song off, and the funk guitar is what carries this song. when the vocals begin, they are of a good pattern, and the song has a very good solo and chorus, but it lacks the complexity of all the others, with only one vocal layer, and the song not really going anywhere. that said, it is still a good song, with the funk guitar being very catchy, and the chorus having another political feel to it.
Song Score: 7/10

City Of Delusion:
Starting with acoustic guitar, which is then helped by singing, with an echoing effect, this song appears to be a winner right from the start. we are then joined by bass and drums, the bass riff being very neat and tidy, almost used to keep beat. then we are accompanied by violin, a strange feature, before another superb Matt Bellamy chorus. The second verse follows the same pattern as the first, although with scratching guitar and synths backing up the voice as well. before we get the chorus again. Then we witness another Black Holes And Revelations classic moment. For no reason at all, there is a long trumpet solo. and the song is brought to an end by another chorus. Darker and edgier than some of the other songs on the album, City Of Delusion is an excellent album track for the lower middle part of the 11 tracks.
song score: 9/10

Hoodoo:
We start with echoing guitars, doing seemingly improvised work, until the singing starts, in a very good pattern. A very dark song, played as if the song was being performed in vacuum for the early part, thing get slowly louder in the vacumn, until we get an explosion of noise. A similar crescendo to that of “ruled by secrecy” where we are treated to some superb piano work. Hoodoo is a fine example of the complexity of black holes and revelations. Indeed, the first time that I heard the song, and the 2nd and 3rd times, I thought that there were two songs playing, the other on the internet, because I could not believe that Hoodoo was just one song at this point. Possibly some of the best work Matt has ever done with a piano, backed up by guitar, strings, vocals and synths, at the end, you are simply left reeling at what has just happened.
Song Score: 9.5 /10

Knights Of Cydonia:
We start of with the sound of horses being shot with lasers, an idea mirroring the fact that Cydonia is an area of mars, before the music starts, and at first it sounds like a spaghetti western soundtrack. there is a guitar solo very early on, where dom and chirs combine their instruments to have the sound of horses running. The guitar solo is followed by a vocal one, before the first verse is sung, in the same pattern as the guitar solo. after that we return to the intro. At this point, after 3 minutes of the song, we are wondering what can happen next, up to this point, the song is a strange offering, with only a few lines of lyrics, and the rest given over to “ahh ahh ahh.” however, then we hear synths in the background and the sound of the guitar scratching, but nothing can prepare you for what is about to happen. All the music, cuts out, and there are 3 layers of Matt Bellamy Singing, one of them in the highest voice he has ever done, “no ones going to take me alive” this is the definite chorus of the song, and it is sung once without any instruments, then the second time, the instruments have a build up, before Matt and Chris launch into a guitar riff that equals anything they have done before. The chorus is sung again with the riff, and the song comes to an end. The most rocking outro that any muse song has ever had, it literally makes you want to stop whatever you are doing and start jumping about. Easily on a par with some of the greatest muse songs, if not better than them, Knights Of Cydonia brings what is a superb album to a superb climax, and it is clear, that muse have just produced something as good, if not better, than anything that has happened before.
Song Score 10/10

Summary:
Key Tracks: Knights Of Cydonia, Assassin, Supermassive Black Hole
Weaknesses: Exo Politics