Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
Muse - Showbiz CD (album) cover

SHOWBIZ

Muse

 

Prog Related

3.11 | 327 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

ichigo14
3 stars Muse's First Shot at the big one, the release of Showbiz was a step forward from all the EP works bu re mastering them and releasing them in one full-length album.

First of all, let's start with the appreciation of the album in categories. For someone barely introduced to Muse, I would not recommend Showbiz, is a bit harder to warm-up to and not really the defined Muse sound found in the rest of the albums. For Muse fans this is an excellent addition, for me, it was my 3rd album (After Origin of symmetry and Absolution) I recommend getting it if you liked what you've listened so far. For Proggers....this becomes a bit harder, there are a few progressive elements but the album (or the band even at this point) cannot be considered progressive anything.

This is Muse at its debut, the album is an overall mix of their best works to date put in a very moody fashion. Experimental, rocky, a bit crossover jazzy is what really defines this album, however, Muse's noviceness can be heard everywhere. For one, Matt's vocals aren't really defined, he seems a bit rusty in some songs and for people not use to his falsetto, the album would be a bit odd to their tasting. Secondly, The standard use of musical structure is a bit overused.

Don't get the wrong idea, is a great album by all means, but to appreciate it, I believe you will need some previous muse experience. It's really astonishing listening to some songs like Sunburn and Cave that really mix blues and rock to make fun technical songs. Muse's more progressive feature is the use of concept, most songs have a concept or storyline along with them...not necessarily simple but you get the point. The second progressive feature is the use of the album artwork, simply beautifully, it sets the mood for the whole album just by looking at it, a faceless woman running in what seems to be an icy planet....very symbolic.

Overall, Muse's debut is a nice one, it sets a ground for what comes next! More Progressive elements with a touch of experimental from all styles of music. But for progressive-related reasons, it is still Muse at the novice level, a 3/5

ichigo14 | 3/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this MUSE review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.