WILL OF THE PEOPLE

Muse's 2022 album 'Will of the People' is an interesting creative choice for a band that has had its fair share of criticism and controversy, with the record conceived as an imagined 'best-of' compilation of entirely new songs. And while thematically the album is reflective of the state of the world, which would naturally indicate the darker tones and the overall angst of the lyrics, the actual experience of listening to 'Will of the People' is one of a mostly unsuccessful attempt at an eclecticism that unwinds as rather chaotic and generally uninspiring, rather than being the best presentation of a great band that has in any case been able to cover a variety of styles over the course of its career.

Some of the songs on here do come off as obnoxious Queen impressions, such as the title track album opener or 'Liberation', with a taste for cringe-worthy and unoriginal lyrics that pervades over the entire LP. Occasionally futuristic rock sounds, occasionally ironically standard, the listener might actually arrive at a misconception about the direction of the band as well as the album - failing to capture the edge of their early 2000s sound, ultimately much more focused and innovative, while 'Will of the People' mostly falls into the categories of derivative, forgettable and tasteless, unfortunately. The musical presentation is an avalanche of styles that are all seemingly butchered by the band's aimless songwriting and the electronic sounds' punctuation that comes off as uninteresting, despite the fact that the eclectic nature of the record had been desired and sought-after. Nevertheless, 'Compliance', 'You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween' and 'Verona' are among the better tracks on the album.

I'm something of a fan of this band having discovered them just after 2003's Absolution which still in my eyes is one of the best albums of this century. Can this current release possibly get anyway near that?! Well they give it a good go for sure. Not many bands have a guy as talented as Matt Bellamy and he very much helms this release writing all 10 of the original songs. In general not much nowadays cuts through for me either lyrically or musically. This manages to do both on every track. It does lay it down clearly that we live in a world on the brink of disaster and really there is no other conclusion to be drawn , unless you live in fairy land. Matt indulges his favourite themes of government control , ''brainwashing'' if you like, on the tracks Will Of The People, Liberation and Compliance but every song is a different entity expressing a different aspect of the same feeling. My favourite tracks are mostly on the second side of the album (vinyl wise) Kill Or Be Killed is an excellent metal influenced track while Verona is just so sublime and beautiful. I especially love the pipe organ on You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween , probably the first time its been used since Meglomania on the Origin Of Symmetry album. Alienation, helplessness and despair abound and if we don't do something soon then the final track can only be true and we (really) are f**king f**ked! Overall in prog terms this could just be written off as there are no extended pieces like The Globalist or Exogenesis Symphony. However it very much floats my boat and flows very nicely.

MUSE, MUSE controversial because they bring people to stadiums, says it all. The band that is also capable of creating unstoppable melodies that everyone thinks they've heard before, MUSE is that band that bothers because many don't want to see the prog blood flowing in it...and the most interesting thing is that are those who criticize and who have not listened to it, misery!!

'Will of the People' frenetic pop with an unstoppable rhythm, a synthetic sound that risks making the first fans leave but making those who understand their approach stay. Aerial synth for 'Compliance' and killer chorus, the thing to listen to in the stadium... because yes it's one of the last bands to fill the stadiums currently, in short otherwise it's the chorus of hell and... .in the stadium it's just huge. Piano arpeggio for 'Liberation' and a voice like MERCURY from the QUEENs, it's grandiloquent but that's how it is, MUSE pumps high, does it excessively and assumes it, magnificent. 'Won't Stand Down' goes back to that heavy synthetic sound, its current sound which means that this band is still snubbed by the progs who will inevitably die without questioning themselves and will not have understood MUSE, sorry!! The riff is good, the phrasing catchy, so why sulk? 'Ghosts (How Can I Move On)' an unstoppable, overstated yet beautiful piano melody; the opportunity to insist on the fact that Matthew is not only a good guitarist! 'You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween' entertaining little nursery rhyme, fresh as the morning dew a bit saucy and cinematic. 'Kill or Be Killed' when MUSE meets METALLICA and it goes immensely well, no matter what; the 2nd title which makes this album a must. 'Verona' and her electro, cathedral voice, MUSE is also that, they know what it takes to find the right melody, even with a simple keyboard, 3rd beautiful title! (Small digression for those who don't see beauty, it's often much simpler than you think and closer to you without realizing it.) 'Euphoria' returns to the MUSE sound with amplified, layered and phrasing that risks exploding in all directions; So prog or not, related?! "We Are Fucking Fucked" well it's said! A last title that does not cause me, like what I do not find any good. A little grated phrasing I think yes I am proguous too; The break is on the other hand completely barred and pleasant, taking up a little madness in the concentrate of the title.

MUSE has made an album that really isn't that bad, that takes the liberty of sending you very far in a track even if it's only 3 minutes long; Today's prog will go through this time restriction in the titles, MUSE that some have confessed to me saying 'it's not terrible' when they hadn't listened to it... where is the world going?