MUSE

'Showbiz' is the 1999 debut album by British alternative rockers Muse. Arguably one of the biggest bands of the 21st century, Muse's sound can best be described as keyboard-driven melodic rock. Although they would go on to worldwide acclaim, this first outing from the trio is pretty lacklustre and forgettable.

While there are early signs of what the group are capable of, sadly, it's only demonstrated in a small number of songs here. Most of the album tends to drag, with tracks being quite dreary and boring. There are however, some energetic bursts where Muse display fantastic interplay between guitar and keyboard, as well as a pounding bass and frontman Matt Bellamy's impressively high vocals, and there is no doubt this is where the key element of their style lies.

Those highlights? 'Cave', 'Muscle Museum' and 'Sober' are probably the only songs worth listening to. They sound like the Muse the world would come to love, but overall, are still not overly memorable, if I'm to be honest here.

Other than that, there's not really much here to entice me back. Muse will go on to release some absolutely fantastic albums and some downright classic rock tracks, but you'd never have guessed it listening to this back in 1999. Avoid 'Showbiz' and just move on to its follow-up, 'Origin of Symmetry'. THAT is where things get interesting.

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?

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.

There's a new Muse album and it is quite horrible! 'Will of the People' is the English art rockers' ninth studio release and was supposedly written to serve as a 'best-of' or a 'greatest hits' compilation of new songs (which the band preferred to do over a proper 'The Best of Muse', as it had been proposed to them by their label), but the end result is a bag of ten virtually unlistenable, tedious, pretentious and outright disgusting songs. I can hardly think of another rock album that has made me feel this way, as I have heard some pretty terrible records along the years, but this one really is Muse hitting rock bottom - there is nothing I can take from this album, nothing I enjoy in it; Instead, 'Will of the People' happens to be a collection of the worst traits of the band's music, lumped up together and all kind of focused on a very pessimistic outlook on reality, a sad reflection of the world we live in right now, and a not too positive prediction (referring to the final track on the album). All good, but the music is beyond bad.

Opening up Muse's ninth is an awful cover of Marilyn Manson's 'The Beautiful People', this one is quite bad and it seems quite heroic to even go through the whole 3:20 minutes of playtime. 'Compliance' is unnecessarily cocky for my taste, while 'Liberation' reminds me for whatever reason of Queen, and this is an unwanted reference on such a weak album; The next three tracks are entirely lacking any personality, 'Kill or Be Killed' is the heaviest song on the album and should be of some more interest but is in reality a mediocre heavy rocker from Muse, 'Verona' and 'Euphoria' are boring and bland, and the final track is another unlistenable disasterpiece, difficult to go through.

Yes, Muse do cross several genres on this pretty tight 2022 release, but the idea behind it is realized quite poorly, as they simultaneously fall into the trap of not being very original. Then again, even if we take away these seemingly more minor flaws, the quality of the compositions on 'Will of the People' is just not good, there is practically nothing positive you could bring up about this record, it is not enjoyable, it is not pleasingly memorable, it is not entertaining, it is not experimental; It is bad, goofy and sloppy, and I truly hope that this LP does not indicate the future direction of rock music, because it would be a dark perspective in this case. The good news - it is all up-hill from here from Muse! Right??

Drones is the 7th album by 3-piece rock juggernaut Muse. This album was released back in 2015 and the "Drones" tour was my second time seeing the band. This was the album that really got me back into Muse after what I thought at the time was two weaker albums in the form of "The Resistance" and "The 2nd Law". However, after listening to these 2 albums recently my opinion has very much changed on both. But does "Drones" still hit the heights I thought it used to?

Well, all I can say is absolutely yes. With 5th and 6th albums; "The Resistance" and "The 2nd Law" they moved their sound into different territories and really experimented a bit with it still sounding like Muse. Meanwhile "Drones" sees them back rocking and rocking really hard. In fact, most Muse albums up until this point have the piano feature quite a bit. But on "Drones" I can only detect it on bits of "Mercy" and "Globalisation".

The main singles released from this album were "Dead Inside", "Psycho" and "Reapers". While they all are of high quality. "Reapers" reaches places that go harder and more technical than I can remember Muse going before. For me, it is their 2nd best song they have ever done behind "Citizen Erased" off "Origin of Symmetry". The intro which kicks off with the magical drumbeat, before the guitar comes in and the song takes off. And it takes you on such a rollercoaster for the duration of just under 6 minutes.

But the singles are only part of the story to this album. "The Handler", "Defector" and "Revolt are also absolutely cracking rock songs. While "Aftermath" is a dreamy spacey track, like "Explorers" off "The 2nd Law". This also has some fine guitar work on it. "Globalisation" is probably the biggest surprise of the album as it is the longest song they have ever done, sitting at 10 minutes. Yes, they a 3 part track to finish off "The Resistance" and a 2 part song to finish off "The 2nd Law". But I think this is the longest single track. And it is epic. Seamlessly moves between sections, great singing, great guitar parts and a strong piano section. The last track "Drones" is the only weak track on the album as it's just the guy's harmonising. It's not a very long track but personally I would rather them finish with "Globalisation".

Overall though it doesn't deter from the album's greatness. I think it is a very underrated Muse album and I would put it just behind "Origin of Symmetry in my top Muse albums list.

"The 2nd Law" is the 6th album by UK rock group Muse. This album was released in 2012 and a follow up to 2009's "The Resistance". When the album dropped, I was aware of this album when it came out and was more than familiar with the main single off this album; "Madness". But I never owned the album and never gave it a fair go at the time. I think at the time I thought it wasn't worth listening to and I don't think it really got much praise from critics.

Having listened to this album quite a lot for the past few weeks I can see why this album may have not done as well as what came before. While it still feels like a Muse album. They did go off in all sorts of directions in this album and although there are electric guitars present throughout the album, I would go as far as saying it doesn't really feel like a rock album they have made previously. In "The Resistance" they went in a slightly more prog direction. This album doesn't do that but does have experimental elements. Even when you take the single "Madness", it is a class track has a nice beat to it and good wee guitar solo. Slightly slower feel to it than normal. Certainly not a heavy rock track. The thing I remember the most about this track is the bass Chris uses as it is unique. It has this digital display above the strings on the main part of the bass where you pluck. He then taps the digital display to create the sound. And it is a dominant feature of the track which makes it stand out.

Next track "Panic Station" is totally opposite, it has a thumping bass line and is like a dance rock track. It's upbeat and has a great groove to it. That's the thing about this album, it never stays in the one place and there are so many twists and turns throughout the album. It's clear that at this stage in their career, Muse still wanted to progress their sound and not sit on what had come before. "Prelude" sees Matt back on the piano accompanied by a string section. Another bow to Muse's string which enables them to make such eclectic albums.

"Explorors" is track which is worth a mention. I remember my dad used to go on about this track at the time as he thought it was absolutely brilliant. And it really is. It's got a different song structure to normal. Kind of a build- up track to an extent without fully exploding to make a nice listening experience. Another major twist on this album is "Save Me" and "Liquid State" which sit side by side where bassist Chris sings on both for as main vocalist. As far as I'm aware this was the first time up until this point in time, he has done this. And it's great, he doesn't have the theatrical range in vocals like Matt, but he has this certain calmness and control which adds so much to the album. I'm surprised the band never utilised him as a vocalist earlier.

In their 5th album "The Resistance" I labelled the finally to the album one of the best they have ever done to finish an album bar Knights of Cydonia. It was a 3-part prog classic. On this album they went for more of the same but this time in two parts. The first part "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" starts quite dramatically and again utilises a string section. Then it takes a turn and has all these cool effects and a women's voice as a voiceover. The second part "The 2nd Law: Isolated System" has strong post rock vibes about it is a piano driven track. It's funny that a ton of bands do music purely like this second part and in some places do it better than Muse. But because Muse have those punchy rock, mainstream friendly tracks. Muse are the ones that get the recognition. If you like this sort of track, you should really check out bands like Nordic Giants, it's what they do and they do it very well.

Overall, I think this is a really underrated album and I am so glad I went back to it and gave it the proper attention it deserves. This is Muse really experimenting with their sound and pushing their boundaries further than ever imaginable.

"Simulation Theory" is English rock 3 piece Muse's 8th studio album. They started life as a band in the late 90s and I got sucked in by their rifftastic tunes very early on when their debut album "Showbiz" came out. While the first 4 albums I absolutely loved, particularly "Origin of Symmetry", I did go off them for a bit during albums 5 and 6. But when 7th album "Drones" came out I was sucked back in again and thought the album represented a triumphant return to form.

It seems like the build up to this album has been happening for quite a while, with the likes of "Thought contagion" and "Dig Down" have been on playlists maybe for as long as a year. But to be honest they weren't on my playlists along with more recent single "Pressure". I just didn't think they were very good and in Muse terms they feel very basic and safe. And I think this is, generally speaking, the story of the album. But I have to admit on the whole when listening to these songs and other songs on the album, I do like these songs more now than I did when listening to them individually. They fit in with the album and while they don't particularly challenge the listener they do have a lot of fun songs to listen to on here.

I do think that there is a stand out track on here and it happens straight from the word go in the form of "Algorithm". This to me is Muse at their best. The long introduction before the vocals kick in and the whole feel of the song really does set the bar high for the rest of the album. As I said while I have started to enjoy the album and the singles within in it more after multiple listens. But this track for me really does stand out.

On the contrary their are two tracks on here that let the album down badly and I would say they are two of the worst Muse tracks I have ever heard. These are "Propaganda" and "Break it to me". These songs feel like the band are trying to add more complexity and creativity to their songs but for me here it backfires and ends up very messy, to the point where I am going - what were they thinking.

Overall I would say there are nine good tracks on here. For other bands maybe I would say they were great but what I have heard Muse create in the past, I know they are better than this. So I would give this album three out of five based on the nine tracks. But those two other tracks I was talking about really bring it down a notch so I can only give this two out of five. But on the whole I see myself listening to this for a while as on the whole it is still an enjoyable listen.

Released in 2003 "Absolution" is rock trio Muse's third album. This is a decent album but will also always be remembered for me as an inside joke within my family for years. I bought the CD when it came out but pretty soon after lost it. It wasn't until a few years ago when my dad was sorting through my CDs he found it in another CD wallet. As I say you probably had to be there :-P. Anyway, this album had it all to do following debut album "Showbiz" and second album "Origin of Symmetry". Particularly "Origin of Symmetry" which was so full of ambition and potential. They set the standard very high, and it was intriguing which direction they would take next.

Well although there are not many bands out there like Muse, I do feel they took the safer option with "Absolution". Going for the big sounding rock songs, in general shorter tracks, mixed in with some slower ballad type songs which were missing from "Origin of Symmetry" but it wasn't to the detriment of the album. Far from it. To be honest I don't think "Absolution" is their best album but it's not their worse either. And I think in terms of a steppingstone to make them bigger it worked. "Time is running out" was their first top ten single at this point and three other singles went inside the top 20 in the UK charts.

Now you have to remember that this was 2003 and streaming services weren't about. So, singles in the run up to the album really defined the success of the album. And 3 of the singles in particular - "Time is running out", "Hysteria" and "Stockholm Syndrome" all sound absolutely massive and are huge rock anthems and are still some of Muse's best songs. So having released these songs as well as having 2 solid albums preceding this; They had more than enough material for a top class set list for touring. And the "Absolution" tour was the first time I saw Muse. To be honest I don't remember much from the gig. But I'm pretty sure I enjoyed it.

So, we know the singles really made a difference for Muse but what about the rest of "Absolution". Well, the first track is just named "Intro" and is very short sitting at 20 seconds as it acts like a step ladder into the album with the sound of soldiers marching getting louder and louder until track 2 "Apocalypse Please" comes in with the snappy, dramatic piano playing. I think the best deep cut of this album is "Small print". On some of their other albums this could have been released as a single but other diamonds just shone brighter in this album.

But I think the difference with this album compared to their first two albums is that there are tracks on here which I don't look forward to listening to. Particularly "Blackout" and "Endlessly" which are just so slow and laboured. On "Showbiz" they had tracks like "Unintended" which showed they can nail these types of tracks, but it feels the two tracks on "Absolution" take the album down a notch. Another song which may surprise people that disappoints me slightly is "Butterflies and Hurricanes". This is for me the most ambitious track on the album. And when you first listen to it and the first few minutes it is great. Good riff, good vocals etc. But the piano bridge doesn't work for me at all. The song stops at a point during this too and just sounds a bit of a mess. It's like it had the potential to be an amazing song but they didn't quite pull it off.

But I think overall, there is enough on here that it is a good, passable album. The monster singles carry the album and really secured their place as an arena sized band at this point in their career. They were always going to reach a point where quality control was going to be tested and I feel some of the tracks on here wouldn't even have made b-sides to singles off their first album. But there you go. Let's look at the positives though. However, you look at it, this was a key step in Muse's rise to the top.

"Black Holes and Revelations" is the 4th album buy UK Devon rockers Muse. Although I bought the first 3 albums when each of them was released. I don't actually own this album. The reason for this was that, at the time I was living with my parents and brother and was at uni. In our household we didn't see the point of owning multiple copies of the same album. And in this case my brother beat me to it. This meant that although I was aware of the singles, I never really gave this album a listen properly as I listened to stuff from my own CD collection. But now as I attempt to review all of the Muse albums, I have been listening to this album quite a bit.

This album was released in 2006 and at this point Muse had already established themselves as a major force in rock music, not just in the UK but all over. But I think this is the album that really propelled them and secured their status as rock kings and really their legacy was confirmed regardless of what was to come next. "Absolution" saw them delve into topics such as the apocalypse whereas this album has much more of a feel- good vibe to it. Also, it is noted while "Absolution" was a decent album, there were tracks which weren't quite up to scratch by Muse's standards. With "Black Holes..." this is not the case at all. Quality control is well and truly resumed. Not every track is a singalong anthem, it is more of balanced album with big hits mixed with solid album tracks.

The big hits from this album though for me were the key for me for them stepping up to headline festivals and playing stadiums. The likes of "Starlight" with the amazing piano intro and I love how it uses the "Black holes and revelations" in the lyrics and that it's not the title of the song but is the title of the album. It is an absolute classic song and rightly a staple of their back catalogue. "Super Massive Black Hole" is another monster of a track and is currently their most streamed track on Spotify, sitting at 318 million streams. I think if Matt Bellamy sang every song like he does in this track he would lose his voice pretty quickly but doing it the odd time is what makes this song so special. The other big track is "Knights of Cydonia". An epic 6-minute track, and the opening does actually feel like knights on horses galloping along before weaving its way into a mesmerising rock classic. I would say where Muse let themselves down a bit on their first 3 albums was the lack of a proper album closer but they more than made up for it with "Knights of Cydonia".

To me the three tracks I have mentioned are the big hitters of the album. But there is so much more to the album to delve into and appreciate than that. "Soldier's poem" is a nice slow track which is much improved over the slower tracks on "Absolution". It does feel like it's going to go off an "Everybody hurts" by REM direction from the opening notes before veering away into its own wee world. "Map of the problematique" has a great groove to it. "Invincible" another very strong track. Probably the most interesting and different track on the album is "Hoodoo". It starts of at a lower tempo, then about midway through, a really cool piano part comes in. I like the way they played about with the song structure here. "City of Delusion" is another great track with great strumming, giving the acoustic vibe, before plugging in for the chorus. Mix this with some strings and you've got a really fine track.

Overall, this is fantastic album, and I would place it as one of the best albums in their discography. In Spotify it comes out on top in the band's popular releases section. But is it better than "Origin of Symmetry"? For me no. While this album has more larger than life songs, "Origin.." remains their most ambitious album. I think "Black Holes..." while still having some tracks which are little different, are still Muse to the core, it does feel like they took the option to become big rather than go more experimental and risk their fan base. But if you were to ask me which the better album is based on all out anthems and the strength of the album tracks, I would probably say "Black Holes..."

"The Resistance" is the 5th studio album by UK rock trio Muse. The album was released in 2009 and at that time I wasn't really into music as much and this album passed me by. This was the first album by Muse I don't think anyone in my family owned. It wasn't like we heard bad reviews or anything like that, we just lost touch with new releases. Fast forward to 2022 and now I am going through Muse's back catalogue, I have been listening to this album every day for the last week.

And the result? I think this is an album full of surprises as it twists and turns. I think the most standout thing for me on the first few listens, is just how perfectly structured the album is. It starts off with the standout single from the album "Uprising" which peaked inside the top 10 of the UK charts. The bass from the off has such a great groove to it and having Matt sing the chorus with lyrics like "We will be victorious" it's like they already knew they were onto a winner. They set out a statement with the first track, luring the listener in and making them intrigued with what was to come.

The way the track listing works, it bounces about between songs of 4 minutes of length with songs of 6ish minutes of length. Having this structure makes for a much more enjoyable listening experience. I used to go on about how "Origin of Symmetry" was Muse's most ambitious album. And at the time of release, it certainly was. But I feel with "The Resistance", the have pushed those boundaries further. They have used piano's more but not really in a rock way in some circumstances. I almost feel a classical influence coming through in the way the piano parts are delivered. Look no further than "United States of Eurasia (+Collateral damage)" as an example of this. Doing this gives Muse's music a fresh vibe. There is also a hint of influences from the likes of Queen, especially in some of Matt Bellamy's vocal delivery.

Other points of note are that "I Belong to You" Matt sings some of the song in French. While the last 3 tracks act as one longer track split into 3 parts called "Exogenesis". They finished the last album "Black Holes.." with "Knights of Cydonia", while it's hard to argue that, that is the best finish they have done to an album. "Exogenesis" has to be their most imagnative and creative way to finish an album. I think though "Unnatural selection" is my favourite track off this album as I just love the guitar work in it.

Overall, I think this album is for album purists rather than single song hunters. And I think that shines through with the fact that only one single had any form of success from this album. But judging by the success of the album, it did the trick to pull the punters in and those who did get pulled in were almightily rewarded with Muse's most progressive album up until that point. I've still to listen to "2nd Law" and "Drones" fully again so I am stopping as far as to say it's Muse's most progressive album ever. But I have to say this is great album and so glad I discovered it even at this stage.