Opening words - This is a hard one to review, and Muse albums have always been so.
In essence, it takes a while to digest a full album's worth, and this one hasn't been any different.
On with it!
1. Take a Bow - A strong arpeggio keyboard progression compliments the intro of the song, a long-time Muse formula. This one dives deeper into the edgier, more electronic and hard bound vibe. "Pay, you must pay for your crimes against the earth."-
There doesn't seem to be a distinct lyrical direction, rather; a cryptic grandiose general gnashing bite at the heart of angst motivation, a never ending theme for Bellamy.
It's a rather simplistic opening track, and it sends a clear message: no holds barred.
2. Starlight - Wow. I can't seem to fathom the ongoing vibe of Pixies-esque combined with yet another drift into the spacial realm. What seems like a comparison, between our Hopes and Expectations - to Black Holes and Revelations, takes place.
The song in itself is vary varied in it's changing themes, from an 80's Duran Duran hit, and a 180 degree turn back into Muse music, with more subtle keyboard fills and arpeggios, making the song feel like a comic relief at one point, as there's nothing new to be heard here, except for the usual Muse'ish deviation into whatever comes into mind (the writing proccess) - the end result being a cross-over song from Take A Bow to -
3. Supermassive Black Hole - This one is pure inspiration. A type of synth which will make you instantly think of Jamiroquai's Deeper Underground, and a strong synth-rock guitar line.
Bellamy draws out an incredible high pitched voice, followed by a great chorus overwhelmed by a couple of vocal overdubs to set a distinct vocal harmony.
A slight growlish whispering will set even harder intentions, and an glass-breaking guitar solo comes out of nowhere to really emphasize the fact that Muse do not inhabit any particular genre.
4. Map of The Problematique - What first comes to mind, almost simultaneously with the awesome intro, is the title of the song. Problematic twisted into what seems like it's French twin - Problematique, makes you feel weird. I think we got the point already Hmmmuuuseee! You're trying to be original, and that's great! why push it tho...Anyway, on to the song itself.
More 80'ish melodics await underlined by a nice drum line, nothing I haven't heard before though. A break into the world of electronic music in the shape of some form of Dance, seriously benefits from the fact that the melody is mediocre, else I'd be pressing stop, and rethinking this entire album over. At this point, except for Supermassive Black Hole, I'm waiting for something to blow my mind, make me feel a progression has been made.
5. Soldier's Poem - Another grind on the old bag of tricks, musically speaking.
The lyrical theme might relate to the situation in Iraq, whatever it relates to, I am hearing something somewhat never-heard (in the context of Mus(e)ic), more vocal harmonies, and that's where it stops getting any better.
6. Invincible - I'm terribly sorry, but this is proving out to be a weird ride grinding more and more of old Muse themes and vibes, so you add a March-like drumline over the song - and don't get me wrong, a brilliant solo near the outro of this song really came close to blowing my mind, but it's still more of the same; for some people it may be enough, I find it rather disappointing.
7. Assassin - A very Progressive Metal message breaks out of the intro, a BRILLIANT display of drum work on the main theme, breaking on the upbeat snare, and some time signature changes, really kicked my ear into gear. From there we move on to another typical theme in the shape of a Chorus full of beautiful vocal harmonies.
A lot of surrounding electric guitar/synth sounds really add to the feeling that somewhere in the writing proccess a sense of direction was somewhat lost, while a nice sense of musical freedom was gained.
8. Exo-Politics - A beautiful melody followed by another versatile drum-beat opens up for another trip through the very-well-known. Some breaks into harder metal lines, and no real sense of direction - or restriction, which may prove to be good in time.
A distinctly lovable guitar solo really lets you know that the band's still making inspired music, and emanates a great feeling.
9. City of Delusion - Became my favourite for the time being, after 1 minute of song-time.
A beautiful acoustic intro sets up a beautiful effort in melody and musical versatility, followed by inspiring orchestra work, and more prog-metal heavy lines to co-incite.
The beat is dynamic, constantly changing, and makes me feel we were waiting for this one for along time. A beautiful Trumpet solo, underlined by an immense variation of Spanish/South American chord progression, really delivers some shiver, despite the fact it's been done a hundred times, by a hundred different artists, it caught well on me.
10. Hoodoo - Hoodoo! a beautiful guitar intro shows off more versatile sides in a different musical direction. Slowly backing off for a slower melody, complimented by a beautiful mind elating progression. A grandiosic line breaks off "Come to be, how did it come to be?" only to lighten things up back again - A gem.
11. Knights of Cydonia - The opening line instantly reminded me of Deep Purple, switching off the memory banks to The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, straight into Pulp Fiction.
I'm awfully distracted by movie associations. An Anthem'ish sounding main theme sets off another journey into fantasy. The first four opening lines are incredible, and I don't need to put any more emphasis on them. The song then keeps rolling till we reach a break - 3 overwhelming voices in harmony chant the main lyrical theme - followed by an incredible hard rock'ish line to make sure you know they mean business. The outro really feels complete and puts an end to a rather weird mash of Good, Bad, Ugly, and some Fiction (not a pulp one.)
In Conclusion - I have no idea how to sum this up. It was a hefty rollercoaster ride, filled with some potentially skippable songs, and yet a lot of great material, mostly for fans of the band.
For me, the highlights of the album are Supermassive Black Hole and City of Delusion.
Don't get me wrong, this album is a full on Muse effort, and any fan of their music should definately check it out, and in the spirit of foolish ratings:
Inrandomality Rating : 7/10 - Disillusioning
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