The review is going to be of Muse’s new album “The Resistance.”
(God dammit, Gaia, your image generator's ******** up again!)GENRE: Rock
STYLES: Progressive Rock, Symphonic Rock, Alternative Rock, New Prog
TRACK LIST:
1. Uprising
2. Resistance
3. Undisclosed Desires
4. United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)
5. Guiding Light
6. Unnatural Selection (+ Mon Coeur S'Ouvre A Ta Voix)
7. MK Ultra
8. I Belong to You
9. Exogenesis Symphony, Pt. I (Overture)
10. Exogenesis Symphony, Pt. II (Cross-Pollination)
11. Exogenesis Symphony, Pt. III (Redemption)
Now, let’s get one thing out of the way…if you listen to this album expecting to hear something like Black holes & Revelations or Showbiz, you’re probably going to hate this album. However, as someone who tries to approach all kinds of music with at least an open mind, I can say that I believe Muse definitely had a lot of fun with this one. The album has many elements of the usual Muse sound of experimentation and progressive rock there, but this album feels very different from what they usually do. Muse’s desire for experimentation definitely knows no bounds, which is obvious given how they’ve approached this project.
The opening track “Uprising” is what you’d normally expect from Muse…the nice beat of electric guitars, deep bass work, drum tempos that are catchy, ambient electronica/progressive sounds, and Matthew Bellamy’s trademark falsetto vocals. But then when “Resistance” comes around, Muse decides to break off from the usual pattern, incorporating catchy background vocals from the other band members, and extensive piano rhytms that are far more atmospheric than those used in songs like "Starlight" and "Apocalypse Please", to create something extensional and, to me at least, downright beautiful. Indeed, this album is noticably different from most other Muse albums…and not at all in a bad way. This album to me sounds like Muse is expanding their musical horizons even further than ever before. The sound of many of their songs in this album seems to take on more of a classical music and symphonic rock approach, while still holding onto a good portion of the progressive rock and alternative rock elements that Muse is known for. The atmosphere and artful display of many of the songs, especially “United States of Eurasia,” make me recall the works of vintages Queen and Pink Floyd. “MK Ultra” is another track that stands out for me. I don’t know why, but it does.
Indeed, unlike past albums, this album is a bit less commercial, but makes up for that with the fact that at times, it can be very relaxing; and what more proof do you need of that than the “Exogenesis Symphony,” perhaps one of Muse’s most complex and unique pieces of work to this date. The three part symphony is, in my opinion, a marvelous piece of work; a fine, relaxing, and beautiful composition of the band’s willingness to go outside their normal boundaries and into a more mature, ambient, soothing, artistic sound. Diehard fans of Muse’s past works might find this a bit too different for them to accept and like, but fans of classical music and/or symphonic styles will more than likely eat this up and dramatically beg for more.
Indeed, Bellamy wasn’t kidding when he said “We’ll be knocking on Classic FM’s door.” The symphonic rock and classical approach to this album has certainly made it a rather unique entry into the Muse library. Again, those who were expecting something more along the lines of Blackholes and Origin will probably be disappointed by this one. I’ll will agree with them on one thing, though; this isn’t the best Muse album ever…Blackholes & Revelations is still king in my books. But I thoroughly believe that most of the album is a marvelous piece of art and certainly an excellent example of a band going beyond its normal boundaries. Though a couple of songs may not be stellar, they are by no means bad and they are certainly outweighed by many of the better songs on this album.
RATING: 8.5 / 10
Download Worthy:
-“Uprising”
-“Resistance”
-“United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)”
-“MK Ultra”
-“Exogenesis Symphony” (All three ******** parts)
