Drones
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CRITIC REVIEWS
80
As Muse is not a subtle band ... it's hard to avoid their conclusion that war is bad, but this inclination to write everything in bold, italicized capital letters is an asset when it comes to music.
80
The lyrics are comically ridiculous ... It’s more than a little Spinal Tap, but if I was a teenage boy this is exactly the kind of thrilling madness that might turn me on to a moribund genre.
80
Lange proves an excellent match. Never before have Bellamy's guitars sounded so terrific.
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3y
80
Since any group responsible for giving prog-rock a 21st-century footing clearly observes their own set of rules, however, Muse’s seventh album is – happily – anything but diminished.
80
Drones is a truly guilty pleasure, like watching The Daily Show and knowing Jon Stewart's best jokes start with someone else's colossal error or hurt.
70
Regardless of what you think of the concept ... this distils almost all of their good qualities into a surprisingly concise record.
70
It’s Bellamy’s job to prise open deeper socio-political dimensions as much as it is to comment on the times, and Muse’s music once more matches his adventurous intrigue.
60
This is the band’s most focused work in a decade, ditching the genre walkabout of 2012’s The 2nd Law for a more polished variant of their early, unkempt sound.
60
Luckily, a good sizeable chunk of this album is good enough to stand alone, stripped of the high-minded concepts.
60
Muse is one of the world's biggest rock bands, but for all its missionary zeal, Drones preaches to the converted.
60
Even if Muse is only sort of back, they've still taken a vital step in the right direction. With a little luck, maybe the next Muse album will finally be the one that has them live up to their astronomical potential.
58
In spite of its melodic clarity, Drones ultimately succumbs under the weight of its narrative, which strains for political and social commentary but winds up closer to parody.
50
There are snatches of salvation (the breathless chug “Revolt”), but every time Drones aims for dystopian profundity, it hits Styx-level goofiness.
50
Muse comes back with a slightly more focused and hard rock-flavored followup to the 2nd Law.
50
Lyrics have always been a chink in the almighty Muse’s armor, and that chink has grown into a full-on crisis on Drones.
50
At one turn, Drones will seem a savior for the world’s big, dumb stadium rock and at another it’ll be like a Queen record for dudes in Guy Fawkes masks.
50
Drones can be chalked up as one step forward, one step back for this British trio. If Muse is able to find a way to express its political concerns in a manner that doesn’t bash the listener over the head, they might just find a way to get both feet headed in the same direction.
45
Whatever pleasure can be generated from Bellamy’s admirable melodic sense and overblown hooks is negated by Muse’s insistence that they’re profound rather than fun.
40
Muse have never been interested in doing things by halves and they don't so much as lean into prog these days but rather wear the face off it, yet there is a difference between bold experimentation and simply throwing in too much and sounding terribly burnt out as a consequence.
20
It’s a disappointing record on every level. For devoted fans, the uncomfortable truth is that they’re stuck in a glam-rock rut, which – sorry Musers – Royal Blood now do with twice the urgency and zero guff.
20
Muse have always been ridiculous and overblown, but at least they used to be a ton of fun. Can anyone remember how long ago that was?
20
They’re aiming for George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, but in terms of social commentary, it’s not even Taylor Swift’s 1989.
Examining: Muse
Part 7 - Drones
So, a few weeks ago, I gave my take for the often debated question “when did Muse become bad”. But here’s a question I don’t think enough people are asking when these debates pop up:
What’s the difference between “good Muse” and “bad Muse” anyways?
That sounds like that should be an easy answer, but considering how long Muse’s fans have not been happy with what the band is doing I’m not sure if ... read more
(Band Binge: Muse Part Seven of Seven...ish)
...Fuck it. This album isn't THAT bad.
Look, this album is corny, flawed, goofy, stupid, a little messy and very flat in some areas that Muse usually stride in. And yeah, the album cover is pretty...trash. But...at lest when compared The 2nd Law, this is NOT their worst album. It just isn't. It's a grey and kinda bland album, but it's not their worst.
I think what quantifies this album as being at lest a little better then the previous 2 albums ... read more
I was really excited for Drones as I knew Psycho from this album and at this point I was hoping for a return to form for Muse. This album does feel like a return to their more heavier and rockier sound they built in Origin and Absolution but it lacks in other departments
There are some great and heavy songs on this album like Psycho, Reapers and The Handler but there are others that feel very lackluster within the tracklist such as Revolt, Aftermath, and Drones.
It falls off towards the latter ... read more
Theres a hint of older Muse here, in a way that's similar to how there's a hint of flavor in a La Croix.
Parts I laughed during: Drill Seargent into Psycho, the tapping intro of Reapers, "I'm free from society! You can't control me, I'm a defector!", ♪ ♬ Killed by drones ♬ ♪
Be advised, hostile Swarm inbound. Better find cover...
Drones has a neat concept for an album that was meant to be a return to form for Muse. They insisted that Drones was going to go back to a more rough and heavy sounding album like their earlier releases like Absolution or Origin's of Symmetry. While we do get some heavier sounding records like Reapers and The Handler, the rest of the album is pretty generic and safe. Dead inside still incorporated electronic sounds and sounds like a Queen ... read more
Contributions By
patton, thisisabtlgrnd, Alejandro González, erik, Edgeworth, AndreManfre93, MarkyC, domvic, OPENblinds, siberianbreaksBecome a Donor
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Track List
| 1 | Dead Inside 4:22 | 72 |
| 2 | [Drill Sergeant] 0:21 | 40 |
| 3 | Psycho 5:16 | 62 |
| 4 | Mercy 3:51 | 64 |
| 5 | Reapers 5:59 | 85 |
| 6 | The Handler 4:33 | 81 |
| 7 | [JFK] 0:54 | 49 |
| 8 | Defector 4:33 | 66 |
| 9 | Revolt 4:05 | 47 |
| 10 | Aftermath 5:47 | 61 |
| 11 | The Globalist 10:07 | 72 |
| 12 | Drones 2:49 | 48 |
Total Length: 52 minutes
Year End Lists
| #25 | / | Digital Spy |
| #32 | / | Q Magazine |
| #39 | / | Rolling Stone |
| #41 | / | NME |
| #42 | / | Diffuser |
| #54 | / | Gigwise |
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Added on: March 11, 2015