Will of the People

Muse - Will of the People
Critic Score
Based on 21 reviews
2022 Ratings: #714 / 803
User Score
2022 Ratings: #1068
Liked by 57 people
Sign In to rate and review

CRITIC REVIEWS

90
AllMusic

While Will of the People is not as essential as their 2000s classics, it's a quick, satisfying burst of Muse essentials that cleverly forgoes the hits-compilation graveyard in favor of fresh material that honors both their evolution and dedicated fan base.

90
Classic Rock

This is an album on which Muse master the wider range of future rock and pop sonics they've been toying with for the past decade and refine and define their current sound as neatly as Black Holes & Revelations did for their 2000s period.

80
Record Collector
A brilliantly stupid and stupidly brilliant late-period masterpiece.
80
The Telegraph
Muse are a blockbuster band, and this is another box-office-demolishing spectacular – it would feel like self-denial not to surrender. Honestly, the end of the world has rarely sounded like so much fun.
80
Evening Standard
Even for Muse, this is an album of extremes.
80
NME
The band ditch the awkward trend-chasing of 'Simulation Theory' to focus on politicised, guitar-oriented brutality. Yet there's sonic breadth here too.
80
Gigwise

The themes of Muse’s songs largely remain the same as ever but Will of the People showcases a band enjoying their craft and continuing to expand their musical horizons to entertaining effect.

80
Kerrang!
Nine records in it is inevitable that anything they do will have a particular sheen, but creatively, in performance, and in energy they continue to operate on a plane all of their own. And in a world of uncertainty, that's a very welcome thing.
80
Mojo
Its overload of big-picture polemic, explosive virtuosity and tune-rich entertainment certainly takes some unpacking, yet is consistently thrilling.
70
musicOMH
The Dorset trio’s ninth is a missive from the End Times, which, as grim as it sounds, is pretty appropriate right now.
70
Sputnikmusic

Will of the People is the best, most engaging record to come from the band in sixteen years, and it’s quite possibly the most fun I’ll have with an album all year as well.

70
Uncut

Muse are so bursting with energy and ideas even their joke songs are stadium-sized barnstormers.

70
Clash
‘Will Of The People’ is a sharp, punchy dose of Muse. While at times lyrics can feel uninspired, and there is far less space-rock at play than previous ventures, there’s no denying that the tracks on offer are sharp and hard-hitting.
60
The Arts Desk
Muse's ninth doesn't stick the landing despite some promise in its varied sound.
60
The Irish Times
Devon trio has produced another collection of beefy rock songs with ridiculously overdone riffs.
60
The Observer
Amid an OTT blizzard of musical styles, the English rockers meet doom head on, from the climate crisis to Liz Truss.
50
DIY
A smorgasbord of dystopian-flavoured cringe.
37
Pitchfork
Working under the auspices of another vague, dystopian narrative, the UK band slaps a shiny new label on the grafted remains of better songs and calls it the ninth Muse album.
30
Loud and Quiet
I actually think that Muse would even be improved on their own terms if they had a tiny, entirely non-inhibiting bit more self-awareness; for this kind of escapism to work, you do need some grasp of what it is you’re escaping from.
30
Spectrum Culture
Will of the People has nothing to say despite so desperately trying to convince you otherwise, and the music supporting their non-stances is some of the most sterile, compressed compositions the band has put to tape.
BradTasteMusic
15

Muse shows that they have had no growth in the 20+ years they have been making music on the disastrous "Will of the People". Shitty car commercial music meets awful queen rip offs. Everything about this album is tacky and immature. Tasteless and empty. It is one of the worst albums of the year, and one of the lowest forms of rock I have ever seen.

Plaintive
43

Society is bad

(Brought to you by the new Ford F-Series)

PipePanic
70

Nu-Dad Rock.

Have you heard ANYONE hype this album up in a positive light? No, really, look through your Discord messages, your AOTY comment threads, your group chats. Has any one single person said “Man, i’m excited for this new Muse album”? The most liked review for this album? More likely then not is negative! And if you HAVE seen that one person, was it ME? Because yes, this honestly was one of my most anticipated albums of the year. Despite the “Will of the ... read more

Clunker
60

Is good but forgettable.

Areg
50

I even got the cd and the signed vinyl and it sounds like shit especially "we are fucking fucked". Like seriously who made that. Also I hate won't stand down the synths there are horrible. Most of the songs have bad production. Maybe they should go back to drones.

thomasemerson
12

i love muse. well, i love black holes and revelations and all of their albums before that. muse has a pattern with their lyrics to talk about “rebelling” or something but most of the time they can get away with it because the music sounds so good. but this album does the opposite. muse makes some of the most uninteresting and boring songs i’ve ever heard with the same unspecific lyrics they’ve always used. everything after black holes kinda just becomes really corny. i ... read more

Purchasing Will of the People from Amazon helps support Album of the Year. Or consider a donation?
Become a Donor
Donor badge, no ads + more benefits.
Advertisement

Year End Lists

#29/RIFF
Sign in to comment
1w
3w
4w
1mo


Added on: March 14, 2022