Absolution

The middle release of Muse's extremely strong 3 album run of the 2000s. While Absolution seems to be generally agreed upon to be a great album, it often seems that the opinion is split between being "The most amazing, best thing Muse has ever made" to "It's great, but they have better", with some of the criticism being directed at the somewhat inconsistent quality between the first and second halves. Don't get me wrong, I do really like this album, although I probably would fall into the category that prefers Origin of Symmetry. While maybe not as ambitious as the aforementioned album, Absolution is still a great evolution of Muse's sound and it's easy to see why it was such a success. With Absolution, we see a continued mix of Muse's alt/prog rock with elements of classical compositions, creating an honestly pretty unique project.

1. Apocalypse Please - A very strong opener. I'm a big fan of the foot stomping combined with the alternating piano chords, and it all works together nicely to make a song that really has that "the world is ending" sound down.

2. Time is Running Out - This song ended up becoming one of Muse's biggest hits, especially on the Radio, and WAS their biggest hit until "Uprising" came out. I enjoy this song, although I wouldn't call it my favorite, and when compared to many other tracks on this album, it definitely has that more radio-friendly sound to it, while still keeping with the general theme of Absolution.

3. Sing for Absolution - Another song that has a more dystopian sound to it, and yet another very strong track for this album, not much else to say.

4. Stockholm Syndrome - One of the most highly regarded Muse songs. A heavier-sounding song that is for sure one of the highlights of the track list.

5. Falling Away with You - A fine song, but probably one of the ones more likely to be considered filler, which I can see. It's a slower, more sentimental ballad meant to end the first half of the album, although it kind of falls into being somewhat forgettable. Although it doesn't particularly bother me now, on my initial listen of this album I thought this specific song kind of broke the pace of the album for me. That being said, I still believe that this song is kind of out of place being on Absolution.

6. Hysteria - This song deserves all the praise it gets. The whole thing is infectious, especially that bass-line, which has got to be one of Muse's best yet. It's easy to see why this song is a staple at nearly every Muse concert, it's got everything.

7. Blackout - Unfortunately another song that falls into the exact same category of Falling Away with You, in which it feels very strange being placed into an album that so far, has generally had a harder rock sound attached to it. This song ditches most rock elements and is instead a piano ballad, although I do think the subject matter fits the album well, much better than Falling Away with You. Ultimately I think songs such as this, and whether they should be considered skips or not boil down to the listener themself and their preferences on whether or not they want to hear songs that are wildly different from the rest of the album.

8. Butterflies and Hurricanes - This is one of my top Muse songs ever, and in my opinion, the best song on this album (although I think many would disagree with that). While much of the subject matter on Absolution is somewhat depressing, Butterflies and Hurricanes is weirdly upbeat, lyrically, in which it almost sounds like a motivational song for the listener. Also, this song is the perfect example of Muse fusing classical piano with rock, even including a full piano composition inspired by Rachmaninoff. I would also recommended listening to the Additional Guitars version of this song, as it's also very enjoyable in it's own way.

9. The Small Print - Initially, this song didn't stand out to me very much on my first listen, although going back I had a newfound appreciation for this track. I wouldn't consider it one of the top tracks of the album or anything, as it is less ambitious than some things heard already, although I wouldn't consider it a skip by any means, and Matt Bellamy's vocal performance here is on point.

10. Endlessly - I'm going to be honest, I had to go back and listen to this song again, because I outright forgot what it sounded like. I don't dislike it by any means, but it is probably one of the weakest tracks thus far, there isn't much going on and I'd be surprised to hear if this was anyone's favorites.

11. Thoughts of a Dying Atheist - One of the stand outs on my first listen of the album. It's not as brash or as hard as some of the other songs heard already, but it's still a terrific song, with a very interesting meaning behind it. I'm split on considering this one of my favorites, since my opinions have shifted since I first listened to this album, although that shouldn't discredit this song by any means.

12. Ruled by Secrecy - Another slower song that takes a very long time to build up. If this was anywhere else on the album, I'd be more critical, although I'd say it works well enough as the closer. Despite being the closer though, it still ends up being a somewhat forgettable song.

Edit: After a few more listens I have two notes:
- Blackout has kind of grown on me mildly, I think it's alright for what it is, although my opinion on it in the review has not changed.
- The Small Print has grown on me a ton, it might be one of my favorites on the album. I'd actually probably say I like it more than Atheists now.