Tranquility but soulless

The most ambitious song on the album and one that pays off. The production still sounds off, but live it sounds fantastic

Not bad, and great hearing Matt growling towards the end of the song. Easily the most metal Muse has gone. However, it suffers from having a disconnect between the verses and the chorus. The verses sound Imagine Dragons-esque, while the chorus is classic Muse. Could've been pulled off better

A fun pop bop with a fresh perspective from Matt singing about oppression (now from the oppressor's perspectives as opposed to the oppressed). Could've definitely been more exciting compositionally but serviceable

Not as bad as people make it out to be, but really the worst song on the album and one of the weakest openers Muse has put out. What a shame. It sounds like Green Day + Marilyn Manson with a Muse coat of paint

This is literally Supermassive Black Hole pt. 2. It's great!

A respectable Radiohead album, but this record represents Radiohead's departure from more the traditional rock soundscape to (pseudo-)intellectual indie noises. The start of their downfall, if you will. It's intricate but rather drab. Some songs are absolutely gorgeous, some are just there to take up place and keep the same atmosphere (looking at All I Need...)

There's also no excuse for not having Down Is The New Up on the main record. Easily would've been the best track on the album, even if ... read more

It's pretty and features Matt on vocals and keys, but the composition otherwise is rather unremarkable. Inoffensive and enjoyable, but nothing spectacular

Undercooked and massively uninspired

I have to imagine that upon finishing Drones and not getting the expected approval (gee, who would've thought that hyping up The Globalist as Citizen Erased 2.0 was a good idea?) Muse went like "oh shit!" and decided to turn the ship 180 degrees back into electronic music. Now, as a fan of the band I don't see "rock" Muse or "electronic" Muse as better than the other, both can be good and both can be bad, depending on the song. ... read more

An album that could've been so much more

I approach this album with a light sadness because, when all is said and done, this album is not terrible. In fact in some respects it's the the biggest and boldest of ALL their albums, including the ones that came after it. However, the individual parts are better than the sum of them all.

With the conclusion of The Resistance (a very fine album), Muse sought for bigger and better. Enter The 2nd Law: physics, space, rock opera, and the most ... read more

The tail-end of Muse's trifecta of legendary albums

By no means a bad album, but the weakest link of the trilogy of albums that people love to put on the pedestal of Muse's best works. At this point in their career Muse has established itself as the kings of pompous and huge-sounding rock. Every album is an opportunity for them to reach for something new, every track a slate to bring something new to the table. They don't underdeliver - Supermassive Black Hole becomes and funky electro piece ... read more

Muse's most accessible and last truly great album

I'm constantly surprised why people rag on this album. Yes, this album marked the transition from an alternative sound to an arena sound, but is that really a criticism when that new sound was just as good? Every single track here sounds clean, bold, and more mature than ever before. It almost feels like I'm looking at an incredibly crisp image of a spaceship in outer space

What else can I say? The songs are all great, there are no skippable ... read more

The album that introduced Muse to the world.

Imagine being in 1999, entering a music shop, and seeing this CD lying around on sale. You've never heard of this band "Muse" and your curiosity gets the best of you, so you decide to shill out some money and buy it. Popping it in to the player and hearing Sunburn for the first time in your life, I can't imagine anything but having your jaw drop being an accurate reaction. This album, despite it's shortcomings as a band without experience, ... read more

Yikes: the album

I love Muse, but when it comes to Drones, I have a very tough time justifying that. Whenever this album comes up in discussions, the best I can do is say that all great bands have missteps, and some are bigger than others. This album is said misstep.

With The 2nd Law, Muse had attempted to make an ambitious arena rock album with a very particular space-y aesthetic, but unfortunately tripped up with it's inclusion of Chris singing and relatively-uninspired title tracks. One at ... read more

Muse at it's biggest, most bombastic iteration. I always debate whether this or Origin of Symmetry is the superior album. On one hand, this album appeals more to the pop inclinations of Muse which might be seen a cheapening, but on the other, the pop rock output that they produced is incredibly strong. All in all, I think it's fair to say that they're equal in quality but different in content.

However, about Absolution. Huge, larger-than-life, ambitious - these are but some of the adjectives ... read more

Peak Muse. There is no denying that Origin of Symmetry marks Muse at it's most compositionally-ambitious period in their career. Every track feels fresh, exciting, and daring. Muse has successfully departed from it's Radiohead-ish influences and embodied their own sound and they boldly set out to conquer the rock landscape. Needless to say I love this album.

Best Track(s): Darkshines, Citizen Erased
Worst Track(s): Screenager

For the first time since The Resistance I'm not disappointed with the release of a new Muse album. It's a breath of fresh air to have something this strong and consistent finally be released by the boys. With only one real dud (Liberation), the rest of the tracks demonstrate that Muse is still able to write good-ish material, have fun, and hit all the angles of their fanbase. Also worth noting that the lyrics on the album are a step up from their usual standard. No, it's not ... read more