Review! "Black Holes and Revalations", Muse's new album
I tried really really hard to like "Black Holes and Revalations" because I worship the ground Muse walks on. I listened to it over and over again just waiting for it to have that delayed reaction that "Origin of Symmetry" had where I was kind of lukewarm toward it at first and then suddenly I just realized it was the most amazing thing I'd ever heard.
Well needless to say that didn't happen. I'll go through it track by track for you.
1.) "Take a Bow" - I still maintain that this song is awesome. I have a bad habit of listening to it on repeat. The lyrics combined with the way the song builds gives me the chills. It starts out with a mellow, almost eerie apocalyptic sound and slowly just gathers more and more energy until the end. Key changes are aplenty in this song. What's strange is it builds to the point where there would normally be a huge guitar solo and instead there's this super-fast dance breakdown. That then builds to the second "chapter" of the song, as I call it. And it just keeps getting better. And better. When it's over I feel out of breath.
2.) "Starlight" - This song just sucks. It's not the worst thing I've ever heard but I would not go out of my way to listen to it, in fact I might go out of my way not to listen to it. Now that I'm done playing the whole album repeatedly trying to train my ears to like it, I will probably forever skip this song. The only reason I might listen to it again is to try and determine if the music or the lyrics are more dumb.
3.) "Supermassive Black Hole" - This is the supermassive big single from the album. This song is fucking weird. I will admit that I like it a lot, even to the extent that I jumped around and sang along with it in my car, but in order to like it I have to pretend it's not Muse. What can I say? It's poppy and catchy. It's Prince, basically. If you can't get a copy of this song for whatever reason just listen to Prince. You'll be fine.
4.) "Map of the Problematique" - This is one of those songs that I listen to and start getting into it until I remember how good Muse used to be. This is a good dance song. Nothing more.
5.) "Soldier's Poem" - This is a painfully simple but pretty song. I still can't get used to Muse being political. Usually the angst is personal. The song may have kind of a nice sound, but it's nothing compared to other slow songs such as "Unintended", "Shine", "Screenager" and "Blackout." It's also only about 2 minutes long and the chord progressions are like something I would have plunked out on the piano in second grade. This is another one I will probably be skipping.
6.) "Invincible" - This song starts out with such potential for about the first 20 seconds until you see where it is going. It sounds like a damn patriotic march. It's like "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Miserable meets Queen's "We are the Champions", only those are both good songs and this one is not. Super-neat guitar riff starting at around 3:30 though, and then the song gets decent. It's not worth it for what you have to listen to beforehand though. This one is a definite skip.
7.) "Assassin" - I wonder what I would think of this song if I hadn't heard a bootleg version of it from a show several months ago that was so much better. I still like it, but I'm biased after hearing an incredible, epic live version that was a good two minutes longer, involved screaming, and at one point even shifted into 5/4 time. Either way this is a great song. Easily the second-strongest on the album, and the most reminiscent of their old sound.
8.) "Exo-Politics" - This is the famous alien invasion song that everyone is ridiculing Muse for. I like it a lot. I'm tempted to say that this is the second-strongest song on the album but just like with "Map of the Problematique" I start getting into it and then I remember all the old Muse I know and love. This song is very well-done though. Passionate singing. Catchy verses. Awesome chorus. Just not what they used to be.
9.) "City of Delusion" - When this song first started my first thought was that it reminded me of "Nature_1". Unfortunately it is not nearly as cool as "Nature_1". Once it picks up it sounds just like nearly everything else on the album. Lacking. Then right at 2:00 there's a cool little breakdown that lasts about 40 seconds. After that it's back to the same sound. And then there's a saxophone! This is by no means a bad song. It is a lot more dynamic than most of the others. In fact the only reason I put "Assassin" in second place and not this one is because "Assassin" reminds me so much of their older stuff.
10.) "Hoodoo" - This song starts like a gunfight at high noon, sucks worse than Gavin Rossdale trying to sing "The Doors", and then tries way too hard all in a period of 35 seconds. But wait! Suddenly at 1:18 it gets pretty. And it gets so pretty you don't care how shitty it was before. You get lost in it. Then, at 2:00 the piano starts. Beautiful. Hypnotic. Is Matt Bellamy going to bust it out on the piano just like old times? Is he? Is he? No, he's not. He's going to torment you for 4 seconds and then crank up the shit-dial again. By the time it slows down again a minute later you don't care what's coming next. You just want it to stop. Still, I hate to say it but that tiny little period from 1:18 to 2:04 might just be so beautiful that I will listen to this song when I listen to the album and tolerate 3 minutes of crap just for those amazing 45 seconds. Why could that not have been the whole song?
11. "Knights of Cydonia" - The most overrated song on the album. Even the most harsh reviews I've read have given some kind of credit to this song. They always say something like that the album opens and closes so strongly. Well, I'm listening and I just don't hear it. I hear something that could easily be dubbed into the soundtrack of "Ladyhawke" and no one would notice. So the song starts with thunder and lightning sounds and horses. So what? Oooh... apocalyptic! You want to hear apocalyptic, listen to "Apocalypse Please." You know, one of their old songs. So the song is thoroughly unimpressive and has a "just there" feel to it, and then suddenly at 3:19 it turns into Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" only... not. I think that's the point at which the album stops being listenable. Just put your hand on the button and at 3:19 pop the damn cd out. Better yet, pop it out before the song even starts.
Overall I give this album a 6 out of 10. This is because I'm just rating it as an album, pretending I have no idea what Muse has done before and also comparing it to a lot of other music that's coming out today. If this were on a scale of 1-10 comparing it to other stuff Muse has done I would rate it a solid kick in the groin.
I recommend buying this album if you can get it for under $10 used.
Well needless to say that didn't happen. I'll go through it track by track for you.
1.) "Take a Bow" - I still maintain that this song is awesome. I have a bad habit of listening to it on repeat. The lyrics combined with the way the song builds gives me the chills. It starts out with a mellow, almost eerie apocalyptic sound and slowly just gathers more and more energy until the end. Key changes are aplenty in this song. What's strange is it builds to the point where there would normally be a huge guitar solo and instead there's this super-fast dance breakdown. That then builds to the second "chapter" of the song, as I call it. And it just keeps getting better. And better. When it's over I feel out of breath.
2.) "Starlight" - This song just sucks. It's not the worst thing I've ever heard but I would not go out of my way to listen to it, in fact I might go out of my way not to listen to it. Now that I'm done playing the whole album repeatedly trying to train my ears to like it, I will probably forever skip this song. The only reason I might listen to it again is to try and determine if the music or the lyrics are more dumb.
3.) "Supermassive Black Hole" - This is the supermassive big single from the album. This song is fucking weird. I will admit that I like it a lot, even to the extent that I jumped around and sang along with it in my car, but in order to like it I have to pretend it's not Muse. What can I say? It's poppy and catchy. It's Prince, basically. If you can't get a copy of this song for whatever reason just listen to Prince. You'll be fine.
4.) "Map of the Problematique" - This is one of those songs that I listen to and start getting into it until I remember how good Muse used to be. This is a good dance song. Nothing more.
5.) "Soldier's Poem" - This is a painfully simple but pretty song. I still can't get used to Muse being political. Usually the angst is personal. The song may have kind of a nice sound, but it's nothing compared to other slow songs such as "Unintended", "Shine", "Screenager" and "Blackout." It's also only about 2 minutes long and the chord progressions are like something I would have plunked out on the piano in second grade. This is another one I will probably be skipping.
6.) "Invincible" - This song starts out with such potential for about the first 20 seconds until you see where it is going. It sounds like a damn patriotic march. It's like "Do You Hear the People Sing?" from Les Miserable meets Queen's "We are the Champions", only those are both good songs and this one is not. Super-neat guitar riff starting at around 3:30 though, and then the song gets decent. It's not worth it for what you have to listen to beforehand though. This one is a definite skip.
7.) "Assassin" - I wonder what I would think of this song if I hadn't heard a bootleg version of it from a show several months ago that was so much better. I still like it, but I'm biased after hearing an incredible, epic live version that was a good two minutes longer, involved screaming, and at one point even shifted into 5/4 time. Either way this is a great song. Easily the second-strongest on the album, and the most reminiscent of their old sound.
8.) "Exo-Politics" - This is the famous alien invasion song that everyone is ridiculing Muse for. I like it a lot. I'm tempted to say that this is the second-strongest song on the album but just like with "Map of the Problematique" I start getting into it and then I remember all the old Muse I know and love. This song is very well-done though. Passionate singing. Catchy verses. Awesome chorus. Just not what they used to be.
9.) "City of Delusion" - When this song first started my first thought was that it reminded me of "Nature_1". Unfortunately it is not nearly as cool as "Nature_1". Once it picks up it sounds just like nearly everything else on the album. Lacking. Then right at 2:00 there's a cool little breakdown that lasts about 40 seconds. After that it's back to the same sound. And then there's a saxophone! This is by no means a bad song. It is a lot more dynamic than most of the others. In fact the only reason I put "Assassin" in second place and not this one is because "Assassin" reminds me so much of their older stuff.
10.) "Hoodoo" - This song starts like a gunfight at high noon, sucks worse than Gavin Rossdale trying to sing "The Doors", and then tries way too hard all in a period of 35 seconds. But wait! Suddenly at 1:18 it gets pretty. And it gets so pretty you don't care how shitty it was before. You get lost in it. Then, at 2:00 the piano starts. Beautiful. Hypnotic. Is Matt Bellamy going to bust it out on the piano just like old times? Is he? Is he? No, he's not. He's going to torment you for 4 seconds and then crank up the shit-dial again. By the time it slows down again a minute later you don't care what's coming next. You just want it to stop. Still, I hate to say it but that tiny little period from 1:18 to 2:04 might just be so beautiful that I will listen to this song when I listen to the album and tolerate 3 minutes of crap just for those amazing 45 seconds. Why could that not have been the whole song?
11. "Knights of Cydonia" - The most overrated song on the album. Even the most harsh reviews I've read have given some kind of credit to this song. They always say something like that the album opens and closes so strongly. Well, I'm listening and I just don't hear it. I hear something that could easily be dubbed into the soundtrack of "Ladyhawke" and no one would notice. So the song starts with thunder and lightning sounds and horses. So what? Oooh... apocalyptic! You want to hear apocalyptic, listen to "Apocalypse Please." You know, one of their old songs. So the song is thoroughly unimpressive and has a "just there" feel to it, and then suddenly at 3:19 it turns into Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" only... not. I think that's the point at which the album stops being listenable. Just put your hand on the button and at 3:19 pop the damn cd out. Better yet, pop it out before the song even starts.
Overall I give this album a 6 out of 10. This is because I'm just rating it as an album, pretending I have no idea what Muse has done before and also comparing it to a lot of other music that's coming out today. If this were on a scale of 1-10 comparing it to other stuff Muse has done I would rate it a solid kick in the groin.
I recommend buying this album if you can get it for under $10 used.