Muse
Black Holes And Revelations

THE REVIEW

For many, it remains a kind of mysterious object, some have even pointed to it as a symbol of the artistic decline of Muse, yet "Black Holes And Revelations" is an extraordinary record. Why?

Simple, because it's yet another confirmation that Muse are capable of constantly changing their style and approach to their music while maintaining their expressive purity intact, just like only the greatest can do. There are a lot of things to say about this album, starting with the cover: it's the second, after that of "Absolution," not to feature either the title or the band's moniker, a sign of great self-confidence from them, now certain that their music alone makes them unmistakable, and after all, only a blind person could fail to be fascinated by this cover, superb in the contrast between the blue of the sky and the bright red of the Martian valley of Cydonia, with the four horsemen of the apocalypse and their toy horses. Another point of pride for Muse are the music videos, and once again, they haven't disappointed expectations, gifting us genuine pearls of the challenging art of associating music with images: the video for "Supermassive Black Hole" is hallucinating, wonderfully gaudy for "Knights Of Cydonia", poetic for "Invincible", stunning and with a great impact, despite its simplicity, for "Starlight".

The watchword for "Black Holes And Revelations" is experimentation understood as sound research and openness to new sounds and musical influences. It's a record that hides keys of interpretation and profound meanings, where nothing is as it seems, a tortuous and uneasy journey, familiar yet entirely to be discovered, suspended between Earth and Mars, between protest, optimism, and disillusionment, it is sumptuous as a Muse album must be, and ultimately it is the album of contradictions, a multicultural and multi-sound album in which neoclassical and hypermodern coexist harmoniously.

The keyboards of "Take A Bow" introduce us to this world of black holes and revelations, dark and pressing keyboards for a song that increasingly grows, casting an anathema against the so-called powerful of the Earth and hypnotizing deeply. Moments of high musical value also include "Supermassive Black Hole", whose suffocating groove hides lyrics about the destruction of a relationship through refined and ambiguous metaphors, or the wacky "Exo-Politics", with a rhythm that's impossible to resist, hypothesizing an alien invasion. Will the invasion lead to positive or negative outcomes? It's up to you to interpret...

The allure of contrasts, to which I have always been very sensitive, is embodied in "Map Of The Problematique", with a catchy and overwhelming danceable groove, but talks of loneliness, fear, and depression. Spatial atmospheres describe absolutely earthly pains and sensations. In "Black Holes And Revelations" it can also happen that Muse's sound is contaminated with exquisitely Mediterranean influences; thus "City Of Delusion" is born, with lyrics that transport us through the torments of the human soul hidden under Saracenic arches and Spanish-style brass, disarmingly beautiful, thanks to the sentimiento and pasiòn that Matt Bellamy usually instills in every single note. Gypsy-flavored guitars introduce us to the more tormented and subdued "Hoodoo", which speaks to us of dreams, regrets, nightmares, and remorse on a delicate yet theatrical backdrop.

The only heir to "New Born", "Plug In Baby", "Stockholm Syndrome" and "Hysteria" is instead "Assassin", epic and almost metallic, especially in the introduction, with a very Portnoy-like Dominic Howard; killer chorus and almost anarchic lyrics. How can one not be moved by the two minutes and three seconds of the sweet "Soldier's Poem", pure poetry translated into music by an angelic voice accompanied by a simple acoustic guitar and reverberated choirs in the style of 70s Queen, followed by "Invincible", which remaining on the Queen-like theme could be their "Who Wants To Live Forever" for expressive intensity and pathos, a ballad that is also an anthem to freedom, a subdued march that touches the strings of emotion, with a superb Matthew Bellamy offering one of the most extraordinary performances not only of his shining career but also in the history of this kind of songs, where the central element is the emotion conveyed through singing..

Do you feel like a more sunny and pop sound? Well, you're satisfied with "Starlight", an excellent pop rock, a bit "Bliss", from which it takes the use of keyboards and a bit "Time Is Running Out" for the synthesizers, a delightful oasis of pop catchiness in the depths of the album. Closing our excursion between sky and earth is "Knights Of Cydonia", or rather, Rhapsody Of Fire transported from the green valleys of the Enchanted Lands to the desolate and bandit-populated plains of a Martian far west, an extraordinary and compelling melodic line and galloping solos that break the Muse tradition of closing an album with a slow track.

Well, I've told you about this album through my feelings and interpretations, now it's up to you to decide: will you categorize it as an artistic flop or let yourself be transported among the scenarios these three Martians have decided to give us poor earthlings?

"Come ride with me, through the veins of history, I'll show you a god who falls on the job, how can we win when fools can be kings, don't waste your time or time waste you"