Muse
Madness

Certain things are destined to change, perhaps everything really must change, but are we sure it's always an advantage?

We all agree that, apart from the underground movement, the world of Rock "business" has lost all the value of its beginnings and is now just another genre, probably distinguished by the real use of instruments, live performances, and an inevitable "real" sound. In today's musical landscape, which is increasingly moving towards "pc" electronics, rock remains the anchor to that "reality" of playing made with hands, it is the last refuge for a musical past that inevitably must die, must make way for the new with all the fear that entails... but the new is always scary... very much so, and I am proof of that.

My fear is: "Will I still find something to buy?"

The new single by Muse "Madness" opens, in my opinion, interesting perspectives on this new musical "will."

The single was released on August 20th and heralds the sixth work of the British band. With great anticipation, being a devoted fan, I set out to listen to the track in question, and the first words were: "Noooo"!!!

The Muse, like others, have understood that the guitar has no future, they realized that one must change sooner or later, or perhaps, being the three men who have been playing "the same stuff" for years, they want to do different things to give meaning to work that cannot be solely at the listeners' service. And so groups change, maybe they will sell more and be "commercialized," sell less and be "finished," or sell the same and be "static." In musical criticism, nothing ever goes right, indeed, one thing is always good: covering AC/DC!

A war within the rock world between PROGRESSIVES AND CONSERVATIVES. We cannot listen to "Back in Black" for eternity, but neither can rock become a "surrogate for Jennifer Lopez." In my opinion, this single can be, with the right maturation, a good cue for a synthesis between progress and conservation.

The Muse are good, there is little to say about it, they are intelligent and talented, and rarely does their TASTE fail. This single has the flavor of a turning point, of the future. Certainly, this electronic base is not artificial but researched analogically with instruments and effects, there is a desire to work on something new. The melody seems to work and the finale explodes beautifully among meticulously crafted sounds and vocal crossings. this is a movie song, the kind with robots, suitable for electric car commercials.

I find the strengths of this track are Bellamy's vocals and the finale. the vocal performance is very good, refined, Bellamy knows how to sing, how to close words like "Freddy Mercury", and his range is always impressive despite the years passing even for him. The finale has that epic quality that finally gives meaning to a song that seems never to take off; among high notes, second and third voices, the song becomes classy. What I didn't like is undoubtedly that robotic "M-M-M-Madness": avoidable. Also, the drums with that aristocratic club sound, putting in the background a fundamental part of the Muse sound: Dominic Howard's rhythm. Another flaw is the guitar solo, so banal it seems there just to remind that Muse also have a guitar. For the rest, the track seems never to really take off, but certainly, this factor is intended to give life to a suspended track.

In the end, the track is not one hundred percent successful, but it is certainly not garbage. This is a quality single made by a courageous group, albeit commercial.