Muse
The 2nd Law

It could be that we are in the season of stomach bugs and our feasting on Imodium is blocking our regular activity, or that the crisis is making us increasingly restless, creating hysterical constipation that even the much-advertised Activia can't move, but here come Muse with their new "The Second Law" offering their remedy against the lazy guts of the world.

Released on October 1, 2012, this album is recommended for anyone looking to indulge in a great feast of "trashiness," pop clichés both melodically and structurally in the songs and, above all, "Bellamyan" egocentrism, the band leader who, in this album, gave his all to showcase his vocal and guitar skills (so much so that it could almost seem like his solo album, if not for the fact that there are a few tracks that seem to be sung by Wolstenholme, the bassist of the group - see "Save Me" and "Liquid State"-. But this is just my pure and ignorant impression, as I can't confirm it since I don't have the original booklet).

The Second Law is an unrecognizable album, with a bare sound, where the voice of Bellamy and the sound of his guitar reign, with which, over the 13 songs that make up the album (did we really need so many?), he never holds back, except in some piano-orchestral interludes reminiscent of Disney movie soundtracks, some unnecessary and insipid guitar solos.

Forget the post-grunge of "Origin Of Symmetry," the pleasant rock-electronic solutions of "Black Holes and Revelations" or the penultimate "The Resistance" (the latter already quite obsolete).

Forget also the promising predictions made by the same band, which in the months leading up to the release had announced similarities with groups like "Justice" and "Does It Offend You, Yeah?" Of their sound, there is absolutely nothing here. Not even a forced hint. They promised a ham and mushroom pizza and brought us a marinara, convinced they even added the mozzarella.

These new Muse, however, want to keep original and up-to-date, as they have always wanted to demonstrate.

Thus, in particular in "The Second Law: Unsustainable" and "Follow Me," they "drop the bass" (as the lobotomized youth of today would say) and set out to produce dubstep-electronic abortions worthy of the well-loved Skrillex and the like.

The even more disappointing part is that these attempts are quite unsuccessful: the sound is not powerful, it's empty and doesn't explode. In short, they wanted to piss against the wind and got so drenched they even caught a cold.

Aside from the vulgarities, there are very few salvageable tracks. "Panic Station" is amusing, which is very reminiscent of the Scissor Sisters' electro-pop style, especially in the vocals; "Animal" which puts Muse back on track and the last one, "The Second Law: Isolated System," perhaps the most interesting track of the album.

The biggest flaw of this album, in my opinion, is the timbral study and compositional structure of the various songs: when in "The Resistance" synth, bass, guitar, and drums traveled evenly on the same track, in "The Second Law" the synth and electronic elements are too suffocated by a guitar that is often unnecessarily too distorted and aggressive, never missing a chance to overshadow the rest of the "orchestra," thereby forcing predictable and already-heard melodic explosions.

Thumbs down, therefore, for these 2012 Muse who use synths only to create failed attempts at lute making.