•
Rating: The 2nd Law is the most anticipated album of the year, not so much because Muse have now earned their place among the most significant bands of the past decade, but especially because of the feared "artistic shift" towards sounds quite foreign to the band.
The good news is that fans will not have to divide, because - fortunately, I would add - the much-announced experiments by Matt & Co. are exhausted in the two singles fed to fans before the album's release: the easy and very radio-friendly electropop of Madness and then Unsustainable, a track that borrows a lot (and practically everything) from dubstep and particularly from Skrillex, of whom Muse had initially admitted (thank goodness they were wrong) a considerable influence.
The many who felt unwell upon hearing such a track will probably quickly recover with this new The 2nd Law: Supremacy, which opens the album, is a typical Muse song, featuring epic strides, string and brass arrangements as well, and to conclude, a very tight falsetto finale by Bellamy.
It must be said that with the two previous albums, Black Holes & Revelations and The Resistance, the band had come up with great ideas but they were rather disorganizedly laid out on the same plate, the former becoming indigestible over time while the latter seemed really exaggerated in its references to classical music and the baroque of Queen: with The 2nd Law they finally get their bearings, offering a coherent work with few hitches, and rather than revolutionary, their sixth album seems like the concluding episode of a decade-long experimental journey.
Muse have now reached a dual perfection: on one side the compositional, as the songs written by Matthew Bellamy always surprise without ever being predictable, and on the other the production, as from this point of view The 2nd Law offers arrangements and sounds that truly have nothing to criticize.
The central part of the album is the most interesting: in Panic Station, with a martial rhythm accompanied by funky guitars, Bellamy for once doesn't take himself too seriously and centers the most appreciated episode of the album, while in Survival (a bold choice to open the London Olympics) the epic Muse spirit is at massive levels; the cosmic nature of Follow Me harks back to the times of Absolution and finally surprises with the velvety vocal line built over the melancholic tones of Animals.
A note of merit for Chris, who in addition to providing enveloping and full-bodied bass lines reminiscent of U2, writes and sings without disgrace or praise in Save Me and Liquid State, which are pleasant mainly because Matt's histrionic voice and falsettos become heavy over time.
In the finale, attempting to pay homage to the Second Law of Thermodynamics (and here a half laugh escapes), Muse returns a bit clumsy needlessly paying homage to dubstep and electronics with Unsustainable and Isolated System, an instrumental suite that would better deserve a place among the B-sides to be granted to the hardcore fans.
An album not revolutionary, not yet perfect, but certainly very enjoyable, with which Muse simply have fun being Muse, confirming themselves as pioneers of the rock of the '00s.
Rating: 8
Recommended tracks: Madness, Panic Station, Animals
Tracklist and Videos
Loading comments slowly
Other reviews
By Bert
Each song represents a different atmosphere, more or less successful.
An album that represents the desire to change and not to set limits on the band’s sound.
By definitelyalex
Few bands have managed to divide critics and fans like the trio from Teignmouth has in recent years.
The 2nd Law represents a turning point in their career, we’ll see if it will be THE turning point as Kid A was for Radiohead.
By Hellviz
"They wanted to piss against the wind and got so drenched they even caught a cold."
"The Second Law is an unrecognizable album, with a bare sound, where the voice of Bellamy and the sound of his guitar reign."
By simo ghelli
Muse's huge ability to synthesize simplicity and complexity makes them a unique case in the failing music business.
'Madness' transforms into a delicacy that doesn’t take itself too seriously.
By Rage
"The album delights us immediately with 'Supremacy', a cover of the old Muse, in which you can hear Bellamy’s sampled falsetto only at the end."
"The last two tracks ('Unsustainable' and 'Isolated System') are instrumental tracks that, due to the absence of excessive nonsense, are unjustly considered the most beautiful tracks on the album."
