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Rating: Masterpiece! It was needed in Muse's career! If the first three albums started well only to end a bit below par, and “Black Holes” dropped in the middle to recover with “Knights Of Cydonia”, this is an album where there are no dips in tone, the inspiration is always at its peak, the brilliance grows track by track. At least, this is the opinion of a "particular" Muse fan: I'm not the fan who approached them JUST for the energetic rock tracks or JUST for the electronic influences or JUST for the baroque and classical elements: I find their assorted influences perfectly blended, and I wouldn't change a single note of this particular album.
The album opens with the first three singles (as stated by the label on the album's packaging): “Uprising”, the first single, is dominating the radio and represents the more “electro-glam rock” side of the set. It's as much inspired by Goldfrapp as it is by KLF's Doctor Who. It's a great preview of the album and wouldn't have looked out of place in “Black Holes” instead of the mediocre “City Of Delusion” or “Exo Politics”. Next is “Resistance”, an epic stadium anthem introduced and concluded with a long synth tail whose chords heavily echo those of “Citizen Erased”. “Undisclosed Desires” is the track that promises to make it big in the USA, with its electronic beat that recalls Depeche Mode. The chorus strongly reminds me of “Enjoy The Silence” (at least for me).
“Guiding Light” is a slow number that feels very 80s in arrangement and like Christmas in melody. A good track, but not the masterpiece of the album, for sure.
The masterpieces of genius start from the fourth track: the songs become more complex, with Arabic interludes, classical references, changes in tempo, rhythm, tonality, mood: take the masterpiece “United States Of Eurasia”: at times it is blatantly Queen-like (hear the Bohemianrhapsodic choruses preceding the refrain and the finale “Eura-sia!-sia!”) elsewhere it's interspersed with a rather Arabic-sounding orchestra, ending with Chopin's “Nocturne Op. 2”, which dissolves into the sound of an airplane passing overhead. Another incredible stroke of genius is “Unnatural Selection”, perhaps my favorite track: it starts with a church organ and filtered voice, then a gripping guitar riff, followed by a slow, depressed blues, and finally it returns to the main theme. All in 6’54”. Sure, it's the usual Muse's “Paranoid Android”, to be compared with “New Born” and “Citizen Erased”, but it cannot fail to please. I can't wait to hear it live in Turin, on December 4th.
“MK Ultra” is still stunning, opening with a heavily effected guitar/synth riff, the pace is fast, then slows down in the chorus. The finale of these last two tracks is super energetic, it will please those who loved “Stockholm Syndrome”. Excellent is “I Belong To You”, which opens like a bouncy Queen/Beatles pop, then flows into the poignant “Mon Coeur S’ouvre à ta Voix”, a reference to the aria of the same name from Saint Saens' “Samson and Delilah”. It then reprises the initial melody to close with a solemn, soft chord. Here comes the peak of genius: the “Exogenesis” symphony, divided into three parts, totaling twelve minutes. The lyrics are concise, favoring long orchestral interludes that give chills. In some passages, there are strong reminiscences of “Butterflies And Hurricanes” and “Micro Cuts”, but the work is pure genius.
To complete it all, a stunning booklet with texts, psychedelic images matching the cover, black-and-white photos of Muse. A gem for fans like me: by purchasing the CD+DVD version, you can see how Muse recorded what I consider to be their best album to date, between finger snaps recorded in the bathroom, overdubs, 26-piece orchestras busy rehearsing, piano and guitar recordings, jokes among the three musicians.
Excellent album, five stars without a doubt, but its only flaw is creating in fans like me, who are appreciating it immensely, very high expectations for the future. I wonder: how could they follow up such a brilliant and varied album? By recording an identical one or proposing a slip-up album? Or better, by inventing something superior (which I find extremely difficult)? The fact is that this fifth chapter confirms them as a breath of fresh air in today's music, one of the most valid bands on the market today, where mediocre groups like Metro Station, Dari, Lost, and Tokio Hotel reign, which I consider to be worth very little.
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Other reviews
By tomgil
An album that surprises with the heterogeneity of arrangements and melodic and production solutions.
Muse is in good shape with an album that overall surpasses the previous one, and that, though uneven and imperfect, confirms the trio as one of the most interesting and least predictable mainstream bands around today.
By nss_gabriele
Muse, freed from a fascination with the more exotic pathologies, managed to convey with renewed expressive variety.
The album closes with a three-part symphony, a cosmic epic of humanity forced into exodus and searching for a new Earth.
By Starblazer
Muse, in the peak of their artistic maturity and now fully aware of their potential, lay down a very heavy load: the most ambitious and complex album of their fortunately still brief career.
The absolute pinnacle, the masterpiece of the album is without a doubt the dreamy utopia of 'United States Of Eurasia'… fully defined as 'Bohemian Rhapsody' of Muse.
By KIMIr
"It is a new work, yet you feel in the music that the previous four have left a mark. And altogether it sounds truly 'godlike.'"
"With this rock symphony, articulated in three parts, Matt Bellamy reaches a level of musical culture worthy of a maestro, straddling the rock world and the music world."
By mark.novo
Where are the Muse from "Showbiz" and "Origin of Symmetry"?
An album suitable to enter the charts and that in some points doesn’t lack originality, like the band, which has plenty to offer.
