Muse - "Black Holes and Revelations"

My most recent music review is up at The Stanford Daily, enjoy :)

Inspiration from Muse's new album

July 27, 2006
By Mark Kogan

Talk about a tough act to follow. When Muse released its 2004 magnum opus “Absolution”, the band exploded onto the international scene in a way that nobody could have ever imagined. After an exceptionally successful international tour, a plethora of awards and a long stay at the number one position on both the American and European music charts, Muse went back into the studio to record a follow up to what has been critically acclaimed as the best album of 2004-2005 and one of the best albums in the last decade. Yeah, definitely a tough act to follow.

With the release of their fourth album, “Black Holes and Revelations”, Muse has proven that “Absolution” was no fluke. Furthermore, they make it clear that their sound will continue to elude a corporate stamp, growing and flourishing under their own direction.

“Black Holes” kicks off in a familiar Muse fashion in the form of the biting and emotionally vocalized social commentary “Take a Bow.” Front man Matthew Bellamy’s haunting vocals are better than ever as he condemns world leaders of their corruption and crimes singing, “Death, you bring death and destruction to all that you touch”.

However, the dark themes and minor chord progressions quickly fade away as Muse unleashes its happiest sounding album to date. The second track, “Starlight” is a direct throwback to the Prince inspired years of the 80’s and 90’s with major-infused keyboard leads and falsetto chorus lines. It deviates greatly from the sound Muse had defined for itself in its past three incarnations, yet still manages to sound distinct and unique in a way only Muse can.

The album’s first single “Supermassive Black Hole”, a beautifully orchestrated grungy rocker, showcases some of the band’s evolution since “Absolution.” While maintaining its new age computer rock effects and sounds, the overlaid vocals are reminiscent more of Queen’s intricate ballads than Radiohead’s monotone dirges, bringing Bellamy’s unique vocal work ever more to the forefront.

Muse’s customary sentimental love song is here in full force, showcasing the happier sound of the album in the form of “Invincible” which, despite its sappy message, manages to formulate a moving power ballad come its final minutes. Muse’s older sound is still very apparent in songs like “Assassin” and “Exo-politics” which, while not bringing anything terribly new to the table, are fresh renditions of what made Muse an international mega-hit in the first place and definitely satisfy.

Towards the end of the album, “City of Delusion” stands out as a crisp and powerful version of their new sound. Featuring new elements from acoustic guitars, to symphonic strings to soloing horns and plentiful vocal harmonies, the group shows off how it can effortlessly combine so many diverse sounds into a polished and authoritative single. The result is a deep and intricate progressive masterpiece that takes you for a hell of a ride from calm start to glorious finish. If this is the future of Muse, consider me already in line for their next album.

The band closes the album just as strongly as it begins, with another progressive epic entitled “Knights of Cydonia”. From introductory horse-hoofs to the head-banging conclusion, “Knights” expands and reworks the new toys shown off in “City”, using many of the same instrumentation but with a completely different result, further displaying this trio’s exceptional talent and songwriting ability.

Many may consider this a transition album but I wouldn’t place that title on it quite yet, at least not until we see their next offering. The album is noticeably disjointed in places and lacks the unifying flow that made “Absolution” truly revolutionary, but it carries all of the qualities to make it a very successful stand-alone album.

It would have been impossible for Muse to escape the expectations placed upon them by the success of “Absolution”, but to their credit they went off in a new direction musically rather than churning out “Absolution 2.0”. That kind of musical integrity takes a lot of guts in today’s money driven industry and speaks highly of the group’s overall character. “Black Holes and Revelations” is merely the next step in Muse’s ever-evolving sound and so far, it just keeps getting better. Most importantly, Muse has shown that the international success has not gone to their heads or to their fingers as they calmly continued their fascinating musical evolution. Only time will tell where they will go next but without a doubt, they are heading in the right direction.