Absolution

Too Much of Not Enough
With Absolution, Muse finally succeed in becoming the grandiose, overblown Spandau Ballet of this generation; and singer Matt Bellamy a crooner without a cause. Sure, his deep-throated operatic bellowing may sound impressive, but ultimately it leads us nowhere new. In my opinion Muse did all this - and did it better - with their first two albums, Showbiz and Origin of Symmetry, achieving much more in the way of clear musical diversity. As canny readers may note, I've awarded Absolution four stars so I can't think TOO badly of it, right? True, it's not that the individual tracks are lacking in any way - there's some brilliant music here - however taken as a whole, the album suffers from a similar problem to Radiohead's Hail to the Thief, in that both albums have too many ill-defined songs. (I only compare because both albums are the 2003 releases of bands I adore... and both feature 14 tracks). But where as I quickly grew to know and love HTTT inside-out, Absolution often seems to drag for much longer than its fifty-two-minute running time. Through repeated listens I've discovered that unless I'm paying strict attention to the music, many of the songs end up blending together in a sonic-boom mush, sounding quite similar to one another in style and scope. (Ex: Apocalypse Please, Time is Running Out, Stockholm Syndrome, Butterflies and Hurricanes, all seem to be cut from the same loud, dramatically-patterned cloth). My personal favourites on the album (though possibly unpopular choices) are 'The Small Print' and 'Endlessly'. Next to 'Hysteria', 'tsp' is one of Absolution's punchier tracks, and is also thematically/lyrically interesting. Meanwhile the understated 'Endlessly' exhibits some unusual rhythmic flourishes and experimental sounds. Reading these reviews, I notice that Absolution is possibly the highest regarded of Muse's studio albums (if one can judge by the ratings and the sheer number of reviews posted) and to that end I agree that it stands head and shoulders above most of the dross that passes for music nowadays. But it's clearly a transitional album for the band, lurking somewhere between their early alternative rock sound, but before they came out all guns blazin' with Black Holes and Revelations - musically speaking that is.

Hit or miss.
After hearing Hysteria in Rock Band and Resistance on the radio, I was interested to learn more about Muse and their work. If you have to choose, I would recommend their newest album, Resistance. Some of the songs on this album are great to listen to, but more often than not, I find myself bored and uninterested with many of the rest. I'm a fan of alternative rock in particular, so this comes as a shock to me, since I've heard many good things about the band. I'd recommend searching the net and finding recordings of the entire album to listen to before committing to a purchase.

Nothing short of stunning.
I love music but hail back to the days of the 70s prog rock period when you listened to the album from beginning to end. There are few CDs today that match that period (not a knock but a recognition of the times.) So I was wonderfully surprised to pick up this CD while waiting for my wife and listened at full volume in my truck (which has a great sound system.) I was blown away. Powerful, sweeping, melodic, engaging. For the first time in a long while a CD to make my spine tingle. Something to listen - and enjoy - in it's entirety. I could hear all sorts of influences - Queen, Rammstein, but so much more. This is original and powerful work. Now I have a pile of other Muse CDs to acquire and enjoy. Just glad I stumbled across this one.

Muse encompasses everything I love about music
Ever read a book, see a piece of artwork, or hear something so profound....that it screams out to the very core of who you are and resonates with every cell in your being? I have loved music more than any other art or media form since I was old enough to know what music was. Muse is beautiful, unhindered, melodic, complex, and powerful. Quite simply, Muse has created the music my ears and soul have been waiting for my entire life.

unbelievable....what was i thinking
I have had this cd for years, and only gave it a quick run through originally. At that time I was in more of a heavy metal fase but wow, I've been listening to this for a week strait and love it more everytime...great, great album!