Muse “Black Holes and Revelations”
First off, this album is so over-the-top it sling shots around the Sun of Shame, enters a hyper warp field, emerges in the Land of Lame, and then, dipping it’s wings into the Glitter Galaxy, erupts back into normal space time avenged, shining, and just utterly fabulous.
How do you approach this? Well, as with any truly great album you have to start with the packaging. A bad album cover can really ruin your listening experience. Muse do not disappoint on this, their fourth album. In a kind of Pink Floyd-y way we get the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse sitting around a table on the surface of Mars. How do they achieve this Floyd-like creation? By going straight to Pink Floyd’s sleeve designer, obviously. They don’t knock about, these boys.
The album opens with “Take a Bow,” and this is not a Madonna cover (even though they used to be on her Maverick label). No, it starts out with some nice low frequency synth bass and a simple arpeggiated pattern that will make any simpleton fanboy happy. It’s political which I obviously don’t care about, but it seems to be a bit about consumerism as well. They try very hard to be deep, but in a less introspective way than Radiohead. It’s almost like this song takes you by the hand into Clockwork Orange land. Certainly by the Rachmaninov bit.
“Starlight” is a good old romper stomper bit of Brit Pop. The kind that Keane make now. It’s a bit sludgy so maybe you can imagine Brett Anderson (him of Suede) doing it. I don’t know what it’s about, it sounds achingly hopeful, so I assume it’s about some girl.
“Super Massive Black Hole” is almost exactly like Suede from their “Head Music” album. I read something that said it’s like Franz Ferdinand. Maybe it is. It’s funky, like Queen on “The Game.” It’s got a lot of that four on the floor thing going on. Makes you feel like punching your boss.
“Map of the Problamatique” is one of those typically vague and posh sounding pieces. Yes, it’s an awful like Violator from Depeche Mode. Someone wrote that Muse is a band that can’t let a moment of silence go unfilled by drum fills. This is quite true. It’s a trade mark sound, I guess. Anyway, good stuff here.
“Soldiers Poem” is slow and reflective. This one is really, really like Queen from “A Day at the Races” or “News of the World.”
“Invincible.” Guess what? This one is really triumphant.
“Assasin.” No one seems to have mentioned anywhere that this starts off like a minor key version of the Knight Rider theme. That alone makes it A-OK. Then it get’s all Smashing Pumpkins “Zero.” And Then the singing starts and its pretty Brit Poppy. There’s a little honky tonk sound in the background that appeals to me.
“Exo-Polotics.” This one is a glam banger. Big guitars, crunchy bass and drums that make you march along with arms outstanding. Kill, kill, kill. Or just maim a bit.
“City of Delusion.” Acustic guitar intro, simple chord patterns. Willing voice coming out of the dark, yearning to run high. And then it goes Symphonic!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, heaping piles of spaghetti. Things get really crazy at the end of this album, I promise. The disco bit kicks in right about…now!
“Hoodoo.” I had to read that one twice. Starts of with some Spanish guitar and someone stomping on the floor. Presumably to do one of those fandango dances. This one is Radiohead with a heaping pile of Libarace at the end. Awesome!
Ok. Now the album closer. Even though this isn’t a band that claims any sort of strong influence from Queen, here comes the strongest coincidence. A completely over-the-top closing track that could certainly sit alongside Bohemian Rhapsody. And that’s even if you don’t get a chance to see the video. “Knights of Cydonia” is a bad-ass-sci-fi-cowboy track. Really. It opens with horses galloping, laser guns firing, and then the Ennio Morricone bit comes in and you think you’re in the “The Good the Bad and Ugly.” No kidding! This song is utterly insanse. And it’s all nicely arranged so the first verses almost lull you with their lullaby-like quality. Sweet…sweetly…sweetness. Ok. Bit of a Spaghetti Western break here, some chorus of voices going ‘ahh…ahhh ahhh…ahh’ AND THEN the big bit. The multi tracking starts here. The high pitched singing. The part where the song stops being over the top because, frankly, the top just doesn’t exist anymore. Bliss (the second track to their second album…coincidence?? Yes.) And the ending of the song? Well, lets just say that’s a mystery you can unravel for yourselves. But it just happens to sound-check one of the best synthesized compositions ever laid to acetate.
