Surprisingly good. The last Muse album I bought was 'Black Holes & Revelations' which, despite cracker singles, contained a lot of unconvincing filler. This one is a lot more consistent. Yes, it does sound an AWFUL LOT like Queen in places, but it's a great record. Panic Station is my favourite song from the record. Who would've thought that Muse would go all Faith No More on us?

 

I'm slightly in love with the horn section in "Panic Station". It's reportedly the next single, after which I'm assuming they'll finish off with "Follow Me".

Supremacy is classic Muse and I'm really glad that opened the album. Certainly a lot of different directions, sometimes working very well (Panic Station :o ) but I found the middle half of the album got very forgettable and repetitive, mainly by fact that the bassist (as you said, Charlie) doesn't have the power in his vocals than Matt has to carry the songs.

 

Mainly, I do love the story I get out of it. I feel that the whole album just tells this story of descent out of one's self as the 2012 apocalypse looms and the 'symphonies' at the end herald the dramatic climax and then a very sombre end. Which is sad, but very effective.

 

So a really good album overall, Definitely preferred some of the album tracks to the two singles, but I do now feel they were necessary as they sum up the album quite well - different directions, but still the same band at heart.

Edited October 6, 201212 yr by Hoopoe

Panic Station = Thriller (radio edit)

 

Black Holes only had two filler songs in my opinion - Soldier's Poem and Assassin.

Edited October 7, 201212 yr by AnthonyT

Black Holes only had two filler songs in my opinion - Soldier's Poem and Assassin.

 

I'd say Hoodoo and that's it, personally.

Black Holes only had two filler songs in my opinion - Soldier's Poem and Assassin.

 

This. And they're both decent.

I'd say Hoodoo and that's it, personally.

Hoodoo, Soldier's Poem and City Of Delusion at a push. But the album goes well as a whole and I wouldn't consider those tracks as 'filler', just slightly inferior quality-wise.

 

I've only listened to this album once so far, but Madness, Survival and Panic Station seem to be my highlights so far!

I put City of Delusion near the top with MOTP. I skip Soldier's Poem every time.

Edited October 7, 201212 yr by AnthonyT

Big Freeze is Starlight II and that is a good thing.

I'm not loving "Follow Me" as much as I should. "Panic Station" on the other hand is becoming more incredible every time I listen to it - they seem to have pulled the same trick as on Black Holes and fired a load of corkers out in the first half dozen songs or so, but I could do without "Save Me" and "Liquid State". Without those it'd be my album of the year, no question.

Can anyone else hear both Don't Stop Me Now and No Surprises in Explorers?

Given how little I've listened to this so far it's almost certain to end up being my favourite Muse album, and by quite some distance too. Highly surprising given I wasn't expecting anything from it at all, Madness has taken two months to click.

It's going to be a grower. The songs are improving steadily.

The first part of the album to Follow Me is truly superb, as are the last two tracks. The 5 in between are decent but the standard does drop. But Muse haven't ever made an album I've truly loved anyway.

Really? I find Supremacy and Survival to be just all the old Muse tricks repeated. I find the way they progress and the syntax of the lines to be predictable and formulaic now. I've stated above that Matt regularly uses a formula for writing some of his lyrics and now when I spot it I find it jarring.

 

 

Race, life’s a race

Far away, This ship is taking me far away

Corrupt, You're corrupt

bury it, I won't let you bury it

anyone else notice how often Matt's lyrics use the same configuration? The first three are all opening lyrics too. It's tedious at this stage.

 

Edited October 12, 201212 yr by AnthonyT

I for one didn't even notice that.

I don't think it matters. Not even my OCD cares.

Of course it doesn't matter. None of this matters.

I actually find it quite interesting, I wonder why Matt chooses to use a similar structure in so many of his tracks. I guess Survival practically lived off the 'Muse-by-numbers' stucture, but I didn't feel it was a bad thing (it seems everyone else did though).

Edited October 12, 201212 yr by Juranamo

Follow me, you can follow me - Follow Me

Best, You've got to be the best - Butterflies and Hurricanes

 

:blink:

 

Edited October 15, 201212 yr by AnthonyT