Muse has been around for quite a while now. They released their very first album, Showbiz, in 1999. Since then, they have become one of the biggest and most well known rock bands in the world, putting on shows all over and making a name for themselves as innovative and incredible entertainers. Every album has channeled their energy and desire to push themselves into new territories, from the saga-elements of The Resistance and the experimental and concept-aspect of The 2nd Law. Their latest album, Drones, is no exception to their constant pushing of the envelope. However, it might have not been a push in the right direction.
The main concept of this album had to do with the idea of drones, both in the literal sense relating to the U.S. Drone program and the metaphorical idea of people being drones that are controlled and guided by society. It is heavily reflected in the lyrics of the album, with many references to drones, individuality, and corruption in society and governing bodies. While Muse has always leaned towards the political side, they have managed to consistently approach it in an original and creative way. With this album, however, it didn't work as much. The message being put out throughout the album was extremely similar from song to song, with some of the lyrics sounding so much alike that they failed to help differentiate one song from another. The topic they were focusing on is a subject that should be discussed in the world today, but the way they did so could have been handled much better. Matt Bellamy has always been one of my favorite musicians; his talent is undeniable as a vocalist and guitarist. But his lyrics this time around were mediocre. If you listen to the quality of political songs they have done in the past, (such as "United States of Eurasia" and "Uprising"), he managed to write in a way that was informative and inspiring while being original. However, the lyrics of Drones lacked the same creative spark that previous albums contained.
For some fans, musically this album took steps in the right direction. Many complained about the heavy use of electronics on the last album, (which I have my own opinions about, but we'll stick to this album), and welcomed the returning focus to heavy guitars and the more "Muse" oriented rock sound. However, this return came at a price. They revisited the vibe that pushed them into the spotlight early in their career, but perhaps too much. While it definitely sounded like the Muse of Absolution and Black Holes & Revelations, that was the problem; it sounded exactly like their old material. While they incorporated some of the more recent electronic elements, it sounded very similar to Muse songs that I grew up listening to. Not only that, but by stripping away the electronic elements, they took away the epic sound that listeners have come to expect from Muse. There were some moments when they did achieve a more full sound, but lyrics took away from the musicality. The album finisher, for example, is simple vocals layered on top of each other, which comes together to create a Gregorian Chant inspired piece that is beautiful. However, the constant repetition of "killed by drones" takes away from what the song could do.
There's one song in particular that sums up the faults in this album; the lead single, "Psycho". Not only is it unnecessarily long, it repeats itself often and doesn't do anything particularly surprising. The use of swearing is another issue with the song. While I'm not against swearing in music, I think it should follow the same guidelines I use when putting swearing into my writing; it has to be effective and necessary. They wanted to emphasize their lyrics and the severity of what they were singing about. That's a great thing to do, but screaming about "I'm gonna make you, a fucking psycho" and "your ass belongs to me now" doesn't prove the point that they want. In terms of sound, this song sounds incredibly similar to the layout and sound of "Uprising". Another new song that sounds similar to previous work they've done is "Mercy", which has uncanny resemblance to "Starlight". And while I enjoy the opener "Dead Inside", it feels quite similar to "Undisclosed Desires".
Now, I'm not saying the whole album is bad. There are songs and elements that I genuinely enjoy. "Reapers" has almost a Van Halen feel to it, with the guitar part in the introduction, and the rest of the song is well done, between the aggressive nature of the instrumental and Bellamy utilizing his falsetto that he does so well. "Defector" has these wonderful moments where Bellamy's vocals are layered and he harmonizes with himself. Each of those moments are vary powerful in the way they hit the listener. The monster of a track "The Globalist", is easily a highlight of the album, capturing many elements of the band that fans love. It has the western-space element similar to "Knights of Cydonia", but overall it builds beautifully into huge, epic sounds that are what I had been looking for throughout the album.
But as a whole, I think the album has some serious issues and dissapointments that cannot be ignored. This isn't a "I was a huge fan for a while but now they've changed so R.I.P. Muse thing" (I cannot stand that sort of comment. Maybe an opinion piece will appear in the near future...). This is a fan who listened to the progression of the sound of a band he still loves, but felt his heart break a little with this release. Perhaps with time it will grow more on me. But for now, I am not satisfied with this latest album from Muse. They're better than this.
Rating: 2.5/5
Recommended: Dead Inside, Reapers, Defectors
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