Muse - v. Will of the People (rel Aug 26, 2022)

[King Postwhore]

That and the lighter tone in the verses.

[KevShmev]

Well, as a big fan of both Queen and Muse, I love hearing little nods to Queen in Muse's music.  I wonder what Brian May thinks of their music.

[ReaperKK]

Just checked out Dig Down and it's not bad, not great but it terrible.

[Kotowboy]

You're right. It Terrible.

[ReaperKK]

That's what I get for trying to post on my phone at work

[KevShmev]

I threw it one my phone the other day to see if cracking it up during a workout would help, but nope, that didn't make it better.  My initial thought was that it was a solid tune, but it gets boring fast.  I suspect it will join MK Ultra and Supremacy on my list of Muse songs I never listen to.

[Kotowboy]

I wonder how it felt for the band when they finished writing Hysteria.

Must have been one of those moments where you all laugh whilst playing it coz you love it so much and are proud of it.

[jakepriest]

MK Ultra is a pretty good song though. Supremacy is kinda boring, but not bad in the way Dig Down is.

[Fritzinger]

In my opinion, Supremacy is one of the best Muse songs ever!

[soupytwist]

I'm not sure what's happened to Muse - might just be a case of they made it and now have simply become lazy.  Symmetry and Absolution were total beasts of albums (Showbiz is good, but letdown by weak production).  Blackholes is more mixed for me, but the highs and that album are among the best things they've done - still a fine album.   Resistance I actually enjoy.   But after that it's been bad 2nd Law was horrible and Drones forgettable.  This new song is just boring.

[Kotowboy]

That's what i'd be worried about if I was in a successful band.


Well this album's not great but we have fans who will buy it no matter what so put it out and we'll tour for 2 years and make £££ - then never play it again.

[ReaperKK]

There are so many factors that can come into play. Tastes will change and some bands want to try something new. 

[ariich]

The 2nd Law was fantastic and Drones was solid, so I think they're doing just fine.

[KevShmev]

Three certainties in life: death, taxes and Muse kicking ass live.  The last one was proven again tonight. 

[KevShmev]

Set list last night was great, as we got a couple of songs that have only been played a few times so far this tour:

Dig Down
Psycho
Hysteria
Map of the Problematique
Bliss
Isolated System (abbreviated slightly)
The Handler
Supermassive Black Hole
New Kind of Kick (cover)
Madness
Dead Inside
Munich Jam
Starlight
Time Is Running Out
Mercy
The Globalist
Drones
Uprising
Knights of Cydonia (with the harmonica intro)

Getting both Bliss and Map... made my night. 

Six songs from Drones, and one of them not being Reapers, is still hard to believe, but the show was so good that I didn't care.

Muse fans everywhere online are losing their minds of the New King of Kick cover, since they are doing it "live," with all of Bellamy's parts pre-recorded and on the screen, while the other two play live on stage, but it's 3-minute freaking song, people. Get over it.

The Globalist might be a bit too stretched out for the average Muse fan, but I enjoyed the hell out of it.

Knights of Cydonia is in the conversation for most amazing live song ever. #captainobvious

[jakepriest]

The problem with New Kind of Kick isn't the projection, but the fact that the song is absolutely terrible.

[KevShmev]

I think it's supposed to be a cheeky, silly cover, not to be taken seriously.  Heck, the video they did for it last year had a Halloween theme, so while I am on board with it not being anything notable, I think many are missing the point of it.

[jakepriest]

That's exactly why I don't like that it's taking a spot of another worthwhile song. It's okay as a cheeky cover. Why play it live though...

[KevShmev]

To me, the bigger question, why is Muse still playing shows less than 100 minutes as a headliner?  Don't get me wrong, they kicked ass last night, but there is no reason for them to not play a 2-hour show.  Then again, Bellamy's voice has lost a little bit, so shorter shows put less wear and tear on it, I suppose.

[TempusVox]

I just saw them at the Bunbury Festival on June 4th. They headlined, and closed out the festival Sunday night. There are very few bands today that can play as solidly live. They only had a very rushed 2 hours, but Bellamy riffed everything from Sabbath, to Zeppelin, to the Scorpions on extended solo jams between songs. You could tell, he was having fun, and didn't want each song to end. After almost every song, Chris and Dominic would watch him go off on some tangent for a while, laugh at him, then jump in on an extended jam. The crowd went nuts every time.

Their sound was incredible and the stage show was superb!

[Mladen]

Is there anyone else who doesn't really care about interludes, solos and riffs by other bands? I would exchange those spots in the set for one more Muse song, or maybe even two.

[RodrigoAltaf]

Is there anyone else who doesn't really care about interludes, solos and riffs by other bands? I would exchange those spots in the set for one more Muse song, or maybe even two.

There are TWO solos I long for in live shows: Neil Peart´s and Eddie Van Halen´s. Anything aside from that could be replaced by another song.

[jakepriest]

I detest solo spots honestly. Especially drum solos. Even as a drummer I don't find anything appealing in listening to that.

[Mladen]

I'll make myself clearer, since I don't mind when band members perform a solo spot here and there. Muse, however, does it way too much. There are way too many extended outros, jams, solo spots and riffs. When it's a jazz fusion band, I could appreciate it, but Muse could use that time to bust out AT LEAST three hugely catchy tunes and entertain twice as much. I would at least be a lot more satisfied.

[KevShmev]

I just saw them at the Bunbury Festival on June 4th. They headlined, and closed out the festival Sunday night. There are very few bands today that can play as solidly live. They only had a very rushed 2 hours, but Bellamy riffed everything from Sabbath, to Zeppelin, to the Scorpions on extended solo jams between songs. You could tell, he was having fun, and didn't want each song to end. After almost every song, Chris and Dominic would watch him go off on some tangent for a while, laugh at him, then jump in on an extended jam. The crowd went nuts every time.

Their sound was incredible and the stage show was superb!

 

Is there anyone else who doesn't really care about interludes, solos and riffs by other bands? I would exchange those spots in the set for one more Muse song, or maybe even two.

By and large, I agree, but every time I have seen Muse, the added-on intros or outros are usually pretty short, so I don't mind them.  I get that it's easy to say that if they got rid of all of them, that would be enough time to play another full song, but since they usually play their songs pretty faithful to the studio versions, those short little spots give them a chance to do something different and maybe even ad lib a bit. 

There are TWO solos I long for in live shows: Neil Peart´s and Eddie Van Halen´s.

I used to feel the same way, but even on the last few Rush tours, I was like "let's get over with it" when it came to Peart's drum solo.

[jakepriest]

Neil Peart's solo spots are usually among the best drum solos imo, even if I'm not really a big fan of him. They are much more musical than Portnoy's "RLRL KK RLRL" and Mangini's "looks how fast I can play singlestrokes" solos for example.

I've never seen Rush so I can't say how well it translated live though. 

[Logain Ablar]

I went to see Muse last night at the Vital festival in Belfast. My first time seeing them. Excellent performance! The bass player is really cool to watch, and the engine room of the bas & drums is just brilliant.

The stage show was also very impressive, though one annoying thing was that the screens either side of the stage were delayed by maybe half a second, which was a pain.

I just wish I was more familiar with their songs before I went. The crowd around me seemed to know all the words, and two guys were trying to predict the next song from the intro jams between songs.

It was an outdoor venue - I think next time I'd like to see them play inside.

Set list here: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/muse/2017/boucher-playing-fields-belfast-northern-ireland-4be2bbe2.html

[Bertie_Wooster]

Matt needs to start playing his guitar more.  I give the song a thumbs down because he only gives us a small hint of guitar solo and then cuts it off.  I have been disatisfied with several of their recent songs due to the lack of guitars.   I guess he just wants to sing and not have to focus on playing. 

[KevShmev]

Matt needs to start playing his guitar more.  I give the song a thumbs down because he only gives us a small hint of guitar solo and then cuts it off.  I have been disatisfied with several of their recent songs due to the lack of guitars.   I guess he just wants to sing and not have to focus on playing.

I think it's clear that he is embracing more of the Bono role since opening for U2 earlier this decade, and that is hard to do when you have a guitar on you for an entire show.  Considering Bellamy does a fantastic job being a front man and working the crowd, I am fine with it.  Even though Dig Down didn't have a ton of guitar, Drones as a whole did. I am not worried about the guitar suddenly taking a back seat.

[portnoy311]

I'm late to the party, but I actually like when bands jam out. To me, it's a concert not a recital. I'm not a huge fan of just seeing note for note rehashes of albums. I like it when guys mix it up.


As for Muse, I really enjoyed Absolution. Everything after that just hasn't clicked. It doesn't help that Matt's voice is incredibly grating after a while, so pop tunes centered around his vocals really don't do it for me. I'm also not much of a Queen fan so their increased influence doesn't work for me. It's kinda like BTBAM when they embraced Queen and DT on their most recent, and I was just disinterested. Which is fine, not every band has to pursue every fan. I can still see how others would really enjoy them.

[Bertie_Wooster]

I threw it one my phone the other day to see if cracking it up during a workout would help, but nope, that didn't make it better.  My initial thought was that it was a solid tune, but it gets boring fast.  I suspect it will join MK Ultra and Supremacy on my list of Muse songs I never listen to.

Mk ultra is great

[ariich]

Matt needs to start playing his guitar more.  I give the song a thumbs down because he only gives us a small hint of guitar solo and then cuts it off.  I have been disatisfied with several of their recent songs due to the lack of guitars.   I guess he just wants to sing and not have to focus on playing.

I think it's clear that he is embracing more of the Bono role since opening for U2 earlier this decade, and that is hard to do when you have a guitar on you for an entire show.  Considering Bellamy does a fantastic job being a front man and working the crowd, I am fine with it.  Even though Dig Down didn't have a ton of guitar, Drones as a whole did. I am not worried about the guitar suddenly taking a back seat.

Besides, he only learned the guitar in the first place because you can't pull rock star poses playing the piano.

[SoundscapeMN]

bump.

new song/video "Thought Contagion"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QQ_3S-IQm38

edit: Thriller much?

[SoundscapeMN]

also new interview talking about their new album influenced by the show Black Mirror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1o50lIOFAU

[KevShmev]

Enjoyable little song, one that will kick ass live with that sing-along chorus.  Love me some Muse.