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

[DoctorAction]

I dig WOTP. I had fairly low expectations as I've not really enjoyed most of a Muse album since The Resistance (though there are good songs on all).

I was actually expecting something with more gravity given the title and imagery but it's short and sweet, entertaining and high-spirited. There's a good energy level and a couple of new sounds/techniques thrown in too. Happy camper here, but I can understand it might not be what people would ideally want.

Low expectations FTW.

Ratings:

1. Black Holes & Revelations
2. Absolution
3. The Resistance
4. Will Of The People
5. Simulation Theory / Drones
6. The 2nd Law / Origin Of Symmetry

N/A: Showbiz (never heard it)

[devieira73]

I'm really enjoying this new album, I think it's better than ST, which is a little experimental and cool, but it didn't work all the time. On the other hand, I think WOTP is not shy about being a more commercial album and yet MUSE managed to cram many of their styles into a short album. Also, I think they achieved a lot in the arrangements, despite the songs not being long.

[Zoom E]

I do wish some of the songs were a bit more fleshed out, but I’m enjoying WOTP for what it is.

[Pettor]

I kind of agree 100% with Anthony on this one. I really thought this band would be special to me and kind of a Queen 2, but they are far far from it. Even when Queen made their worst material (Hot Space) they never became a generic boring band which whole purpose is to pad their music with more layers to hide how unimaginative it is.

Instrumentation really have been boring these last albums and doesn't seem to change anytime soon. Nothing in the melodies are memorable or groovy, which is so strange to me. Is this really the same band? Even Matt's vocals, that once was so inspiring and impressive, does nothing to me. I am not that disappointed on WOTP however since Drones and ST really didn't keep my hopes high.

And this political stance bullshit that all their lyrics generically builds on and that still manages to say absolutely nothing is just beating a dead horse at this point.

Really started to wonder if I ever liked them but when I do see Knights of Cydonia or Stockholm Syndrome live it's like another being. And I know Muse can be seen as a live band where the material becomes much stronger in that setting, but they actually had better material at one point. Suddenly the energy and inspiration is all there. Well well. I did at least laugh at the hilarious You Make Me Feel Like Halloween lyrics, which I guess is what they were going for. It's so silly and nearly manages to utilize it.

[DoctorAction]

I will say that the lyrics are a hefty step down.

I listened to The Wildhearts' 21st Century Love Songs yesterday too and the lyrics are absolutely top drawer, covering UK politics in a way I was expecting the Muse album to do. The lyrics on WOTP feel very "that about covers it" - which is fine, now I know the record, but I was expecting something deeper and more "helpful" to me given the times we live in.

But hey, that Wildhearts album is an absolute gem.

[Pettor]

Yeah, there's so much to do there but I feel Muse seldom delivers on the lyrics and or deeper meaning. Not all bands have that but it feels like Muse are so safe that it instead becomes nothing. Some anger or energy or at least some direction of what's actually wrong or needed or what they are even angry at more specifically, that would be something. Now it's all "fuck this and that and let's unite and there's something evil illuminati blah blah". Specially the "we are being controlled" part had been played without meaning so many times now.

Their video and art direction always paint a bigger picture of "something is wrong" but even on Drones, where they dwell into the war industry, I feel they don't get anything powerful out of it. A subject that many rock bands have been so very successful at and draws a lot of energy from. I think they play it to safe or actually don't have anything to say.

[DoctorAction]

I tend to agree. Drones didn't say anything to me, either.

Generally I've thought they were good. Take A Bow, I love the lyrics on, for example. The songs on The Resistance, also. The angle feels a bit repetitive and the execution a bit mediocre on WOTP.

[Pettor]

I tend to agree. Drones didn't say anything to me, either.

Generally I've thought they were good. Take A Bow, I love the lyrics on, for example. The songs on The Resistance, also. The angle feels a bit repetitive and the execution a bit mediocre on WOTP.

Yes! I love Take A Bow and it's possibly their most successful at aiming anger at something! It's pretty clear who they are aiming the anger at, or at least the lyrics are powerful enough to let me interpret that. I think they lost me after Resistance. 2nd law tried something with our unsustainable handling of environment but also never felt more than an obvious statement where they got to do some Woop Woop.

[soupytwist]

Origins though to Resistance is an amazing run of 4 albums.  Not sure what happened since, but to be honest there is only really one albums worth of good material in their following 4 albums.

[NoFred]

Origins though to Resistance is an amazing run of 4 albums.  Not sure what happened since, but to be honest there is only really one albums worth of good material in their following 4 albums.

The post-Resistance greatest hits album:

1. The Handler

WOTP is alright, I might still like Simulation Theory more for the overall flow of the album.

[DoctorAction]

Speaking to The Big Issue, Muse frontman Bellamy explained how ‘Will Of The People’ was written partly in response to their record label, who wanted the band to release a ‘best of’ compilation.

“We were reaching that point where there was talk about maybe doing a greatest hits album, and we weren’t really in favour of doing that,” Bellamy said. “So it’s almost like we’ve made a record that is a greatest hits album – of new songs.
...

He added: “It’s a montage of the best of Muse. It’s a new take on all of those types of genres that we’ve touched on in the past.”

[Metro]

Best Of compilations are pointless in the age of streaming and playlists. Good on them for making a new album instead, but them thinking this is the “Best of Muse” is laughable

[KevShmev]

I think they meant they made an album full of the different styles they have done over the years (leaving aside the usual "our new album is our best album" nonsense that 97% of musicians repeat).

[jammindude]

Just chiming in to say that I find the entire muse fan base to be baffling.

I knew MP was a big fan, so based on that I picked up BHAR and to this day it does nothing for me.

But then I had a cousin show me The Globalist and I LOVED it, so I picked up Drones and I adore that album. But I just haven’t heard anything else that grabbed me.

I feel like I’m missing something.

[DoctorAction]

A week more in and I'm really enjoying WOTP still. However, I would have dropped or reworked Euphoria and We Are Fucking Fucked if I was in the band. There are aspects of both that are quite bemusing. (The Our Time Is Running Out pre chorus in the former and the end part of the latter)

That said (not unusual for me to edit out a track from a favoured artists latest album), this is still the most consistently enjoyable Muse album for a long time, for me.

Just chiming in to say that I find the entire muse fan base to be baffling.

I knew MP was a big fan, so based on that I picked up BHAR and to this day it does nothing for me.

But then I had a cousin show me The Globalist and I LOVED it, so I picked up Drones and I adore that album. But I just haven’t heard anything else that grabbed me.

I feel like I’m missing something.

Ha. That's tastes for you, right? Absolution and BHAR are the core Muse albums, afaic. The latter is nearly a desert island album for me. Pretty much perfect from front to back.

[KevShmev]

I, and I think many others, would put Origin of Symmetry in the mix along with Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations when it comes to top shelf Muse, but I will always stand by most of The 2nd Law and Drones as both being really good as well (not quite in that top tier, but both pretty worthy). Psycho just needed better lyrics and to get rid of the stupid drill sergeant bits to make Drones better, and The 2nd Law needed a different running order.

[Metro]

The 2nd Law needed a different running order.

This 100%

This is my restructured tracklisting for the 2nd Law

Isolated System
Supremacy
Panic Station
Follow Me
Liquid State
Explorers
Madness
Big Freeze
Save Me
Animals
Prelude
Survival
Unsustainable

[soupytwist]

Drones is the weakest for me.

Absolution
Origins
Black Holes.
Resistance.
Simulation.
Showbiz.
Will of the People  (may move up or down 1 place as time passes).
2nd Law.
Hullabaloo.
Drones.

[KevShmev]

The 2nd Law needed a different running order.

This 100%

This is my restructured tracklisting for the 2nd Law

Isolated System
Supremacy
Panic Station
Follow Me
Liquid State
Explorers
Madness
Big Freeze
Save Me
Animals
Prelude
Survival
Unsustainable

I think Sustainable should have been the lead track, but I am guessing given the style that they thought it would be too much of a culture shock for fans to accept as track 1 on the new album.  Put that as the lead track, put Survival at the end, and drop Isolated Systems somewhere in the middle (great song, but it feels like a transitional middle of the album song), and it becomes a lot better.  We can even remove Supremacy, which isn't a bad song, but I wouldn't miss it.

[MinistroRaven]

If you plan to see the band on tour and you preordered the album, the band posted this:

If you pre-ordered the new album from the official store before August 26th, you will receive a unique code for pre-sale access, opening 14th September 10am local.
See you next summer ⚡

[ariich]

I'm enjoying Will of the People. Obviously it's not actually comparable with a "best of", but I can see what they were going for. Short accessible songs in styles covered by all their previous albums. For what it is it's great, most of the songs are strong and there are some great hooks. Missing some slightly longer/more developed tracks, but that's obviously not what they wanted to do with this one so that's fine.

Muse have never had good lyrics so I'm not too fussed about that, although We Are Fucking Fucked is a bit much even for them.

[DoctorAction]

Yeah, I have now created a playlist without the last two tracks. Makes for a short but entertaining 30 minute, 8
track record.

[Zoom E]

My sister commented that the song Will of the People sounds like Marilyn Manson’s The Beautiful People. Now I can’t unhear that, even though they don't really sound anything alike. I came across a mash-up of the two songs on YouTube, as well.

[The Letter M]

According to my Facebook memories, I came home from Best Buy with Muse's The Resistance and Porcupine Tree's The Incident on this day 13 years ago. Both albums released on September 14th.

Happy 13th Birthday to The Resistance! How has everyone's thoughts on the album changed over the last 13 years? Do you like it more, or less? Or perhaps you haven't even heard it since 2009? Personally it's one of my favorite Muse albums and has some of my fave songs of theirs on it!

-Marc.

[soupytwist]

According to my Facebook memories, I came home from Best Buy with Muse's The Resistance and Porcupine Tree's The Incident on this day 13 years ago. Both albums released on September 14th.

Happy 13th Birthday to The Resistance! How has everyone's thoughts on the album changed over the last 13 years? Do you like it more, or less? Or perhaps you haven't even heard it since 2009? Personally it's one of my favorite Muse albums and has some of my fave songs of theirs on it!

-Marc.

Uprising sounds like the Doctor Who theme tune - and that's fine by me.
I actually like all the 8 tracks quite a bit, but the 'Exogenesis: Symphony' is surprisingly a bit bland.  I rank it as their 4th best (behind the 3 that proceed it).

[DoctorAction]

Blimey. 13 years ago!

Great record. Saw them on this tour at Wembley Stadium and it was just huge.

The symphony is an absolute snoozefest, iirc, but has been years since I played it.

The two opening tracks are two of my favourites of theirs.

[Nel]

It was the first new Muse album to come out after I got into them. And overall, I like it.

But I never need to hear "Uprising" again for the rest of my entire life.

[Mladen]

I was on the fence with The Resistence for years, but now I love it. The last four songs are actually my favorites, they kind of nailed the whole symphonic thing. The hits like Undisclosed desires and the title track are just as good. The only songs I do not like are Guiding light and the opener, they bring it down a bit.

[SoundscapeMN]

https://www.brooklynvegan.com/muse-announce-2023-north-american-tour/



Tour with Evanescence (and others TBA?) February/March/April 2023

[PixelDream]

Black Holes
Origin
Absolution
The Resistance

The rest, not loving anything aside from single tracks. I thought Psycho was pretty dope and Kill Or Be Killed is a fun tune. The campiness has gotten way past tolerable for me.

[Anguyen92]

I may go to either LA or Anaheim shows.  Having Evanescence as a support is interesting.  Last time I saw Evanescence last year at their own show, they were solid enough.

[cfmoran13]

For any of you Muse fans, what would you recommend to someone who has only heard "Uprising"?

[Max Kuehnau]

For any of you Muse fans, what would you recommend to someone who has only heard "Uprising"?

you can go for The Resistance entirely, The 2nd Law and Simulation Theory afterwards (since these are massive sounding albums), then go backwards from The Resistance album by album until Absolution (which is where them going massive started). Leave the rest by the wayside.

[DoctorAction]

For any of you Muse fans, what would you recommend to someone who has only heard "Uprising"?

I'd say start from Absolution and go forward, but only because that was my path.

[Lonk]

I got off the Muse train when The Resistance came out (Did not like the album very much). Have not listened to anything that they put out since.

Decided to listen to the new album and that did nothing in making want to listen to Muse again