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

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Personally I thought 2nd Law was St. Anger levels of awfulness

no

pls no

[Zantera]

Ah yes, the inevitable "return to their roots" album that every band eventually does. Usually after they experiment in another genre and it fails. Although sometimes bands will put out a "return to their roots" album even if the previous album sounded like their typical sound.

This feels like the only way Muse can revitalize their career though. 2 albums that got universally panned by critics and fans, and clearly their experiments didn't work out for the better. They'll be known as the band that killed Brostep, one of the worst genres ever known to mankind. Their earlier albums are alright though, and I would be happy for the band if they could make a decent album again.

I don't think you understand what "universally panned" means.

Your post basically smacks of "I didn't like them that much, so I'll act like no one else did either."

Not at all. I laid out reasonable arguments and what people had to say was basically "i disagree because my opinion is different".

Rich was the only one who at least attempted to answer it.

[bout to crash]

Yeah I don't think "universally panned" is accurate at all. I don't know anyone who hated it.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

I don't even get the Brostep thing? Are you referring to Unsustainable? Because that was only one track.

[Zantera]

Okay, "universally panned" was a bit harsh. "very mixed" would probably be a better use of words. I did some googling and 2nd Law had very mixed reception, but on a site like Metacritic (which takes into account both professional reviews and user scores) it had a positive 70/100 rating. Surprisingly enough, St. Anger (which I jokingly compared it to) had a 65 out of 100 rating. Surprising amount of good reviews, even for an album most people here would agree is bad.

It's probably hard to find an album hated all across the board. There's always the biggest fans who will like anything their favorite band puts out, as well as haters who will downvote everything, so it's probably never gonna be one way or the other. I don't buy Muse being on an upward trajectory though. Most people who have heard Muse seem to really like those first few albums, whereas the latter albums are very mixed.

[Implode]

I personally think Muse's albums have been getting better with each successive one. 2nd Law was amazing, and if going back to their roots means that they'll be putting out something actually similar to their first two albums, I'll be disappointed. I've personally been loving the direction they've been going towards. I'd hate to see them regress.

[bout to crash]

Well that one little clip is hardly enough to make any kind of judgement about the direction they're going, especially with a band like Muse who tend to have a lot of variety within one album anyway. "Returning to their rock roots" just means it will have more rock and less dubstep or whatever; it doesn't mean it will sound like Origin of Symmetry. There's not nearly enough data here to start analyzing... and as usual, I will be keeping away from most of it til the album actually comes out.

[Jaffa]

I don't buy Muse being on an upward trajectory though.

Eh.  That really depends on which data you look at.  I mean, if you use the Billboard 200 charts as a reference, you can actually see a very obvious upward trend:  Origin of Symmetry peaked at #161, Absolution peaked at #107, Black Holes and Revelations peaked at #9, The Resistance peaked at #3, and The 2nd Law peaked at #2.  This is hardly an indicator of quality, but it is certainly an indicator of popularity.  Meanwhile, Madness set a Billboard record by topping the Alternative Songs chart for a total of 19 weeks. 

To your point, I think most people who would call themselves Muse fans tend to prefer the earlier albums - not all, mind you, but most.  I myself count Origin of Symmetry, Absolution, and Black Holes and Revelations among my favorite albums of all time, and I doubt Muse will ever top them for me, so I certainly prefer their earlier albums. 

But I think more people are listening to Muse now than ever before.  And with all that mainstream attention, they're still managing to maintain a fairly (but admittedly not entirely) positive reputation with their longtime fans. 

I'd say there's a strong argument for an upward trend. 

[Nick]

But sadly, with their last album already at #2, I find their current growth to be...

Unsustainable.

[Nel]

I didn't really like The Resistance, but I felt The 2nd Law was building on what they were trying to do on that record and succeeded in every way, even if it was a bit of a grower. So I'm intrigued by whatever the band does next.

[ariich]

Okay, "universally panned" was a bit harsh. "very mixed" would probably be a better use of words. I did some googling and 2nd Law had very mixed reception, but on a site like Metacritic (which takes into account both professional reviews and user scores) it had a positive 70/100 rating. Surprisingly enough, St. Anger (which I jokingly compared it to) had a 65 out of 100 rating. Surprising amount of good reviews, even for an album most people here would agree is bad.

It's probably hard to find an album hated all across the board. There's always the biggest fans who will like anything their favorite band puts out, as well as haters who will downvote everything, so it's probably never gonna be one way or the other. I don't buy Muse being on an upward trajectory though. Most people who have heard Muse seem to really like those first few albums, whereas the latter albums are very mixed.

You basically just described every new album by a long-standing, popular band.

[Mladen]

I loved The 2nd Law, it was very experimental and diverse, yet with quite a few catchy songs and big hits. But I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't know how to push the boundaries further with their experimentation, I'm still intrigued to hear this back-to-the-roots rock album.

[bout to crash]

But sadly, with their last album already at #2, I find their current growth to be...

Unsustainable.

 

[Zantera]

I missed that post initially, but nothing is better than a good CSI Miami meme/opening. 

[The Cat Of Tuscany]

I don't really mind the 2nd Law, but it lacks the rock elements that were more prominent in their earlier albums. I'd love to see something along the lines of Origin of Symmetry, but anything that doesn't follow in the footsteps of the 2nd Law would be fine to me. I like some of the 2nd Law, but it's still my least favorite of their albums.

[KevShmev]

I still don't quite get the love many have for Supremacy.  I like The 2nd Law a ton, but while that song isn't bad by any means, it just does nothing for me.  Big Freeze is still one of their best songs ever.

[Nel]

I love it because it sounds like Bond villains on parade. It's big and bombastic and just hits my ears in all the right parts.

[Anguyen92]

I love it because it sounds like Bond villains on parade. It's big and bombastic and just hits my ears in all the right parts.

Exactly.  When I heard Supremacy, the first thing that came to my mind was that this could have been an awesome James Bond theme song.  I also liked the spectacal of it when the pyro display was being well-timed during the intro of that DVD set of their show in Rome.

[KevShmev]

It definitely was a good live song, but I always skip over when I listen to The 2nd Law or Muse.  I basically start The 2nd Law at Madness and can then listen to the whole thing from start to finish, although Liquid State is somewhat of a skipper, too.  Even still, while I find neither Supremacy nor Liquid State that great, both are better than the lower points on The Resistance (Guiding Light and MK Ultra). 

[abydos]

For whatever reason, every time I come across Supremacy (not a Muse fan so it's not something I put on intentionally) I automatically imagine Roy Khan singing it.

[Nel]

Liquid State is probably my fav song on the album, actually.  But I think we've had this discussion before, so I won't argue anything.

Unfortunately, I'm about as sick of Madness as I am of, say, Uprising at this point. I've heard the song too many times on radio in the car or at work, and if I never heard the track again in my life, I'd be okay with that. But it is a good song. Just... too much. Heard it too much.

[KevShmev]

I guess it's a good thing I don't listen to the radio.   I haven't heard those songs more than any other favorites from the last two albums.

I know I've said this before, but the running order of The 2nd Law is still a bit goofy.  Unsustainable should have kicked the album off, Isolated System should be somewhere in the middle and Survival should have been the closer.  I'm still a fairly big fan of the album as is, but a slight tweaking of the running order would have made it even better.

[Mister Gold]

I've been preparing myself for the new Muse album lately by revisiting their previous albums and checking out some of their more obscure tracks. It's taken me several years of occasionally revisiting it, but Origins of Symmetry finally clicked with me. Probably the best album Muse has put out, though I'm really fond of their other works too (aside from maybe Showbiz and The Resistance).

I'm hoping that Lange's production on the new album results in a really sonically-pleasing album. I'm pretty confident it'll be terrific musically, but I'd like some good production to match it.

[bout to crash]

Yeah, Origin of Symmetry is just amazing. I got it late, but it clicked with me immediately and may be my favorite these days.

Also, I agree on Supremacy being badass.

[KevShmev]

I usually go back and forth between Origin of Symmetry and Black Holes... as far as what my favorite Muse record is.  Really, they are 1a and 1b.  Absolution is nearly as great as both.

As for their production, I do think the last two albums were an improvement from the standpoint of their music sounding more clear and less compressed.  As great as those three albums I mentioned above are, I do wish they all sounded a bit better.  Absolution, in particular, has moments where it's like listening to music with a blanket over your speakers.

[Jaffa]

I have a really hard time picking a favorite Muse album.  The top three are neck and neck. 

[Mister Gold]

Yeah, Origin of Symmetry is just amazing. I got it late, but it clicked with me immediately and may be my favorite these days.

I always found it really odd how Origin of Symmetry wasn't clicking with me. Practically everything about it is straight-up my alley. Darker sound? Check. More band-oriented? Check. Longer, more progressive songs? Check. Insane vocals? Check.

It took me two years, but it's finally clicking with me. I'm really falling in love with this album.

I usually go back and forth between Origin of Symmetry and Black Holes... as far as what my favorite Muse record is.  Really, they are 1a and 1b.  Absolution is nearly as great as both.

As for their production, I do think the last two albums were an improvement from the standpoint of their music sounding more clear and less compressed.  As great as those three albums I mentioned above are, I do wish they all sounded a bit better.  Absolution, in particular, has moments where it's like listening to music with a blanket over your speakers.

I really love how both Origin and Black Holes flow as whole albums. I find Origin to be the more engaging and rewarding experience between the two, but it is really easy and a lot of fun to listen to Black Holes. Absolution doesn't flow as well and definitely has the weakest production of the three, but it just has so many incredible songs on it.

[ariich]

Absolution is my favourite Muse album, but yeah it's not very well produced.

[Scorpion]

I get why people prefer their earlier stuff, but The Second Law is my favourite Muse album by miles.

[Mister Gold]

I get why people prefer their earlier stuff, but The Second Law is my favourite Muse album by miles.

Nothing wrong with that at all, man. The Second Law is terrific. I love the experimentation they did with that album. I just prefer the darker elements of Origin of Symmetry and Absolution. That old comparison of Origin being Muse's "Awake" is spot-on.

[KevShmev]

The 2nd Law is definitely really, really good.  I listened to in the car on the way to and from work the last few days, and even Supremacy sounded great.  How about that? 

[Mister Gold]

The 2nd Law is definitely really, really good.  I listened to in the car on the way to and from work the last few days, and even Supremacy sounded great.  How about that? 

That's great, Kev!

I actually just had a bit of a Muse incident myself a few hours ago: I was at the student center here on campus, since I had plans with friends to go see a free film there. Neither of them were there, so I kept trying to call 'em and wait for 'em to show up. All the while, I notice that the girl working the counter and tickets has some Queen songs playing in the center from behind her station and I realized that we were both singing along to the songs while I kept trying to call my friends.

Eventually I went to get my ticket and I started talking to her and asked if she was a Muse fan too and she brightened up at that and said, "Hang on, lemme play a great Muse song real quick." I figured it'd be Starlight or something more recent, only to soon realize that she'd picked Plug-In Baby! We immediately geeked out realizing that we both were bigger fans of Origin and Absolution and she was happy to hear that the new album is supposed to sound more like that.

[KevShmev]

That's good stuff.

[Mladen]

This probably won't be a popular opinion, but over the last couple of months I've been crazily into Showbiz. It grew on me so much that I would call it a personal favorite of mine, right behind the untouchable Origin of symmetry. I like how they were just into writing insanely catchy rock songs early in their career, the melodies on it are fantastic.

[mikemangioy]

Guys, recently the band has posted on instagram old covers of magazines with them, with their eyes completely black and the titles censored, with the hashtag #MuseDrones - I think that it's pretty official now.