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

[JRundquist]

In complete and utter honesty. This is the first Muse album since Absolution that I can listen to front to back and not get bored or disappointed.

Completely solid album!

[Cyclopssss]

Man, I'm really loving this album. The vocals are heavenly, the grooves are just divine. 

[ariich]

Revolt seems to be getting a lot of dislike by fans, but I like it.  It's not a favorite, but I like it. 

I don't understand why Revolt would be getting dislike it's great what

I don't dislike it at all, I just think it's the least good on the album. It's just quite bland and a bit cheesy. And given that it's meant to be the big climax of the main story with some kind of huge revolution, it's just not a very dramatic song.

[ZKX-2099]

Revolt seems to be getting a lot of dislike by fans, but I like it.  It's not a favorite, but I like it. 

I don't understand why Revolt would be getting dislike it's great what

I don't dislike it at all, I just think it's the least good on the album. It's just quite bland and a bit cheesy. And given that it's meant to be the big climax of the main story with some kind of huge revolution, it's just not a very dramatic song.

Pretty sure the climax is The Globalist.

[ariich]

Nope, Globalist is a separate story. The main concept runs from Dead Inside through to Aftermath (hence the name), The Globalist is a separate story that is apparently a sort of sequel to Citizen Erased, and then the title track is a sort of coda to the album.

[ZKX-2099]

Really... Where did you hear that?

[KevShmev]

Eh, I am not buying the "it's sort of a sequel to Citizen Erased" story.  I think that is something someone probably said early on, Muse fans grabbed on to it (because CE is such a fan favorite), and boom, the myth that The Globalist is somehow tied to Citizen Erased has now spread.

[The Cat Of Tuscany]

Well I finally figured out a way to listen to The Globalist, and I thought it was okay.  Definitely not my favorite song on the album.

[Jaffa]

Eh, I am not buying the "it's sort of a sequel to Citizen Erased" story.  I think that is something someone probably said early on, Muse fans grabbed on to it (because CE is such a fan favorite), and boom, the myth that The Globalist is somehow tied to Citizen Erased has now spread.

https://www.gigwise.com/news/99272/muse-drones-album-to-feature-citizen-erased-sequel-the-globalist

A lot of fans keep tweeting, asking what song is the sequel to 'Citizen Erased' - it's a song called 'The Globalist' which is basically a narrative within itself about the rise and fall of a dictator, the end of the world, World War Three and all the good stuff I like," he laughed.

[Shadow Ninja 2.0]

Well what would Matt Bellamy know about it anyway?

I'm really enjoying the album so far. I don't think I'll like it better than 2nd Law, but we'll see.

[ariich]

Well what would Matt Bellamy know about it anyway?

I'm really enjoying the album so far. I don't think I'll like it better than 2nd Law, but we'll see.

Drones and 2nd Law are currently battling it out for 3rd place in my estimation, behind Absolution and Origin of Symmetry as my top 2.

[Heretic]

The Handler and Reapers are like, miles ahead of anything on The 2nd Law and The Resistance, so Drones easily steps ahead of those two for me. I think Black Holes is my favorite, Absolution second.

[Jaffa]

1. Absolution
2. Black Holes and Revelations
3. Origin of Symmetry
4. Drones
5. The 2nd Law
6. The Resistance
7. Showbiz

Something like that.  There's a lot of room for change, since I have a really hard time picking between the top three, and I'm still getting used to Drones.

[Nick]

Black Holes > Absolutions > The 2nd Law > The Origins > Drones > > > Showbiz > Resistance

Though Drones could go up above Origins at some point.

[ariich]

I do find it strange how loved Black Holes is here. I mean it's great and all, but I'd probably only rank it above Showbiz, maybe on a par with the Resistance.

[Mladen]

I'm obviously in the minority, but Black holes is my least favorite Muse album. Some of the tracks are great, but the streak of songs from Invincible up to and including Hoodoo is pretty bland and samey.

Lets try to rank the albums:

Origin of symmetry
Showbiz
Absolution
The 2nd law
Drones
The Resistance
Black holes and revelations

[Scorpion]

1. Origins
2. Second Law
3. Drones
4. Black Holes
5. Absolution
6. Resistance
7. Showbiz

[PixelDream]

Origin of Symmetry
Absolution
Black Holes n Revelations
The Resistance
Showbiz

Drones
The 2nd Law

[KevShmev]

I do find it strange how loved Black Holes is here. 

Different opinions sure are strange, eh? 

[bout to crash]

Finally got a chance to listen to this a bunch while in Alaska, and really diggin' it so far! I agree Revolt is pretty cheesy and one of my least favorites, but I still like it. Love the finale.

[Nel_Annette]

Finally got a chance to take a listen to the album proper. Loving it so far. I was about halfway through Mercy when I realized that it was the song from the Arkham Knight commercial. 

[Dr. DTVT]

I must be the only DirecTV subscriber because no one mentioned the Muse concert they aired on their channel.

[nightmare_cinema]

I got Drones a few days ago. I became a MASSIVE Muse fan back in around 2001-2002, I don't listen to them as much as I used to due to new artists coming into my life etc. but I'll always love and respect them. Unfortunately I felt that they went off the boil a bit with Resistance and 2nd Law, there are some amazing tracks on those records (2nd Law moreso than Resistance, although MK Ultra and the symphony at the end of Resistance are sublime) but I kinda lost interest by the time Drones appeared. Just got round to buying it finally though!

Regarding the record, I'm actually pretty impressed with it, there are a few tracks I'm totally besotted with already, namely Dead Inside, Psycho, Reapers and most of all, The Handler. I love the way they seem to have gotten back to their raw dirty guitar-drive roots on those tracks, The Globalist seems pretty awesome so far too from the bits that have sunk in, I initially thought hey cool, I like the way they've taken a bit of inspiration from Elgar for that track until they actually launched pretty much into a rendition haha. One of the things I dig most about Muse has always been the way they've fused classical music with rock, Bellamy is underrated as a pianist in my opinion. But yeah, The Handler is the absolute standout for me so far, I can't explain how hard that track is hitting me right now. I've had it basically on repeat.

As usually happens, once I listen to Muse I get sucked back into a huge Muse binge that can last days to weeks... been listening through their back catalogue over the past few days amongst Drones and whenever that happens it really sinks in how much this band has and will always mean to me. Pretty much ever major even in my life from the ages of about 12-22 has a Muse track attached to it, they were the soundtrack to my voyage into discovering my own music. They have an insanely high percentage of quality songs in their body of work, I'm really excited to see how Drones ages and settles in amongst classics like Origin, Absolution and Black Holes. I think this album may be what kinda rejuvenates my love for this band from a past nostalgia to a current adoration.

Album ranking cos why not:

Origin of Symmetry
Absolution
Black Holes and Revelations
2nd Law
Showbiz (the songs on it I love I REALLY love, there just aren't enough of them)
Resistance (feels weird for a record containing the Exogensis Symphony to not be automatically at the top but yeah...)

Too early to say how Drones fits into there.

Special mention goes to the Hullabaloo b-sides disc which contains my all-time favourite Muse song and probably top three songs of all time by anyone, Hyper Chondriac Music. That song is so painful to listen to but got me through one of the hardest times of my life, it's my third most played track on last.fm with 950 plays, and the majority of its time spent with me was before I even got that account lol. Whenever I play that track it feels like coming home. It's the weirdest feeling. It makes me feel all snuggled up and shut off from the world. I have a beautiful memory of listening to it on headphones on a coach driving through the mountains in Switzerland at 5am as the sun rose, all of my friends asleep around me, just me and the song. The people I love already know that I want this song on at my funeral.

[KevShmev]

  Bellamy is underrated as a pianist in my opinion. 

I think it's undoubtedly his best instrument.

I must be the only DirecTV subscriber because no one mentioned the Muse concert they aired on their channel.

While this album seems to be liked, the excitement level for it seems to not be very high. I can relate, because while I like it, I am not getting that "I have to listen to it" vibe from it.  Most of the time when I do listen to it, it's because I was reminded by someone or something that, hey, Muse has a new CD out, so I should probably give it a go again.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

I'm worried Muse might have already hit ceiling with their incredibly strong early albums. Drones, being a good album and everything, feels...bland. It feels safe,  so to speak. I feel they're in a position in which they know that anything they put out is going to be loved and worshiped by millions, so they aren't taking bold risks anymore. Heck, even 2nd Law was a bold move back in 2012. After listening to Drones many times I've come to the conclusion that they even had a shortage of fresh ideas this time (some of The Globalist's main vocal and melodic ideas are extremely similar to some of Unnatural Selection and United States of Eurasia); but hey...I can't blame them. They deserve being where they are, in the top of the music world...though I'm just sayin' that it's extremely hard to be there. Heck, even The Beatles couldn't handle it once they were in their absolute top game 

[KevShmev]

Yep, I definitely hear some melodies in there that are similar to previous ones.  Recycled melodies, if you will.

I agree with a lot of your point.  Again, I like Drones quite a bit, but it does seem like kind of a "band on auto-pilot" release.  The good news is that Muse's less than great stuff is still mostly highly enjoyable, at least to me. 

[Crow]

Drones is a bit lacking in variety, I feel, which is its biggest weakness, it's still a solid album though. Not amazing but, okay. I like it more than the last two.

[DarkLord_Lalinc]

Drones is a bit lacking in variety, I feel, which is its biggest weakness, it's still a solid album though. Not amazing but, okay. I like it more than the last two.

Funnily enough, I think that its 'lack of variety' is one of its strengths. The record, although dull and uninspired in parts, feels cohesive musically and stylistically. One of my biggest gripes with The Resistance was that it tried to be lots of things, and didn't quite get there in most of them (unlike Black Holes, which is a tour-de-force of musical styles and succeeded in making something amazing out of that).

Oh, and for the record...my favorite track off the album is Drones. No kidding. I'd kill to listen to a real choir adaptation of that.

[Scorpion]

I don't think that Drones is weak at all, but I do think that it's sorta samey, all in all. It does have some very good songs though, and the title track is stunning.

[Crow]

One reason I like Absolution a lot is because it's both all over the place and yet very consistent and cohesive.  Drones has the second one of those, sure, but it's lacking in the first.

[nightmare_cinema]

I guess when you blow your load with albums like Origin, Absolution and Black Holes so early in your career, it's kinda hard to know where to take it from there!

I love how so many of the tracks on Drones remind me of the early Muse, just three people bashing away at their instruments, there's something beautifully raw about songs like Psycho, The Handler and Reapers. I really fucking dig the riffs and verses and energy in Reapers although I definitely didn't expect the chorus to go where it did!

It's pretty weird as someone who got into Muse back as an early teen to see them still going and releasing music now I'm in my late twenties. Weird in a good way but when I listen to tracks like Deadstar and Fury it's hard to recognise it's the same band! I always forget to listen to their older stuff like Showbiz, but this album has sparked such a Muse fest in my life right now. Showbiz, what a song. Those vocals, that anguish and depth. That A flat (I think... Relying on 15 years of memory!).

[KevShmev]

When Muse finally hits the States, they had better start playing Aftermath, The Globalist and Defector live. Those songs will always slay live.

[KevShmev]

No one agrees with my comment from two weeks ago?

[Crow]

i dunno, reapers is the song they should be hyping up

i haven't listened to this album in a long time now, forgot about it pretty quick 

[KevShmev]

Well yeah, Reapers is the clear standout from it, but those songs I mentioned need to get the live treatment, too.  They just have so many songs that crowds go bonkers for, it's hard not to play most of them, which makes it hard to squeeze in too many new songs, especially as their number of albums grow.