I couldn't resist The Resistance


This week marked the release of Muse’s 5th studio album The Resistance. Now I had a lot of reservations about this album, which was surprising with Muse being my favourite band. However, the singles that had been played from the Resistance, in the run-up to the album’s release, had caused me some concern that the band had passed their prime (as I discussed lengthily here) and had begun to embrace a more conventional and rather bland sound. Well, was I in for the surprise of my life when I sat down to my first listening of the full album, as it swept away any belief from my mind of its mediocrity.

That’s right! I really like this album. Sure, Uprising the first single and track, is a bit of a jarring entry to the album, but it doesn’t matter as what follows is sheer brilliance. The album in general is a bit eclectic as we, the listeners, are treated to a real blend of rock classics complete with Muse’s normal space-aged tweaks, along with some jazzy piano songs, classical symphonies, and a little bit of electronic thrown in for good measure. As you might imagine, this isn’t you’re average rock album, oh no, as Muse has taken conventional rock logic and mixed it in a blender with 80s electronica, an orchestra and a bit of madness. Of course these are risky ingredients to mix, not to mention volatile, but despite the hazard warnings Muse have triumphed over the odds.

A special mention also needs to be made for ‘Exogenesis’ the three part symphony, which makes up the album’s finale. To simply cut to the chase, Exogenesis is a beautiful and awe-inspiring piece of music and confirms the band’s skill, as if anyone was in any question; showing a brave direction for the band. True, Muse have flitted with classical music in the past, but never on this scale.

I suppose the only negative criticism I’d level at the album is that the singles are not indicative of the albums potential at all, although that’s just business for you, as they represent the most marketable material on the album. Also as the album has such a mix of different sounds it can make the flow of the songs seem a little bit schizophrenic at times. However, considering how many different musical styling’s have gone into this album, this does not really ruin the enjoyment of the work as whole.

Overall I was blown away by this album, which was pleasantly surprising as I did not feel the usual anticipation, which I normally get for Muse prior to their album releases. If I had only known what was in store for us. The only thing which had excited me about this album had been the cover, which is also highly deserving of praise, but thankfully the content of music has both style and substance.

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