The opening track of 'The 2nd Law', Supremacy, neatly sums up
Muse's current position in the music industry. With this being the band's
sixth album, they've had a long career and have become one of the greatest
bands currently on the globe, with countless accolades for their live gigs.
It also smacks of their growing arrogance, not only in the name itself,
but in its grandiose, bombastic style similar to recent Olympic anthem Survival. With its
aggressive guitar riffs and orchestral strings, it is unashamedly a Bond theme
in the making.
Before you listen any further beware - this is not a Muse
album. Or, at least, it's not the Muse album you might be expecting.
But before you can shout Panic
Station, this shouldn't deter you from listening.
'The 2nd Law' is far from the band's humble beginnings, especially
fan favourite 'Origin of Symmetry'. Bellamy and co. have been inspired by
a huge range of influences that have informed the feel of each track, so much
so that each track can be re-labelled with equivalent bands or artists.
For instance, Supremacy is essentially a Bond theme; Panic
Station is Prince meets
Stevie Wonder meets Queen's Another
One Bites The Dust; Follow
Me is Nero; Animals is Radiohead; Liquid State is Foo Fighters; and The
2nd Law: Unsustainable is Scrillex.
The overriding style, though, is Queen meets dub-step, which could
be affectionately monikered "Queen-step". It's an interesting
mix of old and new, though some tracks are more successful than others.
Where Madness combines the two, Follow Me and Unsustainable are pure dub-step, which may be
disappointing for fans of the band. Survival may have been well suited to The
Games as an Olympic-sized Queen anthem but feels too overblown in the context
of the album. Animals meanwhile
eschews any Queen-step influence for a Radiohead-esque track similar to Micro Cuts ('Origin of Symmetry'). Panic
Station is a real highlight: all funk guitars, pounding rhythms and
fiery falsetto vocals. And two tracks, Save
Me and Liquid State
So is this newfound concoction of styles a good thing? Yes
and No.
With such a variety of sounds, 'The 2nd Law' doesn't hang together
as a single cohesive album; rather it feels more like a compilation of other
artists. And shouldn't Prelude, by it's very nature, be
at the start of the album, even if it does introduce Survival?
On the other hand, individually these tracks are well constructed
and well produced. Follow Me and Unsustainable may be utter
departures for the band, but it's a powerful statement that the band are
willing to push the boundaries and try something different. It may not be
to everyone's tastes, fans of Muse's previous material especially, but rather
than bemoaning their change of direction, 'The 2nd Law' should be appreciated
in its own right.
If you're looking for the old Muse, listen to 'Origin of
Symmetry'. But if you're willing to take a chance, you may be pleasantly
surprised.
This is not the Muse you fell in love with. Things have
changed. Deal with it.
3/5
Gizzle's Choice:
* Panic Station
* Follow Me
* Animals
Listen: 'The 2nd Law' is released on 1st October.
Watch: Muse will be touring Europe over the winter.
You may also like...
* Queen
* Nero
* Scrillex
