Though some may still consider them
Radiohead mimics, obviously
Muse continues to strike a nerve with their alternative
hard rock audience, here releasing their third album of heavy guitars, haunted harmonics, and paranoid musings in
Absolution. Frontman
Matt Bellamy and company stick to the same disturbed, and sometimes disturbing, formula that's worked in the past: the emotional intensity and style of
Radiohead, a
rock thunder descended from
Black Sabbath, and the baroque drama of
Queen. Longtime producer
John Leckie sits this one out, and in steps indie ueber-engineer
Rich Costey. With
Costey manning the desk, the music feels more polished and slick, but less epic and raw. Longtime fans won't miss a beat though, because
Bellamy delivers the same
Thom Yorke vocal impersonation for which he's known, and continues the same anthemic posturing he's lifted from
Freddie Mercury. With song titles and subject matter fueled by fear of the apocalypse and worries about infidelities and random murders, the subject matter is as gloriously pretentious and lovably unlovable as ever. Newcomers to the band should expect killer guitars reminiscent of jackhammers and chainsaws, bloodcurdling choruses, and of course, tender passages of falsetto. A recurring motif of racing samplers suggests nothing less than a
rock opera version of the score to
Koyaanisqatsi, and then there are the occasional spooky moments where funky rhythms mingle with
heavy metal guitars, suggesting a progressive Italian zombie flick
soundtrack. There's little point in selecting highlights, because other than some slow moments that feel tacked on, there's not much variation in theme or mood. Many listeners will probably prefer to tackle the album in small doses, and only the most headstrong won't require a breather.
Muse continues to make unrelenting hardcore
art rock;
Absolution is a tad cheesy, a bit too grandiose in its ambitions, bursting at the seams with too many ideas, and thus exactly what any
Muse fan craves. [This landmark release -- which turned out to be a major international breakthrough for the group that has ballooned into massive global success -- received the deluxe treatment in 2023 in the form of
Absolution XX Anniversary. In addition to a remastered version of the classic album, this collection features stripped down versions of "Apocalypse Please," "Butterflies & Hurricanes," and "Ruled By Secrecy," as well as a handful of demos from 2002. Concert recordings from the era -- like "Time is Running Out" and "Hysteria" -- explode from the speakers with the addition of enthusiastic audience participation and live ad-libs that have turned
Muse into one of the biggest live draws of their generation. The only real downside is that this is not as expansive as its predecessor (
Origin of Muse, which combined
Showbiz and
Symmetry along with a ton of extras); a full collection of era b-sides would have made this set even better.] ~ Tim DiGravina & Neil Z. Yeung
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