After thoroughly enjoying Muse's first four albums, I went out on a limb and purchased The Resistance and The 2nd Law without having heard any of it. There were many warnings that the albums had "sold out", yet I thought that the same band that had produced those four wonderful albums would surely produce follow-up albums with some kind of merit. Yet I'm now left wondering what changed; why is Black Holes & Revelations one of my all-time favourite albums, and The 2nd Law is...ahem... not.
As an aside, the comparison in recording quality between The 2nd Law and its predecessor is quite interesting. The two albums sound very similar (i.e. overblown stadium rock with a thousand overdubs) but somehow The 2nd Law is crisper and provides better separation between instruments. This minor tweak elevates The 2nd Law into being album that I really like the sound of.
As an aside, the comparison in recording quality between The 2nd Law and its predecessor is quite interesting. The two albums sound very similar (i.e. overblown stadium rock with a thousand overdubs) but somehow The 2nd Law is crisper and provides better separation between instruments. This minor tweak elevates The 2nd Law into being album that I really like the sound of.
Anyway, the 2nd Law feels like a grab-bag of lame pop rip-offs, such as Skrillex (Follow Me and Unsustainable), Radiohead (Animals), Queen (Survival, although it does build up very nicely), U2 (Big Freeze)and Foo Fighters (Liquid State). Worst of all, Explorers is arguably a poor attempt at Muse itself (their earlier albums). But it is completely uninspired and predictable, so it's not a patch on the brilliance of Uno, etc.
To end on a brighter note, Supremacy has some great pop hooks, especially the bangin' violin riff. It would make a very fine James Bond theme song. Finally, for a pop ballad, Madness has a wonderfully unique style.
To end on a brighter note, Supremacy has some great pop hooks, especially the bangin' violin riff. It would make a very fine James Bond theme song. Finally, for a pop ballad, Madness has a wonderfully unique style.
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