The best and worst of each album

[Tjet]

Originally Posted by 01fromfinland

I'll take decent over straight up garbage any day

You know you don't HAVE to pick any of it, right? You don't need to stick to music that you think is decent. Just...listen to something else. We're not voting for a new president.

[01fromfinland]

Originally Posted by Tjet

You know you don't HAVE to pick any of it, right? You don't need to stick to music that you think is decent. Just...listen to something else. We're not voting for a new president.

I mean, overall Drones is decent. But that's because it's dragged down by few really bad songs. It's not necessarily a bad thing to be decent, I mean come on, Handler, Psycho, Defector and Reapers are actually really good imo.

[Tjet]

Personally I think that The Handler is great, Reapers and Dead Inside are good, and the rest of the album is....decent to awful. For me, the album is dragged down by Revolt, Mercy, The Globalist and Aftermath. A pretty big chunk of the album.

[Zepp]

Originally Posted by TheHappySpaceman

Out of curiosity, how well does he do with his pronunciations? I'm no expert at French, though I do know Spanish pretty well.

I had to read the lyrics to figure out that it was (meant to be) French, and none of my friends or family members ever figured it out by themselves. The only thing that sounds French is the "sez-moi" in "versez-moi l'ivresse".

But most opera singers aren't better at it.

[LewisF]

Dead Inside has been one of the biggest growers on me ever really. On its premiere on Radio 1 I was like 'wat' but since then it's gradually got better and better until the point where I can genuinely it's a 10/10 track for me

[01fromfinland]

Originally Posted by Tjet

Personally I think that The Handler is great, Reapers and Dead Inside are good, and the rest of the album is....decent to awful. For me, the album is dragged down by Revolt, Mercy, The Globalist and Aftermath. A pretty big chunk of the album.

What's the thing with people disliking Psycho so much? I mean, yeah, sure, it's cheesy and all that, but at least it was intentionally cheesy and funny. I really dig it.

And I mean, full breakdown of Drones:

Great: The Handler and Reapers
Good: Psycho, Dead Inside and Mercy
Decent: The Globalist and Defector
Bad: Revolt and Aftermath
Wtf: Drones

[Tjet]

Originally Posted by 01fromfinland

What's the thing with people disliking Psycho so much? I mean, yeah, sure, it's cheesy and all that, but at least it was intentionally cheesy and funny. I really dig it.

And I mean, full breakdown of Drones:

Great: The Handler and Reapers
Good: Psycho, Dead Inside and Mercy
Decent: The Globalist and Defector
Bad: Revolt and Aftermath
Wtf: Drones

Psycho would have been great if it was 2 minutes shorter and didn't have the Drill Sergeant part. I really can't understand why they would make a 5 minute song with only a riff and a half repeated over and over.

And being intentionally cheesy doesn't make it better imo. Muse are at their best when they take themselves seriously.

[01fromfinland]

Originally Posted by Tjet

And being intentionally cheesy doesn't make it better imo. Muse are at their best when they take themselves seriously.

I mean, I like that, too, but they can do fun stuff too. Say what you want, but they clearly had a blast making Panic Station and I love it.

[DERINSAI]

Showbiz: Best - Understandably Muse at their rawest, especially in Matt's vocals, dude sounds like he's close to tears at times, gives the album a bit of emotional power you don't really see in their later material. Also, just massive potential on display, some damn excellent songs, Sunburn, Showbiz, Muscle Museum, Cave etc.

Worst - Production is a bit flat, instruments don't have room to breathe at times, the drums suffer in particular at points.

Origin of Symmetry: Best - The sheer creativity on display, huge musical evolution from their debut, experimental in the best way. Production is a massive improvement from Showbiz too, tracks like Citizen Erased sound huge, wall of sound when necessary but not consistently crushed dynamics wise. Great flow too.

Worst: Perhaps the guitar tones at points? Have to really look for gripes with this album.

Absolution: Best - General cohesiveness with the end of the world theme. Well put together tracks (Adding the synth arpeggios to Stockholm Syndrome etc.).
Chris' bass tones are great throughout the album.
I actually don't have an issue with the track order, but I grew up with this album so maybe I'm used to that order

Worst: Production occasionally buries some of the soundscapes. Not a huge issue really. Again, really digging for issues.

Black Holes and Revelations: Best - Great flow, over the top but still serious tone, some genuinely great songwriting (Hoodoo stands out in this regard).

Worst - Dear lord the production, Muse's output is generally brickwalled, but this album really suffers, the whole thing sounds muddy and distorted (MOTP is an unrelenting wall of sound from beginning to end) if any Muse album needs a remaster it's this one. Even soldier's poem peaks/clips consistently ffs.

The Resistance: Best - Once again, the flow. Even if I'm not the biggest fan of the tracks, they fit together nicely. MK Ultra and Unnatural Selection are great.

Worst - General blandness, a lot of the album just sounds uninspired, tracks like Resistance and Guiding Light suffer particular in this regard. Also, some really baffling production choices, who on earth thought having Matt singing in French in the middle of "I belong to you" was a good idea?

The 2nd Law: Best - Crisp and clear production, good bass presence. Animals is a standout track, and Stevie Wonder thievery aside, Panic Station is fun.

Worst - Flow and song quality, this album is all over the fucking place, tonally and quality wise. Features some of the worst material Muse has released. Too many of the songs sound like they've been ripped from something else.

Drones: Best - Finally got some heaviness back.

Worst - Is an album of two halves, one half old school fanservice to appease the older fans, other half bland tracks designed for radio airplay. Ranges from great (Reapers, The Handler) to bland (Mercy, The Globalist) to downright awful (Revolt, Aftermath)

[Jobby]

Originally Posted by DERINSAI

who on earth thought having Matt singing in French in the middle of "I belong to you" was a good idea?

Works with the theatrical flamboyance of the song though, and it makes that fucking brill "Muuuu.........uuuuUUUUSE" so effective.

A radio edit without it would've been a nice option though I guess, could've done well as a single an' all.

[Nature2]

Originally Posted by Jobby

Works with the theatrical flamboyance of the song though, and it makes that fucking brill "Muuuu.........uuuuUUUUSE" so effective.

A radio edit without it would've been a nice option though I guess, could've done well as a single an' all.

Funny thing, IBTY is my favourite track from TR (apart from Exo) and the French part is my favourite part of the song... I love the fact that this song could well fit into some musical. I love musicals.

[Jobby]

UD and IBTY stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of TR imo. Only tracks with any real spark or sense of creativity.

...which is funny considering they were both my least favourites by a mile when I first heard the album

[Bs]

Originally Posted by Jobby

UD and IBTY stand head-and-shoulders above the rest of TR imo. Only tracks with any real spark or sense of creativity.

I turned TR into a 9-track album on my computer without those two songs and found it considerably improved things.

UD isn't that bad but it's just really out of place and not what I'd listen to Muse for personally. I can't stand IBTY though.

[fabripav]

What spark does IBTY have exactly?

[Jobby]

Originally Posted by fabripav

What spark does IBTY have exactly?

It's fun. Bouncy rhythm, upbeat and carefree vibe, purposefully jokey lyrics, catchy bassline, nice vocals + an entertaining performance, incorporates new elements that feel fresh without outright aping other bands/genres. All gives it a life that the rest of the album massively lacks.