I’ve always wondered why bands like Muse have never made it huge in America. Sure they do have a big fan base here, but you never see their videos on MTV or Fuse (though you’d be hard-pressed to see anything resembling music, let alone a music video, on either of those channels) and you rarely hear their songs on the radio. Muse has been selling out stadiums all over Europe, and for good reason: a stadium is the only venue large enough to contain their songs. Anyone who has heard Muse’s earlier works (especially “Knights of Cydonia” from 2006’s “Black Holes and Revelations” or anything from 2003’s “Absolution”) knows that Muse are the masters of all things epic, bombastic, and all-together over-the-top. But just because the band chooses to write songs and hooks so huge that it borders on pretentious doesn’t make them laughable; that is Muse’s schtick and they do it extremely well. Muse has always pushed themselves from album to album, evolving their unique sound and continuing to create songs and soundscapes that sound like nothing else in the music business. So with the band’s fifth album, “The Resistance”, Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme, and Dominic Howard have gone into the studio with increased ambition and emerged with their greatest work yet.
To put it simply, “The Resistance” transcends music. It is a work of art. There is a distinct classical feel throughout the album, obvious that classical composers like Chopin were inspirations (hell, Chopin’s own Nocturne in E-Flat makes a cameo appearance at the end of “United States of Eurasia/Collateral Damage”). It merges all things classical and all things modern into one gigantic, symphonic spectacle that borders on ridiculous, but never ever ceases to excite. To be completely honest, “The Resistance” is the biggest, most extravagant, most overblown record I’ve heard all year. But somehow, it all works, and works exceptionally well. Yes it’s completely bonkers, but “The Resistance” is also the best album I’ve heard all year, and easily ranks within my top 10 albums of all time.
The album kicks off with the rousing anthem “Uprising” which features the typical anti-government lyrics found in most Muse songs. The album’s second track, “Resistance”, starts light and builds into a grand chorus, with Matt Bellamy singing about two secret lovers. “Undisclosed Desires” is one of the album’s best tracks, taking equal parts R&B and pop and melting it into something that could only come from Muse. “United States of Eurasia/Collateral Damage” is Muse in full-on Queen mode, complete with huge, bombastic guitars and grandiose, falsetto vocals. “Unnatural Selection” is pure Muse rock, with huge riffs and pounding bass and drums. The only real low point to the entire record is "I Belong to You", which lasts longer than it has to. All in all, the first eight track on the album are sublime, excellent jams that encapsulate what Muse is all about but also adds a new layer of experimentation.
But the real star of the show is the three-part epic “Exogenesis Symphony”. Composed by the band and featuring a 40-piece symphony orchestra, “Exogenesis” is unlike anything you’ve heard from any band ever. If you thought “Knights of Cydonia” was the peak of epic, wait until you hear this, with it’s swelling strings, surging piano, and Matt’s powerful vocals. For lack of a better expression, “Exogenesis” is a musical journey that feels like a Hollywood blockbuster. It’s huge, sweeping, and encompasses exactly what Muse is about. To put it simply, “Exogenesis” is what Muse was destined to create.
I’ve read a lot of reviews of this album, and they all criticize it for it’s over-the-top sound (or as The Guardian put it, “insane ambitiousness”). But if it wasn’t over-the-top, it wouldn’t be Muse. Yes, it is overblown. Yes, it’s so huge that it’s almost cheesy. But there’s no denying that Muse has crafted something truly spectacular here. In my eyes (and I’m sure many of Muse’s fans), “The Resistance” is a masterpiece. I couldn’t think of any other band having the balls or pure talent to pull off an album like this. This ranks easily atop my list for best album of the year, if not the decade. Why? Two simple reasons: it sounds like nothing you’re ears have ever heard before, and the second after the final note is played, you want to play the whole album all over again. Now that’s something truly extraordinary.
Final Score:
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