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Muse - Black Holes And Revelations Absolution proved to be the explosive that shattered the misconception—mine included—that this Devon 3-piece were nothing more than a poor man's Radiohead, destined to die at birth in the early half of the decade like the once promising My Vitriol.
Their heavier than average brand of indie rock on inception developed into full classical grandeur; amplified mammoth, welcomely pompous and fully realised by album number three. Matt Bellamy has as much right to Jeff Buckley's voice as Thom Yorke; there's not many others using that template, so why not? And musically Muse has always had a muscular US feel that has never journeyed anywhere too experimental.
Some of the terms used by Bellamy prior to release may have alarmed some fans, such as “happier” and the visitation of dance clubs, but really, there's no need to worry. While there is a development in the sound, it's not that dissimilar to Absolution.
The sex rock of Supermassive Black Hole is a misnomer, presumably released first to cause some debate (comparisons to Prince and Scissor Sisters have been made). The song name, along with the album title and sleeve design by Storm Thorgerson—of Dark Side Of The Moon fame—shows they haven't discarded their prog veil, and thankfully, too, because we actually need British bands to appear more interesting than just pub regulars, and yet not stray too far into parody like The Darkness.
Though unlikely to beat Absolution, Black Holes And Revelations does outdo the former by being more colourful in its use of dance riffs on advised second single Map Of The Problematique, and foreign feels on the Spanish sounding City Of Delusion. A chart friendly bid is also apparent on Starlight while a hint of their undiluted space rock second album appears on first song Take A Bow. The only down side is that it feels a little less robust overall than their last album.
A pair of fillers in the form of Soldier's Poem and Hoodoo can be forgiven for the inclusion of daring closer, Knights Of Cydonia, which is a thrilling Queen/Status Quo/Western/Dr Who ride despite the C64 computer game sounding title; and before that the epic snare led Invincible.
Elsewhere there are songs that would fit in rather snugly on any past Muse album, as witnessed on Exo-Politics and the System Of A Down meets Knight Rider powered Assassins, making sure that purists are not left isolated in any way.
The musicianship has also stepped up a gear, notably drummer Dominic Howard sounds less of a passive player, coming to the fore more often than Chris Wolstenholme's bass presence on the last two albums. There's also slightly less showing off from Bellamy, which is slightly missed. Richey Costey's production doesn't mess with the band's sound much, rightfully so, as they've always got their dynamics spot on once they moved away from John Leckie, who is a good producer but one who'd carried weight from older indie bands.
Even more optimistically, Black Holes And Revelations sounds like the work of a band happy to dip their winning formula toes in water before making the leap to something very unique and bold in the future. As it stands, Muse have overcome fourth album syndrome very well. They could easily, silently, be the best British mainstream rock band of the noughties.
I have never seen Muse live, but from what brief footage I have, I imagine these songs will translate very well on stage. If you only buy one chart album this year, this is definitely one to consider.
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