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Drones Album Discussion Thread

Spectrum IV

By Spectrum IV
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simplytom Escapee

simplytom

Posted
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wow, was expecting to get torn apart. Only said it for a laugh, didn't expect so much agreement. Where have all the fucking Muse fans gone haha

 

I mean I'll defend Revolt because at least it's something different, but Defector is just so meh.

 

I remember when everyone was super hype about Defector after the Making Of footage leaked. Then when I said that it didn't excite me and I wasn't expecting much from it, people were like "pfff u wot m8 its obvs gonna be 1 of the best fings they've dun in years".

 

 

 

lel

 

I was never aboard the hype train in the first place. Everyone was like "omg Myaz can do happy songs too". Quite frankly I like it when they do depressing as hell or cheesy as fuck. Defector is neither.

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serpentsatellite Escapee

serpentsatellite

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My enjoyment or not of a song has nothing to do with it being "happy" or "positive" or not; just how that tone is put across, really. I find most artists do "dark" and "depressing" in a really overbearing, oppressive way, and that's not my thing, for instance.

 

So, the tone and lyrics of Defector I really have no problem with.

However, the song itself seems pretty repetitive. Just doesn't feel like it ever goes anywhere, and is super monotonous to me. It's a bit like Psycho, I guess, but without the energy and some of the dynamic changes.

I don't hate it, but I think it gets a bit boring, and I think it might be my least favorite on the album.

I was also really surprised at how excited everyone was about it after that tiny Making of. And it kind of turned out just how I was envisioning it would.

 

Revolt, on the flip side, I think sounds fabulous, but the tone annoys the shit out of me. Positive is one thing - telling people to just think happy thoughts feels like a shitty old Disney movie.

 

And I think this was in another thread, but I do wonder - with the vocal delivery on this album pretty much running from good to amazing - how the first and last line of Aftermath slipped by.

I think the song is really pretty, but those two lines remind me of Bellamy's terrible Bon Jovi impression.

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Jobby Defector

Jobby

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And I think this was in another thread, but I do wonder - with the vocal delivery on this album pretty much running from good to amazing - how the first and last line of Aftermath slipped by.

 

I struggle to understand how the entire final chorus slipped by tbh.

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serpentsatellite Escapee

serpentsatellite

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I struggle to understand how the entire final chorus slipped by tbh.

 

I think that was explained, at least, wasn't it? Wasn't it an attempt to do that sort of cheesy, sing along ballad that Mutt personally enjoys, and that's why he's singing in it?

I think that might be why the whole song exists, now that I try and recall...

 

But, that notwithstanding, the vocals in the sing along are actually still pretty good. Whether or not you like the context.

 

The first and last lines sound strained, and completely out of place.

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Jobby Defector

Jobby

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I think that was explained, at least, wasn't it? Wasn't it an attempt to do that sort of cheesy, sing along ballad that Mutt personally enjoys, and that's why he's singing in it?

I think that might be why the whole song exists, now that I try and recall...

 

But, that notwithstanding, the vocals in the sing along are actually still pretty good. Whether or not you like the context.

 

The first and last lines sound strained, and completely out of place.

 

IIRC, Matt came to Mutt with the idea of the song and Mutt pretty much said "I'll take it from here" 'cause cheesy 80s ballads are his forte or something. Which is funny 'cause it's fucking awful.

 

Don't know what you mean by 'the context' but Matt's high wailing chest vocals (the 'moment' at 5:06 is particularly nasty), the guitar, and those torrid droning backing vocals clash horribly. To the extent that it's almost unlistenable for me.

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serpentsatellite Escapee

serpentsatellite

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It's admittedly not my style of song, but despite that, I actually think the vocals are nice. Even impactful in the sing a long part. I really don't see a problem with them, and honestly they make me like a song I probably wouldn't normally give a second thought to.

(Except, again, for the first and last lines, which sound out of place, or even sung poorly.)

Other than that, I think it's probably a pretty good song for that genre, which even living in that decade wasn't really my thing.

 

My boyfriend, on the other hand, loves it almost as much as NSC. Bless his little heart.

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Spectrum IV Escapee

Spectrum IV

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I remember when everyone was super hype about Defector after the Making Of footage leaked. Then when I said that it didn't excite me and I wasn't expecting much from it, people were like "pfff u wot m8 its obvs gonna be 1 of the best fings they've dun in years".

 

And when Reapers first appeared in bootleg form, most people thought it was shit. :erm:

 

I want to present some opinions in a different context. Muse have around five main styles:

 

1. Excessive wank

2. Brooding alternative angst

3. Raging bouts of pop indulgence

4. Gentler, slow-burning ballads

5. The occasional weird experiment

 

Drones has some of my favourites in a few of these categories. Reapers is probably the best OTT song they've done, and in terms of cock rock it's up there in history on its scale of sheer indulgence.

 

Drones also has some truly incredible pop songs. Dead Inside perfects a genre they'd been working on since TR. Revolt is fucking gorgeous in its use of melody and naïveté. Mercy is pretty good too, but pales in comparison.

 

Let's talk about category 2. For pure expressions of angst, Muse are unparalleled, but they have so much pitch-perfect seething angst in their back catalogue that it sets a high expectation for everything that follows. I would be able to forgive The Handler's reverb abuse and overlong solo if I didn't know Muse were capable of so much better.

 

Defector is more of a weird experiment than alt-angst, it has this awesome semi-atonal progression going on that's unusual for rock. I thought the early reactions were overblown, but it's grown on me a fair bit.

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serpentsatellite Escapee

serpentsatellite

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Maybe it's just because I felt alone, but I don't really remember people disliking Reapers that much. Some talk about the falsetto being weak the first night, but they distorted it every gig after that.

There was SO much hype before the studio one came out, and I clearly remember being called out as one of two people who voted "no" on the studio release. :chuckle:

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vixi Escapee

vixi

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I still like Defector. I really don't like Queen, but its grung-y side catches my 90s-lover heart :LOL: I love the second part of the solo, that part that sounds a bit like a Cold War anthem. The only problem I have with it is the same one I have with Psycho (but to a lesser extent): it just keeps going on for too long, without adding so much. Will probably be fun live, anyway.

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Bohemian-Cygnus-Running-Out Guiding Light

Bohemian-Cygnus-Running-Out

Posted
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And when Reapers first appeared in bootleg form, most people thought it was shit. :erm:

 

I want to present some opinions in a different context. Muse have around five main styles:

 

1. Excessive wank

2. Brooding alternative angst

3. Raging bouts of pop indulgence

4. Gentler, slow-burning ballads

5. The occasional weird experiment

 

Drones has some of my favourites in a few of these categories. Reapers is probably the best OTT song they've done, and in terms of cock rock it's up there in history on its scale of sheer indulgence.

 

Drones also has some truly incredible pop songs. Dead Inside perfects a genre they'd been working on since TR. Revolt is fucking gorgeous in its use of melody and naïveté. Mercy is pretty good too, but pales in comparison.

 

Let's talk about category 2. For pure expressions of angst, Muse are unparalleled, but they have so much pitch-perfect seething angst in their back catalogue that it sets a high expectation for everything that follows. I would be able to forgive The Handler's reverb abuse and overlong solo if I didn't know Muse were capable of so much better.

 

Defector is more of a weird experiment than alt-angst, it has this awesome semi-atonal progression going on that's unusual for rock. I thought the early reactions were overblown, but it's grown on me a fair bit.

 

Wow, that's exceedingly precise! I ought to look at Muse's discography this way from now on.

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matthijs Escapee

matthijs

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Does Chris sing much on this album? I think I can hear him at the end of Aftermath but that's about it?

 

Do you mean Chris actually singing, or parts where he will sing live? I think Matt is doing a lot of the backings himself, but I can definitely hear some backings in Mercy that are definitely Chris.

Apparently we can hear Mutt Lange singing on Aftermath too.

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MartianSpaghettiRider Escapee

MartianSpaghettiRider

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I think Matt is doing a lot of the backings himself, but I can definitely hear some backings in Mercy that are definitely Chris.

Apparently we can hear Mutt Lange singing on Aftermath too.

It seems that Lange has sung some backing vocals in Mercy, too. But I can't tell if during the double-tempo part in the verses or merged between Matt's choral voices during the choruses.

And in Aftermath he has done all the backing vocals during the last third of the song.

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Hat Collaborator

Hat

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It seems that Lange has sung some backing vocals in Mercy, too. But I can't tell if during the double-tempo part in the verses or merged between Matt's choral voices during the choruses.

And in Aftermath he has done all the backing vocals during the last third of the song.

All of them? Source?
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