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Your reviews of Drones


Jimmyneutron

What is your favourite track on Drones?  

503 members have voted

  1. 1. What is your favourite track on Drones?

    • Dead Inside
      14
    • Drill Sergeant
      1
    • Psycho
      10
    • Mercy
      3
    • Reapers
      119
    • The Handler
      266
    • JFK
      1
    • Defector
      36
    • Revolt
      4
    • Aftermath
      11
    • The Globalist
      34
    • Drones
      4


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Lyrically & Musically terrible, the way the arrangement has gone for the tracks is stupid. I think The Globalist would be quite epic live besides that the LP is bland/tedious

 

Produced in a food mixer in all honesty.

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I listened to the album 9-10 times before having a look here to see what everyone's reactions were. Somewhat surprisingly, my opinions seem to be in line with what most people are saying:

 

Dead Inside: Decent track. Prehaps a little pedestrian, but I love the guitar tone here, especially on the first mini solo. 7/10

 

Drill/ Pyscho: This one grew on me a lot. Still not a huge fan of the sampling, but I'm used it now. It's a fun, if perhaps overly simple song. 7.5/10

 

Mercy: This one has lost a little of it's luster. I do enjoy the build up to the chorus, but it just feels like a bland, generic Starlight. Usually skipped. 5/10

 

Reapers: Ok, now we're getting somewhere. I (like some other's mentioned) thought this sounded a little disjointed at first, but it became more cohesive upon multiple listens. Love the chorus, very fun. This feels like the Muse I know and love. 9/10

 

The Handler: My favorite track for sure. I have nothing but good to say about it. Lyrically, it's far above anything else on the album, Matt's vocals are amazing, and it rocks so hard. It's a perfect mix between old and new muse. 10/10

 

JFK/ Defector: A solid tune. I actually think the sampling is used rather effectively here, and I really enjoy the moody, haunting solo-y bit at the end. 8/10

 

Revolt: This is where the album starts the falter. I don't dislike this song as much as most; in fact I think it's enjoyable, it's just nothing special. 6.5/10

 

Aftermath: After a decent start to the track, it goes downhill. Overall cheesy, boring, and in my mind, simply not Muse. 3/10

 

The Globalist: Don't get a lot of the hate for this track. I really like it. It's no CE, but it's up there. While the song does cycle through seemingly very different styles, I think the transitions are effective, and I love the variety. The end of the hard section is among the best 20 seconds of music Muse has ever produced... there just wasn't enough of it! The only complaint is the mid hard section is cut too short, and the final piano section is too long. 8/10

 

Drones: Out of place, poor closer, and bad lyrics. Complete head scratcher here. 2/10

 

Overall, I think this is their best effort since BH&R. It's still not as good as BH&R, OOS, or Absolution, but it's definitely better than TR and T2L! Lyrically the album lacks subtlety! This might be the worst collection of lyrics on a Muse album. Fortunately for me, Muse has always been about the music (never thought Matt was the best lyricist), so it's mostly ok.

 

I still believe Muse has a least one more truly great album left in them. I was hoping this would be it, but they're not quite there. Maybe next time. Either way, I've been constantly listening to most of this album, which I haven't done since BH&R, so I'm pretty happy.

 

Also, can we please stop with the "sounds like Queen, Rage, etc. etc. blah, blah, blah". Firstly, you could make similar comparisons about almost every band, and more importantly, is a style of singing/ playing just off limits because someone else did it before!? So the vocals sound like Queen at times... so what? Matt is clearly not ripping off Queen, so who cares?!

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I finally got around to hearing this album (having heard very little beforehand) and I was surprised by how much I didn't hate it :LOL: I pretty much don't listen to anything from the past two albums these days and I struggled to like the vast majority of songs on them when they were released, but I did actually enjoy the first listen of this one. The Handler is the best song for sure; it's the one I immediately went back to and repeated a few times. I didn't even think Revolt was that bad, I mean yeah it's bad but I wasn't cringing at it as much as I thought I would be going on the comments I've been skimming through on here. I can't say I'm excited to hear that song again though to be fair. The albums needs more listens of course but I'm positive that it's better than the past two (for me at least). Pleasantly surprised.

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Also, can we please stop with the "sounds like Queen, Rage, etc. etc. blah, blah, blah". Firstly, you could make similar comparisons about almost every band, and more importantly, is a style of singing/ playing just off limits because someone else did it before!? So the vocals sound like Queen at times... so what? Matt is clearly not ripping off Queen, so who cares?!

 

Some people don't like bands like Queen or U2, and therefore don't like it when Muse incorporate some of the sounds associated with them. Pretty simple really.

 

Though, to be fair, the Queen-y bits on this album (Defector, Revolt) don't bother me anywhere near as much as they did on previous albums, and I fucking hate Queen.

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Also, can we please stop with the "sounds like Queen, Rage, etc. etc. blah, blah, blah"!

No if Muse keep doing it.

Firstly, you could make similar comparisons about almost every band,

It's not that other artists don't make derivative music, but Muse have been hilariously and obviously ripping off / taking heavy influences from bands like U2 and Queen for the third album in a row now (or, well, even earlier). It's gotten tiresome.

 

and more importantly, is a style of singing/ playing just off limits because someone else did it before!?

No that's not the point.

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Now that I know how to make spoiler tags, I will leave my modified review in here. I'm curious to see how my opinion of the album will change as I keep listening to it... :happy:

 

 

I will post my old review, and when I changed a score, I will note it, so, here we go again!

 

-Dead Inside 9/10. I loved it when it came out. The way Matt delivers the vocals is amazing in this one, and there are too much emotion in that second half. It's like a better Madness.

-Drill Sergeant/Psycho 7/10. I don't like it at first, but it grew on me. It has a nice riff and it's a fun song. It will be a beast live. Very repetitive.

-Mercy 6.5/10: the classic piano Muse song, à la Starlight. But I enjoy this more, it's heavier and the pre-chorus is cool. But it hasn't got much more.

-Reapers 9.5/10: It was the studio version which sold me on this. I enjoy the chorus, the "robotic" setting, like it's a modern warfare, and that magnificent outro

- The Handler 10/10: Holy shit, one of the best tracks I've heard in years. It's dark, it's heavy, and that bridge will be a "lose our heads" moment in their gigs. Awesome!

- JFK + Defector: 8.5/10: Great riff, I must admit that I've always enjoyed the queenisms in Muse discography, so I don't mind about the vocals. Nice solo, I like its tone.

- Revolt: 7.5/10 (Previously 6.5/10): Okey, this song has grown on me. It's a guilty pleasure. Listening to it makes me happy, and there aren't a lot of Muse songs which achieve that (in fact, I can't think of anyone)

- Aftermath: 6.5/10 (Previously 7.5/10). On the contrary, I dislike more Aftermath. I love the song the first 3 minutes, but the ending... They could keep the same atmosphere of the beginning and not going overly-cheesy on the ending, and it would be a nice song. But, like some people said, it seems like a Christian rock track...

- The Globalist + Drones: 9.5/10 (Previously 7/10, 3.5/10). I don't know how could I rate this amazing 13 minutes track (I'd keep TG and Drones together) so... low. I guess it was the dissapointment of not hearing CE 2.0. When that feeling dissapeared, I listened to it properly and, holy shit, I was amazed. The vocals in the piano part are wonderful, and Drones it's a nice and ghostly ending to an amazing album. I guess that hearing it in the context of the album helped a lot.

 

So, average... 8,2 (Previously 7,5). It has definitely grow on me a lot, thanks to my new appreciation of the album closer. And it has reach the third position on my personal Muse favourite albums: BH&R > OoS > Drones = Abso > The Resistance > Showbiz > T2L.

 

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I love Drones so much! Just got it today and I've just adored all of it so far.

 

 

Dead Inside (9/10) This song is a major grower. Once you get over the fact that it wasn't more of the heavy stuff they promised, it really shines as one of their best pop/rock songs. Not quite Madness level perfection, but it's solid track on its own with some amazing vocals by Matt.

[Drill Sergeant] + Psycho (8/10) So it' say really solid rock track with dat one riff. But in place of a guitar solo they used more drill sergeant samples and Absolution chords. I like it a lot, but it's not mind blowing.

Mercy (7/10) I like it, but it does have that Muse by numbers feel (Starlight + SS = Mercy) and doesn't have too much interest to it. It may not be awesome, but it's not bad, and it' she end of radio single phase one of this epic album.

Reapers (10/10) Words cannot describe how awesome this track is. And the guitar solo? It's got to be one of the greatest recorded in the past two decades. Loads of fun, especially at the end. HERE COME THE DRONES!

The Handler (9.5/10) Great rock track. It's like dark chocolate. Undeniably awesome, perfectly dark and sinister. Wonderful blend of old and new Muse. But I'm so thrilled about the rest of the album this one keeps getting lost in the mix.

[JFK] + Defector (9.5/10) I adore the dark vibe this song has at first. So when Matt's vocals kick in in a more major and uplifting tone on the sinister and dark background, I have to admit, it get's confusing and much tension is applied. However, somehow Muse manage to balance the uplifting vocals over the sinistery music and craft and awesome track à la my first favorite band's best work. Great song, if a bit difficult to process.

Revolt (10/10) I must be the only one here who loved this song immediately. I have zero cares how poppy it is, how much it sounds like U2 or Queen (actually I really like the continued Queen vibes I'm picking up), its use of the four chords, etc. etc. et cetera. This is an awesome pop-rock track that SOOO should have been the lead single. It's like Muse's "Don't Stop Me Now" or "Don't Stop Believing." So uplifting, put a huge smile on my face. Still not totally sure it's my favorite on here but I voted for it in the poll to show it some love. Awesome.

Aftermath (9/10) Muse's first real attempt at a power ballad, done in style and with a healthy dose of intrigue (at the start anyway). Honestly, this one kind of get's lost in the mix after Revolt (like The Handler after Reapers) for me, but I do recall some sweet FAwY vibes (one of my favs from Abso) and great build. They totally could've ended the album here and I'd have been happy...

The Globalist (10/10) But instead they continue with the weird, slightly experimental, and epic The Globalist and Drones. More on the title track later, let me just say that The Globalist, while not as straightforward or instantly classic as CE or KoC, part one is wonderfully atmospheric, almost more so than IS, part two sounds like Muse have finally figured out what the end of the world will sound like (again...cough KoC cough), and part three, while lacking in a great transition from part two, is wonderfully crafted. It sounds like Muse's personal national anthem. Fitting, considering they'll probably be the only ones who'll know how to survive after the world has exploded and they become the lone rulers of it's nothingness by default. What a wonderful song, even if it was overhyped, I love it.

Drones (8.5/10) Difficult to compare with the rest of the album, but Muse finally going beyond Queen in their Queeniness is a wonderful thing indeed. If only Freddie had recorded a choir of himself with no instrumentation before he died (well, he sort of did with The Prophet's Song...), Matt wouldn't have surpassed him in this small area of musical absurdity. But Fred didn't, Matt did, and I really dig this track, despite my lo wish rating. Very pretty, beautiful in fact, but it does seem a tad out of place. Nevertheless, I love it, it's haunting, and ending with and Amen...of course. Brilliant stuff.

 

Altogether, 9/10. Wonderful album, maybe my favorite Muse album. Only time will tell, BUT I think Muse still have potential to do even better.

 

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No if Muse keep doing it.

 

It's not that other artists don't make derivative music, but Muse have been hilariously and obviously ripping off / taking heavy influences from bands like U2 and Queen for the third album in a row now (or, well, even earlier). It's gotten tiresome.

 

 

No that's not the point.

 

Sure is mad in here

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Now that I know how to make spoiler tags, I will leave my modified review in here. I'm curious to see how my opinion of the album will change as I keep listening to it... :happy:

 

 

I will post my old review, and when I changed a score, I will note it, so, here we go again!

 

-Dead Inside 9/10. I loved it when it came out. The way Matt delivers the vocals is amazing in this one, and there are too much emotion in that second half. It's like a better Madness.

-Drill Sergeant/Psycho 7/10. I don't like it at first, but it grew on me. It has a nice riff and it's a fun song. It will be a beast live. Very repetitive.

-Mercy 6.5/10: the classic piano Muse song, à la Starlight. But I enjoy this more, it's heavier and the pre-chorus is cool. But it hasn't got much more.

-Reapers 9.5/10: It was the studio version which sold me on this. I enjoy the chorus, the "robotic" setting, like it's a modern warfare, and that magnificent outro

- The Handler 10/10: Holy shit, one of the best tracks I've heard in years. It's dark, it's heavy, and that bridge will be a "lose our heads" moment in their gigs. Awesome!

- JFK + Defector: 8.5/10: Great riff, I must admit that I've always enjoyed the queenisms in Muse discography, so I don't mind about the vocals. Nice solo, I like its tone.

- Revolt: 7.5/10 (Previously 6.5/10): Okey, this song has grown on me. It's a guilty pleasure. Listening to it makes me happy, and there aren't a lot of Muse songs which achieve that (in fact, I can't think of anyone)

- Aftermath: 6.5/10 (Previously 7.5/10). On the contrary, I dislike more Aftermath. I love the song the first 3 minutes, but the ending... They could keep the same atmosphere of the beginning and not going overly-cheesy on the ending, and it would be a nice song. But, like some people said, it seems like a Christian rock track...

- The Globalist + Drones: 9.5/10 (Previously 7/10, 3.5/10). I don't know how could I rate this amazing 13 minutes track (I'd keep TG and Drones together) so... low. I guess it was the dissapointment of not hearing CE 2.0. When that feeling dissapeared, I listened to it properly and, holy shit, I was amazed. The vocals in the piano part are wonderful, and Drones it's a nice and ghostly ending to an amazing album. I guess that hearing it in the context of the album helped a lot.

 

So, average... 8,2 (Previously 7,5). It has definitely grow on me a lot, thanks to my new appreciation of the album closer. And it has reach the third position on my personal Muse favourite albums: BH&R > OoS > Drones = Abso > The Resistance > Showbiz > T2L.

 

Glad to hear you really like The Globalist now! My very first reaction to it was the same as yours but once I knew what to expect when I played the song (not CE 2.0) I instantly thought it was a masterpiece. Kudos Muse, Kudos.

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I've only listened to the album once, It arrived yesterday and i literally only had a hour after work before heading back out, so i gave it a blast.

 

I really liked it, the last couple of tracks shifted in tone suddenly I feel, as in their more experimental side came out, which I didn't expect and knocked me off guard a little. But that's a good thing, they have been trying to sell this album as a back to roots heavy metal, pre Black Holes album, but still managed to shove some new styles/genres into the album, as well as to continue pushing boundaries. Going into this album you would never expect the last song Drones, to basically be a hymn... But I think it was a perfect ending to what I think is a masterpiece of an album. I'm just gagging to listen to the album 100 more times now when I get back home tomorrow.

 

On the comparisons to other bands, yeah ok there are Queen and U2 similarities. But I really don't think their going out of their way and aiming purposely to sound or rip off these bands. (cant stand Queen or U2) I remember a interview a few years back when talking about the making of Resistance I think, Matt Bellamy saying they sung specific song, played it back and only then discovered he/it sounded a bit like Queen. They thought about changing it but decided fuck it. I can't remember where I read or seen this interview, but to me that sounds like a band who are just trying to expand their sound and accidently fall on a sound that sounds similar to someone else. I never compare because to me everything they do sounds like Muse, just sometimes within a different genre of music. Maybe its because i'm very picky with what I do/will listen to and i've never really sat down and listened to Queen or U2... but to me its Muse being Muse.

Edited by Muse_Maniac
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I really liked it, the last couple of tracks shifted in tone suddenly I feel, as in their more experimental side came out, which I didn't expect and knocked me off guard a little. But that's a good thing, they have been trying to sell this album as a back to roots heavy metal, pre Black Holes album, but still managed to shove some new styles/genres into the album, as well as to continue pushing boundaries. Going into this album you would never expect the last song Drones, to basically be a hymn... But I think it was a perfect ending to what I think is a masterpiece of an album. I'm just gagging to listen to the album 100 more times now when I get back home tomorrow.

 

Nice!

 

One very important thing about this album for me, particularly as a follow-up for T2L, is that - regardless of whether it's a masterpiece or not - it's quite an intriguing collection of songs, and it leaves me interested (and pretty positive) about the future. And if Muse are hyping The Handler as their favourite song on it, and talking up the reaction Psycho gets live, then that's very encouraging as well.

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I've now listened to the album a number of times. I can say that apart from Drones i love it. I wasn't sold on the Handler or Mercy at first but both have grown on me. I love the riff on Handler. The Globalist as a War of the worlds feel about it.

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Dead Inside - 5.0/10

Very 'meh' from me, not a bad song but not the sort of Muse that I like

 

Drill Sergeant + Psycho - 5.5/10

Great riff, but killed a bit through repetition. When it comes to Muse, lyrics are not a deal-breaker for me, but these were just out of this world terrible and cringe-y at times.

 

Mercy - 5.0/10

Another 'meh', not that much to say about this one to be honest and hence the '5'

 

Reapers - 7.5/10

Ok, here we go... Killer chorus riff makes this song for me. The outro part is a good listen too. Lyrics pretty bad again but I don't particularly care in this case. Better than the rock songs of T2L and The Resistance and a step in the right direction

 

The Handler - 9.0/10

Pardon my French... but where the **** did this song come from! I can't only be me that thinks this is the best song Matt has written since Absolution? I could spend ages listing everything which is so right about this song but I'll highlight the vocals which are just superb... Just shows they still have it in them.

 

JFK + Defector - 5.5/10

Again a cool riff, not a bad tune but not too keen on the vocals.

 

Revolt - 2.0/10

I could tell from the first 5 seconds I was going to hate it, however it wasn't until the chorus that I realised how much I would hate it. Skip every time for me.

 

Aftermath - 4.0/10

'Meh'

 

The Globalist - 5.5/10

Lot's of built up hype for this one, but a bit disappointed personally. It has potential and I can see why it was referred to as citizen erased 2.0, but as others have said I think Matt misunderstood what the fans love about citizen erased.

 

Drones - NA/10

Very different, can't really review it. I don't hate it, just an interesting way to close the album. I don't think it is meant to be listened on its own but as part of the 'story' of the album.

 

The Whole 'Drones' concept - 4.0/10

I don't think there is anywhere near enough depth in the human Drones idea for this to be a compelling concept. It get's a bit annoying after a while too (for me anyway)

 

Overall - 6.0/10 (gave a bonus point for The Handler)

 

I personally rate harshly for all music so that my real favourites stand out more so this mark isn't actually too bad. For reference I would give,

 

Showbiz - 6.0/10

OoS - 9.0/10

Absolution - 8.5/10

BHAR - 7.0/10

The Resistance - 6.0/10

T2L - 4.0/10

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Glad to hear you really like The Globalist now! My very first reaction to it was the same as yours but once I knew what to expect when I played the song (not CE 2.0) I instantly thought it was a masterpiece. Kudos Muse, Kudos.

 

Yeah, once I judged the song properly, it grows on me inmensely. It's a brave and ambitious song, but I think they nailed it :happy:

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Just now listened to it all the way through, and my first impression is not bad at all. My expectations went up and down a bit before, and I was kinda dreading the last few tracks since I was getting the idea that that's where it would all go to shit.

 

Honestly though it was still pretty good. The first half is strong, even if Dead Inside is an odd opener, Psycho is a bit repetitive and Mercy sounds a bit too much like Starlight. And after that it's still decent. Revolt is let down by the prechorus, but otherwise I enjoy it. Aftermath starts out well even if it turns into something not so good by the end. I like the individual parts of the Globalist, and I actually thought the shift from the first section to the second worked fine, but the shift into the final section happens far too abruptly, and the final section could do with being shorter. And the title track is interesting and works well as a closer, even if I laugh at every mention of "drones".

 

I think they actually did a good job of toning things down and avoiding too much genre-hopping this time. Sure there are tracks of various kinds, but they've always done that to some extent. In a way it makes sense that this is what comes out when a band that's made T2L decides to have a crack at repeating OoS or something. Obviously it isn't the same, but I can see that's because things have changed in the meantime.

 

How good is it compared to the others? Hard to say right now. The lyrics are a big letdown for me, since they distract from otherwise good songs more than ever. Musically I probably enjoy it more than T2L, but not as much as TR, which I liked more than a lot of people did anyway. It wasn't nearly as bad as I feared it could be, and it's a genuinely enjoyable album. I'll definitely be listening to it some more.

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