Your reviews of Drones

[Con101]

When The 2nd Law came out, people were SO sure it was better than The Resistance and I'm even pretty sure when TR came out initially people thought it was better than BHaR. The honey moon period is always the same around here, people have to believe that the album that just came out was at least better than the last one.

 

The Handler, Reapers and The Globalist are the only songs I really enjoy, and the latter has some of the most illogical choices within the song that I think Muse has ever made. Admittedly I have to wonder if my young self would have liked this album more, because my music taste probably has changed since then but the fact that they think that songs like Revolt are okay is just a bit much to look past at this point.

 

I definitely didn't think The Resistance was better than Black Holes and I know for a fact I didn't think T2L was better than The Resistance. Drones, however, I feel is better than both and at least on a par with Black Holes.

[jonisdead]

Maybe if you bothered to read my posts instead of assuming their meaning... Go read what I said about every song. It's not because they rip off a fuck ton of artists. Although that surely isn't a good thing.

 

You make it sound as though I didn't read it. I did, then you added on you thought it was their worst so it does seem to me like you're upset. Of course people can interpret other people's posts on this forum as they wish just as anyone can interpret the music, it's up to the poster and the musician to articulate their ideas in such a way that whoever is looking at their output sees it the way it's intended to be seen. So, apologies if I was way off.

[keewe]

Overall, it really surprised me. Have to give it a couple of weeks, but what i can say for now:

 

IMO the guys should go back to making normal LPs... the themes are getting boring and influences Bellamys songwriting in terms of lyrics massively.

 

I'm missing some epic piano session... its good to have the rough guitars back but man, wheres the piano?!

 

After playing it on rotation i give it a 8/10.

[Citizen Erased 01]

I definitely didn't think The Resistance was better than Black Holes and I know for a fact I didn't think T2L was better than The Resistance.

 

Nor did I, I enjoyed bits of both albums straight away (MK Ultra, Exogen, Animals) but in the first week I realised that the cons outweighed the positives (more so in 2nd Law). Imo Drones is much more consistent and there's only one song I'm worried about (Revolt) but even that's growing on me, whereas in first listen of the other 2 albums I hated Explorers, Save Me, Follow Me, GL, IBTY and still do

[di5]

I really love this album. Maybe not the best ever by Muse, but certainly not the worst.

 

Dead Inside: really strong bass and drums. Great lyrics - I don't get the criticism there at all.

9/10.

 

Drill Sergeant/Psycho: loved this track since the first time I heard it. Matt, Chris and Dom seem to enjoy it as much as I do. Pretty serious lyrics if you just listen.

10/10.

 

Mercy: Definite similarities to 'Starlight'. A bit Queen-like in the chorus for my taste. Not my favourite.

7/10.

 

Reapers: great guitar and drums on the intro. Great bass by Chris, especially around the middle of the track, and those vocals.........'Here come the Drones'.

9/10.

 

The Handler: Really catchy right from the start. The bass is superb, as are Matt's vocals. Reminds me a bit of 'In Your World'. Probably my favourite at the moment.

10/10.

 

JFK/Defector: Not my favourite. Don't know why but it just doesn't seem like Muse to me. A little bit repetitive.

6/10.

 

Revolt: Varied tempo - slow for verse, faster for chorus. Without Matt's distinctive falsetto vocals it could well be U2.

6/10.

 

Aftermath: I like the slow tracks that Muse do. Matt's voice comes over really strong and emotive. The 'Explorerers' track of the album.

7/10.

 

The Globalist: the whistling at the start reminds me of the harmonica in 'Knights of Cydonia' - love it. Dom's drumming is fantastic and Matt's voice again is really strong. The military influence of the album comes out about half way through this track when the tempo picks up, then Matt's piano slows things down again.

10/10.

 

Drones; now this track was a surprise. It's certainly different for Muse to perform an acapella track - is it just Matt doing the vocals or what? I always thought a big part of Muse was their experimentation with musical styles so why not this! A really suitable track to end the album with.

7/10 for the song, another 2/10 for having the guts to release it....9/10.

 

I think 'Drones' is a great concept album that doesn't lose its plot at all - just listen to the lyrics. Great variation in tracks and styles.....9/10 overall.

[FabriPav]

You make it sound as though I didn't read it. I did, then you added on you thought it was their worst so it does seem to me like you're upset. Of course people can interpret other people's posts on this forum as they wish just as anyone can interpret the music, it's up to the poster and the musician to articulate their ideas in such a way that whoever is looking at their output sees it the way it's intended to be seen. So, apologies if I was way off.

 

Why would I be upset? You're literally the only one who's upset in this thread.

[jonisdead]

Why would I be upset? You're literally the only one who's upset in this thread.

 

I'm not upset though lol, you just seemed jaded if anything about Muse based on ur twitter/review

[lukester911]

I'm not upset though lol, you just seemed jaded if anything about Muse based on ur twitter/review

 

Hang about, you posted in Fabri's thread not two minutes ago. A thread where he points out the songs off the album he likes.

[jonisdead]

Hang about, you posted in Fabri's thread not two minutes ago. A thread where he points out the songs off the album he likes.

 

Ya I know, but still

[Citizen_Eraser]

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.

 

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.

 

The bolded stuff was true when Muse was compared to Queen in the earlier like Absolution days with Butterflies and Hurricanes etc. There were Queen comparisons because their music was very dramatic. Then with Soldier's poem on BH&R it was a little more but still normal levels of influence. I remember my mom heard me listening to Absolution at release and mentioned how they sounded like a modern Queen on a few songs. They've always had some slight similarities.

 

But somewhere down the line they started doing it so obviously that it screams tribute (or ripoff to others). USoE is clearly a Queen tribute and Big Freeze is clearly a U2 tribute. That isn't really an opinion on those two, when there are lines like "electrical storm" in the lyrics of a song that already sounds extremly U2-like.

Edited June 7, 2015 by Citizen_Eraser

[Citizen_Eraser]

What's wrong with having a deeper insight or interpretation of a song?

 

Because Muse isn't that deep of a band. I think fans put more thought and analysis into Muse songs than Muse themselves do lol.

[Con101]

Because Muse isn't that deep of a band. I think fans put more thought and analysis into Muse songs than Muse themselves do lol.

 

People often say this, but I think certain tracks are as "deep" as anything else in rock or alternative music.

[FabriPav]

People often say this, but I think certain tracks are as "deep" as anything else in rock or alternative music.

"anything else"

[serpentsatellite]

Because Muse isn't that deep of a band. I think fans put more thought and analysis into Muse songs than Muse themselves do lol.

 

Except that in the same interview where Matt talked about how he tried to make music that replicated the same emotions he was feeling when he wrote it that could be conveyed even without the lyrics, he also talked about the story he was writing in The Globalist...

 

Isn't it then completely understandable to believe that, just maybe, the guitar bit after a countdown (that ends in "fire") is meant to represent the end of the world...? For example.

[FabriPav]

The guitar can represent the end of the world. But it doesn't make sense to say that it's right to make it that short because the end of the world lasts 80 seconds. It could have been 2 minutes long and still fitting the "concept".

[jonisdead]

The guitar can represent the end of the world. But it doesn't make sense to say that it's right to make it that short because the end of the world lasts 80 seconds. It could have been 2 minutes long and still fitting the "concept".

 

[FabriPav]

Thanks for your input, as usual

[jonisdead]

Thanks for your input, as usual

 

Always glad to deliver.

 

 

Naturally if we agree that the guitar part can stand for that, then whether it's best short or long is just relative. I would've personally wanted the part that began to develop with the trem riff to fully develop before dying out but hey, oh well. The track as a whole isn't hurt by that IMO.

[lukester911]

I feel like I'm just not getting the Handler.

 

Defector is quickly becoming my favourite from the album, which is weird, since I hated it when I first heard it. The string section coming in near the end finally clicked in my head and I've had it on repeat for a good while today.

[FabriPav]

Also wtf was Matt thinking when he decided to add those three glissandi? So cheesy. They totally ruin what could have been a decent piano section.

[serpentsatellite]

The guitar can represent the end of the world. But it doesn't make sense to say that it's right to make it that short because the end of the world lasts 80 seconds. It could have been 2 minutes long and still fitting the "concept".

 

That's completely fair. And it just boils down to personal taste.

 

I was comment more, I guess, on the "Muse isn't that deep" comment. I don't think that comes into the length of that piece, on either side.

[Citizen_Eraser]

Except that in the same interview where Matt talked about how he tried to make music that replicated the same emotions he was feeling when he wrote it that could be conveyed even without the lyrics, he also talked about the story he was writing in The Globalist...

 

Isn't it then completely understandable to believe that, just maybe, the guitar bit after a countdown (that ends in "fire") is meant to represent the end of the world...? For example.

 

There are some Muse songs that can represent the theme of the song without lyrics or vocals yes. But there are far more that don't the last 3 albums. The Handler does, The Globalist does, the outro of Reapers...that's about it.

 

And yes the guitar bit in TG is obvious...idk why that was replied to a quote from me. The middle section is clearly a representation of war. A complaint though is that the buildup to the explosive bit is longer than the post countdown stuff. But I guess that's how climaxing a song works.

[jonisdead]

That's completely fair. And it just boils down to personal taste.

 

I was comment more, I guess, on the "Muse isn't that deep" comment. I don't think that comes into the length of that piece, on either side.

 

Muse, like any band, are as deep as the listener wants them to be

 

On the other hand, although this album is clearly a concept album, nearly every single interview with any of the band members has yielded "yeah, I guess it's kind of a concept album, yeah, sort of" terminology. Very iffy, uncertain, shaky referential terms. None of them has said "definitely, it's a concept album and that's what the goal was" in very solid terms, even Matt, although he's the most forward about it out of the three.

[Mr Problematique]

Muse, like any band, are as deep as the listener wants them to be

 

That's deep

 

 

Not really

 

 

[Old Man Pigeon]

Great album until Revolt. Even Mercy has grown on me a bit!

However, Revolt kills the momentum completely. Aftermath is alright actually, but The Globalist being a let down really makes the album go out with a wimper.

 

It had potential to be in their top 3 albums. But it misses out for me.

 

Edit: JFK into Defector is genuinely brilliant

Edited June 8, 2015 by Old Man Pigeon