Your reviews of Drones

[serpentsatellite]

I probably should just post my review; I've edited it like 40 times.

I didn't do T2L either and I don't know why I'm so hesitant.

 

Spoiler: I love Mercy an embarrassing amount.

[Nature2]

Revolt - I don't like that they went full American-rock here. And bad American rock, to me. The Killers. I hate this band. They are an overrated bunch of crap, apart from some songs. Still, even if I did like them, I wouldn't want Muse to sound like them. Ever. I am able to stand the song, but maybe if I am doing something, like cooking, and I just need some background music. But I don't like this track, and I don't want to make myself like it just because 'I got used to it.' You get used to a lot of shit in life, doesn't mean it's good. 3/10

 

I agree.. I mean I am a total The Killers (and B. Flowers) fan and I know every song they ever recorded Even The Killers are above songs like Revolt (btw. there's not much of American rock in The Killers, truly. For a band that comes form Vegas they are really British.. Influence from Joy Division, Pet Shop Boys and a few other British artists I suppose). Even their most pop record 'Day & Age' with radio hits like Human or Spaceman delievers a lot of actually good, positively cheesy, party songs. Revolt is none of that, it literally is utter garbage.

 

But apart from Revolt I really like Drones.. for me it's a solid 8/10 (without Revolt ).

[Jetro]

It used to be The Handler, because it sounds the most musey to me - minor-based, and I imagined Micro Cuts spawning from it.

 

I initially didn't like Reapers. I thought the chorus was funny and ruined the build-up it got. However, now I love it, I love the fast pace, production. The drums are so cool. I didn't listen for them in the beginning, but they are cool as shit. I often put this on when I'm about to get to work, when I need to get pumped up for some reason. I also imagine mastering this on Guitar Hero with a friend who plays the bass track.

Right now it's my favourite Muse song across the board.

[Regilistic]

1. Dead Inside - Amazng tune, a highly improved Madness. Definitely grew on me. Love the desperation in some of the lyics - 9.5/10

 

2. Psycho - There's pats of it that I love and parts I wish would hurry up. Not really the perfect song to put 03050 riff in. Seems like a good opener - 7.5/10

 

3. Mercy - I view it as an improved Starlight, but it's nothing special - 6.5/10

 

4. Reapers - Favourite off the album, loved it the minute from those poor quality psycho gig youtube videos came out. - 10/10

 

5. The Handler - Really reminiscent of 'old muse' and what I had in mind when they said a "back to their roots album" - 9.5/10

 

6. Defector - Love it off the JFK speech (lol muse) and I like the "Queen" bits. But idk if it's memorable enough for me - 7/10

 

8. Revolt - When I first heard it I was like wtf, but it's grown on me a little bit. - 6/10

 

9 Aftermath - Eh Is all i have to say - 4.5/10

 

10. The Globalist - Given how hyped up this was it was a let down, considering the beginning is a complete classical copy of Morricone, the middle section sounds uninspiring and the ending piano sounds horrifically reminiscent to Explorers. I like it, just could've been better. - 7/10

 

11. Drones - Eh, it's alright but nothing fantastic - 4/10

[WutDaFucksy]

Going back to this album so thought I'd re-rate:

 

1. Dead Inside - 7/10

 

2. Psycho - 7.5/10

 

3. Mercy - 5/10

 

4. Reapers - 8/10

 

5. The Handler - 8/10

 

6. Defector - 7/10

 

8. Revolt - 4/10

 

9 Aftermath - 6/10

 

10. The Globalist - 6/10

 

11. Drones - 0/10

[Hat]

Now I finally feel like I can judge the album properly and compare it to the others. I'd say that Muse had something really good going here. Psycho, Dead Inside, The Handler, Reapers, Defector, The Globalist and even Drones were brilliant parts of the album. But sadly the rest is just poor. Mercy follows the same recipe as Starlight, Easily, TIRO and Follow Me to some extent but sadly it just doesn't grab me. The piano melody is dull and the chorus just has so little going on.

 

Aftermath and Revolt should have been b-sides at best. Muse and cheese is such a gamble. Blackout, Endlessly and SFA manage to maintain a serious tone without sounding cheesy. Invincible and Soldier's Poem are right on the edge, but still sound like proper, honest songs. Then on TR they go into parody territory with IBTY, USoE and Guiding Light. The first two are fun, while GL is just dull.

 

Then we got Explorers, which tries to make the cheese serious again, but at this point Matt seems to have forgotten how to write honest ballads that aren't cliche, cheese and parody of love songs.

 

And since then, they haven't really been able to recover. I really wish that Matt can start writing ballads/power-ballads that feel sincere again, but honestly I'm starting to doubt if they'll ever get rid of that almost musical-esque melodrama.

[LewisF]

Dead Inside - 10/10

[Drill Sergeant] + Psycho- 8/10

Mercy - 7.5/10

The Handler - 10/10

Reapers - 10/10

[JFK] + Defector - 8/10

Revolt - 8.5/10

Aftermath - 7/10

The Globalist - 10/10

Drones - 6.5/10

 

 

Overall a solid 9/10 in my opinion.

[vixi]

Dead Inside - 8,5/10

[Drill Sergeant] + Psycho - 7/10

Mercy - 7/10

Reapers - 10/10

The Handler - 10/10

[JFK] + Defector - 7,5/10

Revolt - 6,5/10

Aftermath - 6/10

The Globalist + Drones - 8,5/10

[serpentsatellite]

I never did this; I still don't know why.

I hate numerically rating things; and if I did, I'd have to go back and number all their other tracks, and weight them, and someone at work would probably notice my making spreadsheets...

 

Dead Inside: has remained one of my favorite Muse songs of all time since my first couple of listens; while not being a "traditional" Muse song, it recaptured everything I'd thought the prior two albums were missing, the main thing being Bellamy's more emotive vocals. Builds to an amazing ending without the entire song being a vehicle to that like Madness. Does a stellar job of expressing vocally the pain and desperation of the lyrics.

Wouldn't change a thing.

 

Psycho: hated it after my first few listens; after Bellamy spent time linking interesting articles and proclaiming they were all concepts dealt with in Psycho, we got a song that deals with... pretty much nothing. Feels like it attempts to be controversial in concept and obscenities, but ended up sounding ridiculous.

Vocals are good, and it's catchy enough, so it grew on me a bit and I haven't hated it in ages, but it's still a bittersweet "what could have been."

Also WAY too long for how repetitious it is.

 

Mercy: Unashamedly love it. Has all the big, boisterousness and emotion, and that certain "something" that attracts me to Muse's pop stuff that I can't quite put into words. Hits me right in the chest.

Obviously the lyrics could be less on the nose, but I still like a lot of them.

 

Reapers: From the first live performances to the studio album, this song just never grabbed me. I don't hate it, I often don't skip it, but it feels more TR than Drones. Campy classic rock with a bit of flat vocal delivery.

What I feared the entire album would be like, originally.

 

The Handler: A nod to Muse's old style done right; manages to not feel derivative despite the ending actually morphing into an old song (love that.) Dark, powerful, and another insanely good ending.

The solo could seriously have used trimming; goes on forever with little or no variation/build up

 

Defector: Probably my least favorite song on the album. Still don't hate it and often listen to it in context of the album, but not without. It's kind of fun, but again repetitious, without ever really building into anything special.

 

Revolt: Despite having some lyrics and themes that actually piss me off ("you can grow" and the motivational poster ending to the "story" that you can simply wish your way out of a bad situation) I really like this song. That probably says a lot about how appealing I think it sounds.

Love the tempo change, the vocal deliveries are some of my favorite; sounds like a big musical number, and I really like it. Even though it kills whatever story or point the album was building to.

Super conflicting.

 

Aftermath: the vocal delivery of the first and last lines are confusingly bad. Probably could have done without Mutt's sing a long at the end, which ends up making it way too cheesy. I really like the guitar work, though, and the song ends up being above average for me as a whole.

Completely biased as it's my bf's favorite song on the album, and it inspired him to start learning guitar. Cannot be objective.

 

The Globalist: was initially very disappointed that much of the song is a cover, but ultimately think Matt did a good job of using existing material to add to the emotional context of the song (and honestly, they've been doing this to different extents their entire career; just not always so obviously.) The ending part may go on a little long, but the vocal deliveries particularly in that part are tremendous.

The slide guitar, and the heavy bits in the middle are amazing.

I enjoy it greatly.

 

Drones: I still look at this like TG's ending, and it works well as such. Lyrics are awful, but I still find the song terribly beautiful. Another "what could have been" certainly, as it would have been absolutely beautiful with better lyrics.

 

Overall, love the album dearly despite it's flaws. Nearly as much as Abso.

Lyrics are too obvious, story didn't pan out well as a concept, and repetition is a problem.

Matt's vocal delivery and the emotion running through most of the songs redeems the entire thing for me, though. Muse's music hasn't grabbed me this much in over a decade.

 

Voice over stuff should have been completely removed. The Drill Sgt stuff in particular.

[kueller]

The album has surprisingly grown on me. I did not expect it to. I don't know where I'd rank it.

[Clunge]

Dead Inside - 9/10

[Drill Sergeant] + Psycho - 7/10

Mercy - 4/10

Reapers - 9.5/10

The Handler - 8.5/10

[JFK] + Defector - 5/10

Revolt - 5.5/10

Aftermath - 5/10

The Globalist - 4/10

Drones - 6/10

 

The Globalist is just such a wasted opportunity. I love the idea of the three elements, but they're all mega cheese, tired, clichéd sections, very poorly glued together.

 

Aftermath also suffers from having all the right elements, badly used. Psycho would be fine if it was about a minute and a half shorter.

 

I actually feel I'm being a little harsh on Mercy. I think I actually might prefer it to Starlight, as it's quite bombastic and heavy - and it's decent live.

 

All in all, it's a so-so album. It failed to deliver the 'back-to-basics' approach the band bigged up. But it was worth it for Dead Inside, Reapers and The Handler, which are all fantastic.

[Museic Syndrome]

Now I finally feel like I can judge the album properly and compare it to the others. I'd say that Muse had something really good going here. Psycho, Dead Inside, The Handler, Reapers, Defector, The Globalist and even Drones were brilliant parts of the album. But sadly the rest is just poor. Mercy follows the same recipe as Starlight, Easily, TIRO and Follow Me to some extent but sadly it just doesn't grab me. The piano melody is dull and the chorus just has so little going on.

 

Aftermath and Revolt should have been b-sides at best. Muse and cheese is such a gamble. Blackout, Endlessly and SFA manage to maintain a serious tone without sounding cheesy. Invincible and Soldier's Poem are right on the edge, but still sound like proper, honest songs. Then on TR they go into parody territory with IBTY, USoE and Guiding Light. The first two are fun, while GL is just dull.

 

Then we got Explorers, which tries to make the cheese serious again, but at this point Matt seems to have forgotten how to write honest ballads that aren't cliche, cheese and parody of love songs.

 

And since then, they haven't really been able to recover. I really wish that Matt can start writing ballads/power-ballads that feel sincere again, but honestly I'm starting to doubt if they'll ever get rid of that almost musical-esque melodrama.

 

 

 

Briiliant. And kinda depressing, cuz you are spot on...

[hyper_chondriac_muser]

Dead Inside 7/10

Drill Sergeant + Psycho 8/10

Mercy 6/10

Reapers 9/10

The Handler 10/10

JFK + Defector 7/10

Revolt 5/10

Aftermath 5/10

The Globalist 10/10

Drones 4/10

 

 

I'm surprised at the amount of Dead Inside loving It's good, and way better than the likes of Madness or UD, but I don't find it a standout track. I'm basically at a point where I just repeat Reapers, The Handler and The Globalist and ignore the rest. Occasionally I'll listen to Psycho cos it's still super beefy and fun and reminds me of the epic Psycho Tour days, but the rest is kinda forgettable, tbh. I do like DI, JFK+Defector but again, by my high Muse standards, they're average.

[MartianSpaghettiRider]

Well, time to give another shot at it, after almost seven, long months.

 

Dead Inside - 8,8/10

Psycho - 7,7/10

Mercy - 8/10

Reapers - 9,4/10

The Handler - 9,2/10

Defector - 8,5/10

Revolt - 7/10 (Yes, it has incredibly grown on me. I like the instrumental and all of its solutions)

Aftermath - 7,5/10

The Globalist - 9,7/10

Drones - 8/10 (So-so lyrics, but the form they've given to it makes it all up!)

 

Overall: 8,8/10

 

Seems to me it's aging quite well as a whole. Well done, Muse.

 

EDIT: I've actually gone back seeing my first review... and I've realised my vote for Revolt hasn't changed...

What the hell I was thinking?!?

Edited January 29, 2016 by MartianSpaghettiRider

[Jobby]

loooong soz

 

Dead Inside (7/10) - Solid pop rock tune with some great vocals, still not a fan of the 'Dead Inside!' wails or the 90s boyband synth bits though. Surprisingly fun to play on guitar.

 

Drill Sergeant (2/10) - Unnecessary cheesy (the cringe-worthy kind) concept blubber.

 

Psycho (8/10) - Tad repetitive at times, though less noticeable than when it first came out, but brilliant fun. Verses are catchy and groovy af. Only thing holding it back are the overly-silly 'fucking psycho' vocals, would much rather they were kept as the same distorted vocals as in the pre-chorus.

 

Mercy (5/10) - Catchy vocal melody in the verses but, other than that, 100% Muse by the numbers. Chorus and breakdown feel particularly phoned in. It's not horrible (and it's surprisingly decent live), but it's not exciting.

 

Reapers (8/10) - By rights should be one of my favourite songs they've ever done but just...isn't for some reason. Feels kinda 'cold' throughout, an old TR criticism. Love the tapping + whammy sections and the chorus. The pre-chorus and solo are fun too but the verses feel slightly feel out of place (maybe too serious compared to the rest of the song) and a bit tacked on for some reason. The outro is honestly pretty unnecessary and throwaway for me as well but it's massive live so I guess I'm glad it's there.

 

The Handler (7.5/10) - Good but not the godsend that it seems to be for most other people. The really nice eerie falsettos and the build-up to the final climax are probably the highlights. Particularly love the subtle 'robot/electronic' effects during the verses. The riff's pretty cool/dark too but doesn't grab me as much as, say, Fury's for some reason. Solo gets real repetitive half-way through and starts to slow it down though, and the lyrics are once again Drones-ified.

 

JFK (9/10) - Great transition track imo. Love the melody of the strings and the dissonant guitar that cuts through. Only thing is it's a bit quiet for some reason and I wish the guitar was way louder in the mix.

 

Defector (6/10 normal, 7/10 edited) - I've edited my version down to get rid of the first chorus, otherwise it's way too repetitive. Like Mercy, it generally feels pretty uninspired with generic 'fight da powr' lyrics, a dull riff and a...weird chorus but the solo - mmm buddy. Maybe the best Matt's ever done with Invincible imo, love that melody and I'm always a sucker for whammy action.

 

Revolt (8/10) - The amount of fun is unreal, particularly during the verses. Love the three-note riff and beat and the chorus gives me a huge shit-eating grin, so that's gotta be a good thing. One of their best pop tracks, up there with Supermassive and UD.

Aftermath (2/10) - Starts off so promising with those eerie synths/distant vocals/strings and bluesy guitar but holy fuckaroo does it go downhill real fast after that. One of the most by-the-numbers, boring, soulless ballads I've ever heard with some horrifically clashing vocals, backing vocals and guitar in the climax. For me, the worst song they've ever done.

 

The Globalist (6/10) - Ultimately feels really contrived to me, like Matt was trying too hard to manufacture an epic prog rock song or a 'Citizen Erased 2'. I had a feeling that was going to happen ever since he started building it up as that though, so I wasn't as disappointed as everyone else. Middle section is, admittedly, brilliant though imo, especially those operatic/choral vocals.

 

Drones (7/10) - Lovely vocal harmonies, not really much else you can say Maybe would've preferred it with an actual choir behind it though, as opposed to just 4 Matts. Horribly cringe-worthy lyrics as noted but, fortunately, I only really hear them if I really pay attention (apart from that 'are you dead inside?' bit *shudder*).

 

Overall - Generally enjoyable songs but ultimately feels cold and hard to relate or attach to (for the most part) because of the overly-heavy concept, which stops me from being able to see it as more than 'decent'. Master/mixing seems really patchy too, sometimes things sound good-to-great (The Globalist, Revolt, Psycho, Defector solo) but then other times feels a bit overly-distorted and loud (The Handler, Mercy).

[Seaking]

Muse - Drones

 

I finally decided to give this entire album a listen. I still had not heard 4 songs.

 

Dead Inside

Not as bad as I thought it was when I first heard it on the radio. It's a decent song. It can probably be grouped together with the other Queen-wannabe songs they have done.

 

Drill Sergeant + Psycho

This is just boring. The Psycho riff used to sound so great at the end of SS that it is honestly kind of disappointing to see how boring the song turned out. It could have been a good song but it is just too repetitive and long. Good chorus though.

 

Mercy

Muse rips off Muse. It is not bad but it is also not good. Muse has done pop-rock much better than this in the past.

 

Reapers

Not a fan of this song. It has parts that I like (Chorus and the solo starting around 3:20) though. I would like the song more without the end riff. I'm sure it's a monster live but I'm feeling it on the album.

 

The Handler

This is a good song. It does not knock my socks off at any point but overall it is a solid song that I enjoy. My favourite on the album (at the time of writing I still had not heard the entire album though. Will mention if it changes). I think Muse accomplished what they were trying to do with this song. Wish most of the album sounded like it.

 

JFK + Defector

What did JFK do to deserve this ... Nah I'm just joking. This song is in the decent to good range. Would have liked if the JFK part didn't leak into Defector at the end though.

 

Revolt

Do not like it but I do like the choruses. The chorus pulls off that kind of 80s cheese vibe that I think they were trying to go for. Even the lyrics in the chorus do a good job of complementing that. The verses are boring though.

 

Aftermath

Oh boy ... This is a first impression. Man that chanting in the background gives me a bad feeling about this song. Fuck it. I'm just going to stream of consciousness the rest of this album. Beginning reminds me of that Dire Straits song. Still has that Dire Straits feeling going on (oh yes the song is Brothers in Arms). Two minutes into the song and I still feel like I'm listening to the intro. Ok this is just a worse version of Brothers in Arms. It's just Matt and I against the world . I knew I was special. Nope. Nope. No no no no no no no. So Chris and Dom have axed really good songs in the past but somehow this makes it onto an album that is already over 50 minutes long :Muse: . I've already heard the Globalist and I did not like it (spoiler alert) but this is worse. Christ we are going to get a T2L style album collapse huh.

 

The Globalist

I wonder who did the whistling in this song. Anyways, whistling in songs (non-soundtrack ones that is) should have been outlawed after Hocus Pocus by Focus. They did it best. Shall never be beat. It isn't a Muse album without military style drums at one point. There is no reason for this song to exist. This song would be better without the first four minutes which are boring. I like this riff though. The melody at the end of this song reminds me of another Muse song. Can't remember which one. As a whole I'm not a fan of this song. I think it actually becomes enjoyable once the riff kicks in but the problem is I have to listen to almost five minutes of boring music to get there.

 

Drones

Nah. Do not dislike the idea of it but overall it isn't really worth listening to it.

 

 

Overall, Muse lost their dinosaur.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8gY0IT0CuA

 

They kept talking about returning to their roots but I guess they never considered whether or not they could pull it off. I was worried that it would happen. ( http://board.muse.mu/showpost.php?p=10614091&postcount=5022 )

[PsychoBride67]

Muse Drones Review

 

Dead Inside 8/10

At first, I wasn't very keen on the song, but it grew on me... a lot

Drill Sergeant+Psycho 9/10

I was listening to Psycho all the time after my first Muse gig. I remembered the visuals and decided to search Muse's youtube channel until I found the song. It did not disappoint:p

Mercy 3/10

Mercy pisses me off... I don't know why, but I really hate the intro (despite liking Starlight), then the rest of the song just annoys me:mad:

Reapers 9/10

Fucking wicked... do I really need to explain why?

The Handler 10/10

Undoubtedly the darkest track on the album. Ace riff...I can't describe it in words... IT IS SOO GOOOD!!!

JFK+Defector 7/10

Like Dead Inside, it took me a while to get into this song, but I think the riff is a bit crap, following up Psycho and The Handler

Revolt 3/10

Fucking cheesy... on the same level as Mercy for the reason that it pisses me off every time I hear it

Aftermath 4/10

Disappointed with this song- especially since Matt talked about it so much before Drones was released.

The Globalist 8.5/10

I LOVE the Globalist! At first, I wasn't sure whether a 10 min track was going to be that good... I was mistaken:p

Drones 2/10

Chanting. Endless Chanting. Not my thing.

[jinger]

dead inside 6/10 - so gone up since last time i rated it

psycho 3/10 still incredibly repetitive, i skip this song whenever it appears on a device now

mercy 5/10 alright song, better than starlight

reapers 8/10 best song on album

the handler 6/10 bridge was twice as long as it should have been and i still feel like it is missing something

defector 3/10 as repetitive as psycho with crap lyrics. good solo though

revolt 3/10 its gone up in score since i last rated it but that's only because i thought i was being a bit harsh, still hate it though

aftermath 5/10 i like this one still, it just doesnt feel like it fits on the album for some reason

globalist 6/10 a good job but it feels like they could have done much better

drones 1/10 still gives me a massive headache whenever i hear it

 

overall rating for the album: 5/10

[White Heat]

Dead Inside (7/10) - It's ok, killer bassline though.

 

 

Drill Sergeant (5/10) - Doesn't really fit in the album but it's a damn good live intro.

 

 

Psycho (8/10) - Great riff and overall groove but it goes on for too long. Another live Muse anthem.

 

 

Mercy (7/10) - Solid and surprisingly catchy, a monster live aswell.

 

 

Reapers (10/10) - Best Muse has done since BHR, absolutely killer progressive rock or whatever it is, also amazing guitar work in every aspect of the song. Personally i'd have left out the outro and just play Freedom in live performances.

 

 

The Handler (9/10) - One of the heaviest Muse songs ever, would have gotten a 10 if it wasn't for the repetitive and excessively long solo. Great guitar work once again and pretty good lyrics.

 

 

JFK (10/10) - It actually works great, nice choice.

 

 

Defector (4/10) - Cool riff and solo, absolutely atrocious vocals and lyrics.

 

 

Revolt (9/10) - Amazing, just amazing. Best lyrics on the album (except the chorus), i just cant help but sing this. The way Matt sings the whole song except the chorus gives me life.

 

 

Aftermath (5/10) - Great first half, but the second half i wouldn't say is horrible but definitely could've been better.

 

 

The Globalist (4/10) - I knew it was going to be shit since the reviews said it was the best song on the album. Until the heavy riff kicks in is a great song but after that it could have been an epic song and ended up as an opportunity wasted. Don't think i ever got to the second part all the way through.

 

 

Drones (4/10) - Just like Drill Sergeant doesn't fit the album, although live is decent.

 

 

Album (7/10) - Good, solid and fun album. I don't think there is any actual filler song excluding DS,JFK and Drones obviously. I don't really know anything about production but as far as i can tell all instrument tones are spot on, especially for the heavy riffs.

 

The only production fault i see in this album are the excessive long and boring solos in a few songs, those could have been done way better.

[LewisF]

Revolt (9/10) - Amazing, just amazing. Best lyrics on the album (except the chorus), i just cant help but sing this. The way Matt sings the whole song except the chorus gives me life.

 

I hope that bit's tongue in cheek but I agree on the fact that Revolt is an absolute tune (just with not so great lyrics!)

[serpentsatellite]

The lyrics before (and after) the "you can grow/make this world what you want" bullshit are actually quite good.

[LewisF]

Wouldn't say their the 'best on the whole album' though not bad though

 

The vocal melody to the 'you can revolt' parts in the chorus is just <3

[Hat]

The vocal melody to the 'you can revolt' parts in the chorus is just <3

Yep. Thanks Bono.

[kueller]

Favorite lyrics:

 

Dead Inside

Reapers

The Globalist

...the rest

[forevermusic]

I still like most of it. Even Drones, which was very hard to like.

 

I ignore Revolt & Aftermath, neither of which I'm bothered by, but I am on board for the majority of the rest. Some lyrics are a bit naff, and Mercy/Defector aren't songs I'm as bothered by, but its a pretty solid album, plus Reapers & The Handler are great.