Muse may have made its last album, says drummer

[pookiepookie]

 

The English band’s Grammy-nominated concept album, ‘Drones,’ may be its last, says drummer Dominic Howard, who performs with Muse Thursday at Valley View Casino Center.

 

http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/jan/06/muse-drummer-dominic-howard-interview/

 

Source: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/

[lukester911]

To save you all from clickbait, Dom means that the way people listen to music is changing, and Drones may have been the last time they release music as an album.

 

Misleading headlines. Woo.

[DifferentPerson]

I'm sure they've been talking about releasing music in different ways to an album since long before Drones.

[serpentsatellite]

Since at least the TR era.

 

Are there other bands out there being successful with releasing just a string of "singles"?

[JessicaSarahS]

I'm sure they've been talking about releasing music in different ways to an album since long before Drones.

 

Yep.

[ninsp]

Since at least the TR era.

 

Are there other bands out there being successful with releasing just a string of "singles"?

 

No.

 

People don't like the new Muse albums as much as the old ones because they're not as good. Notice it's always bands past their prime repeating this rhetoric.

[serpentsatellite]

That's a bit subjective, innit? I think Drones is their most consistently quality album in a decade or so.

 

It's also not just "bands in their prime" having these issues.

People have always leaned towards just listening to singles, it's just accelerated now because of how easy it is to just GET that one song.

In my day, you had to buy the whole album, or a physical single that was half the price anyways.

I probably had hundreds of albums i never got all the way through, in my prime.

 

The flip is now true, where it should be easier for a band to do single song releases; I just shudder to think of Muse doing it, as I've mostly found their singles to be the worst of the albums, post Abso.

 

Wonder if they feel it would improve crowds not knowing the songs.

[Jobby]

Yeah, they've been saying this shit since at least TR, maybe even BH&R iirc. I guess it might hold slightly more weight now considering how much they've been talking about making Drones a concept album just to give people a reason to listen to it as a whole and how they now don't know what to do next but idk, take it with a massive pinch of salt.

 

Personally I'd be interested in seeing them trying some EPs in the hopes that it lead to some focused (which Drones was tbf), experimental stuff and just to see how they'd integrate that formula into their live schedule. I don't think they'll stop making albums altogether though, and I don't think I'd want them to either.

 

Edit: If we got a mini tour for each release ala Psycho, I'd be down as fuck

Edited January 6, 2016 by Jobby

[MartianSpaghettiRider]

Yeah, they've been saying this shit since at least TR, maybe even BH&R iirc. I guess it might hold slightly more weight now considering how much they've been talking about making Drones a concept album just to give people a reason to listen to it as a whole and how they now don't know what to do next but idk, take it with a massive pinch of salt.

 

Personally I'd be interested in seeing them trying some EPs in the hopes that it lead to some focused (which Drones was tbf), experimental stuff and just to see how they'd integrate that formula into their live schedule. I don't think they'll stop making albums altogether though, and I don't think I'd want them to either.

 

Edit: If we got a mini tour for each release ala Psycho, I'd be down as fuck

 

Twenty-minute or half-an-hour suites or "symphonies" in which they experiment with everything they want... I'd adore it.

[Bri7290]

As long as they stay together for as long as possible I'm good

[panikstacey]

This thread makes me assume this whole thing about "Drones is the last album" is fake. Whew.

 

Still not the best clickbait article of Muse I ever knew of. (I still remember someone had guts to put up an article about their new album (that happened before Drones) which, the article said, is something like "whole song is an album" kind of a thing (remember Delìrium Còrdia?). I even managed to remember the title (The Legend of Mankind..? I think?) and one of the "track names" (Disco at the Heart). I had fun reading this back then. I need to find it back sometime later... just for lelz... And I see that this discussion went different before my post so I apologize if everything is gonna go the other way since my post.

[forevermusic]

I seem to recall Matt saying this in an NME cover article just before I joined the board at the tail-end of the Black Holes tour. Pretty sure it was also said at some point before The 2nd Law was announced, and also that Matt said it while they were doing the press tour for that album.

 

There does seem to be more consistent talk of trying it - Chris was suggesting they may try a singles thing next time at the start of this touring campaign and both he and Matt had been discussing the demise of the album, and now Dom saying it here. But I guess we won't know for sure until after these touring commitments are wrapped up and the production for what follows next begins.

[serpentsatellite]

I personally would rather have an entire album of material, instead of playing one song to death waiting for another (or disliking it and not playing it at all, which would make it feel like Muse was on a hiatus, or something.)

But, if they recorded a lot of material and released it one at a time like Drones started - albeit on a longer timeframe - it could work.

 

If they record a song or two at a time, and release them like that, I would be very nervous.

I know they keep saying they don't want to make "radio singles" but seeing their reactions to criticism and misreading of their audience, I think public opinion to individual songs could cause them to quickly taper off into cranking out a bunch of "safe" Starlight clones, because they're striving to stay relevant between songs on a much shorter schedule.

[MartianSpaghettiRider]

I personally would rather have an entire album of material, instead of playing one song to death waiting for another (or disliking it and not playing it at all, which would make it feel like Muse was on a hiatus, or something.)

But, if they recorded a lot of material and released it one at a time like Drones started - albeit on a longer timeframe - it could work.

 

If they record a song or two at a time, and release them like that, I would be very nervous.

I know they keep saying they don't want to make "radio singles" but seeing their reactions to criticism and misreading of their audience, I think public opinion to individual songs could cause them to quickly taper off into cranking out a bunch of "safe" Starlight clones, because they're striving to stay relevant between songs on a much shorter schedule.

 

Or, they could finally step up their game and begin to make more experimental and complex material, along the usual radio singles. Focusing on one or two songs at time, in fact, might allow them to make more qualitative and surprising tracks, I hope.

[maturefan]

Frightening fans unnecessarily. Not good.

[matthijs]

Then again, their might be a natural disaster killing the band... that would make this the last album too