Museings Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 1. Dark Side - one of the best Muse tracks ever 2. Thought Contagion - epic 3. Dig Down - great ballad but feels like Madness Part 2 as many people said. Not sure why some hate on it tohugh, positive ballads are great. 4. Blockades - Butterflies and Hurricanes feel 5. Algorithm - will be on PS4 game trailers for sure 6. Something Human - great ballad spoilt by too much Hugh, man. Sort it out Hugh. 7. Pressure - fun relief 8. Propaganda - unnecessary erranty but its ok 9. Void - They're wrong 10. Get Up And Fight -Positive ballad but a bit of a B side lyrically, could have been more refined, could have been great. Shame, it didnt need much to make it great, just some attention to avoid repeated lyrics. 11. somethings gone missing. Brain overloaded with Muse, sorry. Dark Side has gone straight into number 2 on my Muse playlist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyjackk Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 3. Dig Down - great ballad but feels like Madness Part 2 as many people said. Not sure why some hate on it tohugh, positive ballads are great. 8. Propaganda - unnecessary erranty but its ok 9. Void - They're wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryoma-kun Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 1. Dark Side - one of the best Muse tracks ever 2. Thought Contagion - epic 3. Dig Down - great ballad but feels like Madness Part 2 as many people said. Not sure why some hate on it tohugh, positive ballads are great. 4. Blockades - Butterflies and Hurricanes feel 5. Algorithm - will be on PS4 game trailers for sure 6. Something Human - great ballad spoilt by too much Hugh, man. Sort it out Hugh. 7. Pressure - fun relief 8. Propaganda - unnecessary erranty but its ok 9. Void - They're wrong 10. Get Up And Fight -Positive ballad but a bit of a B side lyrically, could have been more refined, could have been great. Shame, it didnt need much to make it great, just some attention to avoid repeated lyrics. 11. somethings gone missing. Brain overloaded with Muse, sorry. Dark Side has gone straight into number 2 on my Muse playlist. Wow. Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DownAndOut Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Blockades The Dark Side Algorithm The Void Thought Contagion Pressure Something Human Get Up And Fight Dig Down Propaganda Break It To Me After 7 or 8 listens - and of course having heard nearly half the album in advance via the official YouTube videos - it is definitely my least favourite studio album by the band. However, there are enough decent - and totally bonkers - moments for me to keep the faith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skinio Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Anyone else who has the vinyl with the last song from gamma as the first on delta? Or am i the only one with this unique piece ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Museings Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 (edited) Wow. Sent fra min SM-G930F via Tapatalk i know right? Muse albums tend to be so chock of blinders that is ranking them is an injustice, and this one is typically so. Even the usual duffer track is hotly debatable. I am just glad they are back on track after Drones (which didnt have any real blinders). But Drones was not bad. The only real criticism for ST from me is that Muse are repeating themselves, some of the tracks are clear clones of past ones. But tho originals are great so these are too, why change a good thing? Eventually that trick will stop working but its fine until they evolve into something fresher. Edited November 12, 2018 by Museings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Museings Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 sorry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobby Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 The only real criticism for ST from me is that Muse are repeating themselves, some of the tracks are clear clones of past ones. Which, other than Dig Down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Museings Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 (edited) Which, other than Dig Down? you know, thingy, the one that goes all hurricanes and butterflies, it even shares its abrupt ending. I hope i have got the name right..Blockades? Get Up and Fight feels like a Bside rework of Revolt. Like I say though, not a strong criticism since they all sound good enough, like watching a good remake of an solid movie or tv series eg the new Roots series or the first reboot Spiderman movie. But I dont expect them to be releasing a similar song five years from now. A third Roots reboot would be too much, like a third Spiderman was (Homecoming), and I dont want another Madness in 2020. Man I hope they do another album by 2020. Edited November 12, 2018 by Museings Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musekiddo Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 (edited) Finally got some time to write a brief review of Simulation Theory (Deluxe). Algorithm - Really cool and epic Sci-Fi sounding song to open the album. The dark synth sound interests me, obviously very Blade Runner-esque (lyrically too). The build-up and pacing is nice. They haven't nailed an album opener like this since Take A Bow for me. Will be an absolute belter live, hopefully as the opener. The Dark Side - Flows well as the following track to Algorithm. Keeps the momentum of the album going with more atmospheric synths. The verses really stand out in this song, with Matt hitting some high notes reminiscent of the Origin of Symmetry era. Chorus is pretty good but a bit repetitive. The song could've benefited from a different outro after the solo instead of just repeating the chorus again. All-round solid track though. Pressure - Another repetitive track with some nice riffs but again, could've benefited from being 30 seconds to a minute shorter. Definitely one of the catchiest songs on the album and an obvious single. Nothing too surprising for them. Propaganda - Weird track. Muse still haven't nailed the sexy 'Prince' kind of sound they have gone for in the past (Madness, Undisclosed Desires) and they just fall short here too imo. The reason being the robotic 'Propaganda' parts don't really flow well with the rest of the track. That part in particular stood out as being quite clunky to me, but the rest of the track is pretty good. An interesting change of pace for the album. Break it to Me - An unexpected track that I quite like. Starts out quite minimal but goes in almost a funk direction. Hard to describe but I also like the use of the vocal effects in this track. A solid scratchy sounding guitar solo too. Something Human - A really refreshing track for Muse in my opinion. At first I didn't like it. The programmed beats and positive vibe turned me off, but it's grown on me quite a bit and I can see it's just an honest, heartfelt track from the boys. This made for a good driving song on the way to and from Sydney on the weekend too. Thought Contagion - The 'Fury' comparison by Matt was spot on with this track. Probably the rockiest and most straight forward track on the album. The bassline is vintage Muse and the chorus grabbed me right away. As is the case with some of the other singles, the song suffers a bit from repetition I'm glad they re-recorded this for the album as Matt's vocal delivery of the verses sounds a bit less in your face, which I prefer. The little piano tinkle leading into the chorus is a nice touch too. Looks like a great live track. Get Up and Fight - There's not much to say about this track, except that it's total trash. I don't understand why they insist on putting a power pop song like this on the album as it really doesn't fit in with the rest of it. This track is one of their worst ever and brings the rest of the album down a bit unfortunately. Even Revolt and Big Freeze shit on this song in my opinion. Blockades - Just like their terrible flowing setlists, Muse bounce back straight away following the disaster of the last track. Backed by some neat 80s video-game arpeggios, Blockades includes almost everything that made me listen to Muse in the first place. Heavy guitar, interesting use of electronics, meaningful piano and a chorus the blows you away with its sheer power and energy. The only thing this track is missing for me is a heavy outro (preferably piano) to top it off as it kind of just stops. Dig Down - This track doesn't appeal to me much at all. Slow building and the pay-off isn't great. Second half to last third of the track is OK, especially live when the acoustic drums kick in. The Void - They really nailed this atmospheric and synth-heavy closing track. It goes in a few unexpected directions, and ties the album together really well. On a side note, I'm saddened the acoustic version wasn't included on the Deluxe version of the album, as the piano suits the vibe of this song to a tee. Algorithm (Alternate Reality version) - Just when you think this song can't get any better, it arguably does. I can't decide if I prefer the orchestra in this version opposed to the synths in the other or not, but I think they made the right choice with album placement (main version suits vibe of album more). The arpeggio build up, epic drumming and Matt's vocal delivery are so impressive; this is the most cinematic I've ever heard Muse. I love the other version but this one just blew me away. Propoganda/Something Human (Acoustic) - Putting these two together because I don't think each one is really different enough from the album versions to be separate acoustic tracks. There are obviously some production differences in Something Human, but I would've replaced Propaganda acoustic with The Void acoustic in a heartbeat. Dig Down (Acoustic Gospel version) - When I saw the Jools Holland rendition of this song it really took me by surprise. It's so much more suited to this style and in my opinion, they should've replaced the album version with this to shake things up a bit. Partly because Dig Down came out so long ago too. Overall, this album has proven to me that Muse can still bring fresh ideas and inspiration to the table, whilst still progressing their sound. They haven't done that so successfully since Black Holes and Revelations I don't think. Despite there being a broad range of styles on this album, it manages to flow reasonably well as a single piece largely to the recurring use of Sci-Fi landscapes and electronics. This is their best album since The Resistance for me, probably a 7-7.5 out of 10. Edited November 13, 2018 by musekiddo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel_Tufnel Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 It seems like people's opinion of the album hinges on how they rate Propaganda and BITM. Those who love those songs also favor the album. Similarly, folks who dislike those songs have not gotten on board with the album as a whole. Probably speaks to fans' willingness to follow the band in this particular direction. Those songs are the most polarizing from what I've observed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musefanva Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 I'm a fan of this album as a whole. Pressure is growing on me although the chorus doesn't quite do it for me. Dig Down is as 'meh' as it was a year and a half ago. I also can't stop listening to The Void. Holy shit that one is good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dysfunco Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 (edited) Thought Contagion - The 'Fury' comparison by Matt was spot on with this track. Probably the rockiest and most straight forward track on the album. The bassline is vintage Muse and the chorus grabbed me right away. As is the case with some of the other singles, the song suffers a bit from repetition I'm glad they re-recorded this for the album as Matt's vocal delivery of the verses sounds a bit less in your face, which I prefer. The little piano tinkle leading into the chorus is a nice touch too. Looks like a great live track. What made you think it would be "re-recorded"? Just compared my Itunes copy from earlier this year with the final album track. Didn't really hear a difference at all, more than some subtle frequency differences -- probably due to better quality more than anything else. But vocals, or anything else for that matter, was certainly not recorded again. To my ears it's the very same vocal track. Edited November 12, 2018 by Dysfunco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunge Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 1. Break It To Me 2. Propaganda 3. Algorithm 4. The Void [break It To Me remix] [The Dark Side AR version] [Dig Down acoustic gospel version] 5. The Dark Side [something Human acoustic] [Propaganda acoustic] [The Void acoustic] [Algorithm AR version] 6. Something Human 7. Get Up And Fight 8. Pressure 9. Blockades [The Dark Side AR version instrumental] 10. Thought Contagion [Pressure UCLA version] [Thought Contagion live] 11. Dig Down I think Thought Contagion will eventually end up my least favourite tbh. It's just shite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
confusedyoungman Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 And to think Propaganda was just Matt making fun of his speech impediment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clunge Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Astonished frankly at how much I love the gospel version of DD . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonisdead Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Astonished frankly at how much I love the gospel version of DD . It's definitely very well done, much better than the original Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Man_In_Showbiz Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 1. The Dark Side 2. Blockades 3. The Void 4. Algorithm 5. Propaganda 6. Break it to Me 7. Thought Contagion 8. Pressure 9. Get Up And Fight 10 Dig Down 11. Something Human Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Saint Rockwell Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 (edited) Propopopopopopopoganda Muh muh muh muh muh muh muh mad mad mad This album would've made a strong EP Man I hope they do another album by 2020. I hope they don't come back til 2022 and maybe if we're lucky it will be with something that tops the first four records Edited November 12, 2018 by Saint Rockwell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenbanana Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Am loving The Dark Side AR more and more with each listen, it's great. Also have been tentatively trying out an alternate album that runs as follows: 1. Algorithm 2. The Dark Side 3. Pressure 4. Propaganda 5. Break It To Me 6. Something Human 7. Dig Down 8. Blockades 9. The Dark Side (AR) 10. The Void Getting rid of the 2 dross tracks in a row and not having Dig Down --> The Void makes a big difference. Potentially Blockades --> The Void is a better transition than TDS AR --> The Void, but I like the idea of it returning as a haunting reprise of the original Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frozenbanana Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 Also gave The Resistance a spin today to work out whether I prefer it to Simulation Theory or not. 4 takeaways: 1) MK Ultra is far less annoying than I remember it 2) I'm actually fond of Guiding Light now after all these years, it's the OG appallingly cheesy Muse song and did it more ridiculously, incongruously and successfully than anything since 3) Exogenesis has no place being on the album, 4) I Belong To You is shit and deserves more hate for how it tonally wrecks the album , it's a fucking comedy song about nonsense in the middle of this weird sci-fi 1984 love story conspiracy thing It's close... the highs of Simulation Theory are higher (except for Exo) but there are some great rock sections in The Resistance and I can't just say "except for Exo" and leave it at that, because it is on the album after all... Eeesh. Simulation Theory for the cohesion atm I reckon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jobby Posted November 12, 2018 Share Posted November 12, 2018 you know, thingy, the one that goes all hurricanes and butterflies, it even shares its abrupt ending. I hope i have got the name right..Blockades? Get Up and Fight feels like a Bside rework of Revolt. Neither of those warrant calling them ‘clones’ or examples of the band repeating themselves though imo. That’s just two small moments in Blockades echoing B&H slightly and GUAF/Revolt is really only in tone, there’s not much musically similar to them to my ears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forevermusic Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 I'm not really in a position to rate things yet. Only real thing for me is that its between Algorithm, Dark Side and Break It To Me for top, with Blockades as an outside favourite. It seems like people's opinion of the album hinges on how they rate Propaganda and BITM. Those who love those songs also favor the album. Similarly, folks who dislike those songs have not gotten on board with the album as a whole. Probably speaks to fans' willingness to follow the band in this particular direction. Those songs are the most polarizing from what I've observed. Break It To Me seems less divisive than Propaganda IMO, although I'm aware some people don't necessarily rate it. I'm still not quite on board with Propaganda as of yet, although I'm closer to it than I was when I started and decided on first listen to go elsewhere. I have warmed up to it, and I like the vocoder riffing and the slide acoustic solo, but the whole package (in both electric and acoustic version) is still proving a bit odd to really get my head fully around. Astonished frankly at how much I love the gospel version of DD . Oh yeah it wipes the floor with the LP version. Hopefully with all this talk of bringing lots of extra performers with them that it gets a crack on the upcoming tour instead of the Madness clone original. Even if I like the solo and final chorus, the difference is pretty vast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musekiddo Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 What made you think it would be "re-recorded"? Just compared my Itunes copy from earlier this year with the final album track. Didn't really hear a difference at all, more than some subtle frequency differences -- probably due to better quality more than anything else. But vocals, or anything else for that matter, was certainly not recorded again. To my ears it's the very same vocal track. Hmm yeah the vocals sounded slightly different to me originally but listening back just then, I think you're right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukePT Posted November 13, 2018 Share Posted November 13, 2018 F hell 64 on metacritic that went down quickly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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