Album Eight: Simulation Theory

[Tim59]

I don't really mind GUAF. The verses are nice. Especially the instrumental.

[MartianSpaghettiRider]

I don't really mind GUAF. The verses are nice. Especially the instrumental.

 

The verses wouldn't be bad at all if Tove Lo "ah ah's" weren't there. They actually remind me of New Born ones, only in major key.

The real problem is the chorus: powerful, yeah, but it's shamelessly vanilla pop-rock.

[schrraw]

I agree.. because unlike some of you, I did not pay much attention at all to any of the songs released in advance all because I HATED "Dig Down." I actually assumed I had outgrown the band. I caught glimpses of the videos as they were released, but really didn't engage myself in listening.

 

So I'm really hearing these songs for the first time as part of the scope of the album and it changes everything. I am loving the album and suddenly I'm all on board. I snatched up tickets to a show yesterday, completely spontaneous.

 

"Dead Inside" got a similar reaction to me. I was "meh" about it as a first single, though nothing close to my completely underwhelmed reaction to "Dig Down." Once Drones came out, I started to appreciate the song more and seeing it live really highlighted just how good the vocals are on the song. Now I love it. It remains to be seen if this will occur with Dig Down.

 

 

I wonder if the gospel version of DD existed when they released it..? Cause I wasn't impressed when it came out but I didn't mind it, but now the other version totally rehabilitated it for me!

 

And like others said, if I can make an 'a la carte' album with some the acoustic/alternate versions, and forget that GUAF exists, I really really really love this album! And I was pretty afraid with ST since it looked it was gonna spread pretty far off my usual tastes, and yet like it happened for say, Madness, sometimes I'm surprised at how much I end up loving some songs!

 

And also I'm still impressed with how many good versions of different songs they can come up with.. It must indeed be very hard sometimes to decide which way to choose in the studio.. I just wish I was there to tell them so it's MY opinions and not Timbaland's (or whoever agreed those fucking Tove Lo's ahahs were ever worth putting in a song!)

[Nigel_Tufnel]

After digesting the album over the past week, my opinion hasn't really changed much. I think that Algorithm is a great ominous opener in the vein of Apocalypse Please and Take A Bow. The Void is a stunning dramatic closer like Ruled by Secrecy and Megalomania. The problem is that, aside from The Dark Side, I'm not entirely sold on anything in between.

 

The overload of electronics just turns me off. It's a stylistic choice on the band's part but not in line with my tastes. I like the slide guitar work in Propaganda but the obnoxious Pro-pro-pro-ganda bit ruins the song for me. Similarly, the stripped back detuned guitar and eastern flavor on BITM are cool enough but the pseudo-hip-hop and pitch-shifting vocals are off-putting. The bare-bones alternate versions of Something Human and Dig Down speak for themselves compared to the album versions.

 

The more rock-oriented tracks like Pressure, Blockades and Thought Contagion are not distinctive enough to have much staying power.

 

At the end of the day, there are some good songs and musical elements in there but I think the cold electronic excess spoils much of it. On the bright side, the production itself is impressive and the audio is reference quality stuff. Very dynamic with deep bass, my sub rattles the walls on several tracks.

[Zolic]

Ignore GUAF and Dig Down album version, and I'd say this album is massive. Best since at least TR, or even BHaR.

[LukePT]

I wonder if the gospel version of DD existed when they released it..? Cause I wasn't impressed when it came out but I didn't mind it, but now the other version totally rehabilitated it for me!

 

And like others said, if I can make an 'a la carte' album with some the acoustic/alternate versions, and forget that GUAF exists, I really really really love this album! And I was pretty afraid with ST since it looked it was gonna spread pretty far off my usual tastes, and yet like it happened for say, Madness, sometimes I'm surprised at how much I end up loving some songs!

 

And also I'm still impressed with how many good versions of different songs they can come up with.. It must indeed be very hard sometimes to decide which way to choose in the studio.. I just wish I was there to tell them so it's MY opinions and not Timbaland's (or whoever agreed those fucking Tove Lo's ahahs were ever worth putting in a song!)

Dig Down was writen with gospel in mind, but they changed it to fit the album.

[forevermusic]

In a more realistic world at least GUAF with a differerent chorus.

I'd like that more tbf. The verses are quite nice and I don't mind the Tove Lo vocals but the chorus is sub-par. Although the "Warped Tour but in the 80s" line in the song's individual thread is perhaps the fairest comment.

 

Though I will note a personal intrigue that Matt mentioned in the Radio X chat Shellback was a full-on metalhead who was in various Swedish rock bands and was even in the crowd for an Origin of Symmetry gig out there, and is now Taylor Swift's biggest contributor... that's a hell of a career trajectory.

[schrraw]

Dig Down was writen with gospel in mind, but they changed it to fit the album.

 

 

Oh ok.. It's a bit weird to me they changed it for the album, considering it came out so long ago, when a complete album seemed still so far off, but I guess even by then they had more stuff than I thought, and enough to have something to make it fit with.. Anyway, I guess I would have preferred the mismatch!

[MartianSpaghettiRider]

I think I solved my problem regarding the worn off novelty of the singles while listening to the album again this evening, guys. Wanna know how?

 

The good, ol' method of finding an alternative tracklist order.

 

I've discovered the official tracklist disposition doesn't really work for me: I feel the second part of ST (from TC onwards) is in jambles regarding the consistency of styles and moods of the tracks, with the result of not making me appreciate and value, within the album framework, even the songs I like the most which are present in that run (Blockades and The Void).

I wanted to share what I've come out with with all of you so that you may want to give it a try and tell me if it works nonetheless. Because for me it does, and now I can say my love and appreciation for the album as a whole has increased! Here's how my tracklist looks like:

 

TDS

SH

GUAF

TC

BITM

Propaganda

Pressure

Blockades

Algorithm

TV

DD

 

I'd like to explain the logic behind it, but I'm afraid it would take too long.

[Clunge]

I don't even need to listen to that to be able to already tell that looks completely awful as a tracklist. Algorithm is the only viable opener, and having Dig Down follow The Void would be the biggest anticlimax ever. DD is hidden on the album as best it can be 10th.

 

SH second? Again, that can only be anticlimactic.

[Hat]

What Clunge said.

[MartianSpaghettiRider]

Honestly, I'm baffled myself at the fact this works better for me than the official one.

It just flows better to my ears, because I chose the songs singularly by basing on an immediate connection I felt they could have between each other in terms of musical style, themes or sound, which I'm aware it may not be the same for other people.

[frozenbanana]

TC is one of the most fun and catchy songs they’ve released over the last 4 albums.

 

I said it

 

Lol I feel like you're at that same stage rn as when a person has just developed a serious crush on someone and finds every boring story they tell really interesting

[frutiger75]

The overload of electronics just turns me off. It's a stylistic choice on the band's part but not in line with my tastes. I like the slide guitar work in Propaganda but the obnoxious Pro-pro-pro-ganda bit ruins the song for me. Similarly, the stripped back detuned guitar and eastern flavor on BITM are cool enough but the pseudo-hip-hop and pitch-shifting vocals are off-putting.

 

opinions to each his own.

 

i still think algorithm, propaganda, BITM, and the void are the highlights here.

 

the void (acoustic) is great...and...maybe...gospel DD is interesting enough -- eons better than the orginial. something human (acoustic) seems to come across as quasi-genuine atm, but i'm not sure of its longevity.

 

the rest -- i can do without. ...aside from maybe TDS (all versions).

 

we need instrumentals from BITM.

 

meanwhile, additional time is needed to process everything. as always, new material must settle a bit before clearer-cut opinions can be rendered.

[jonisdead]

Lol I feel like you're at that same stage rn as when a person has just developed a serious crush on someone and finds every boring story they tell really interesting

 

lmaooooo

[Tim59]

TC is one of the most fun and catchy songs they’ve released over the last 4 albums.

 

I said it

 

I won't go as far as to say this, but I do actually enjoy it now. TC and SH are far better than I remember when I listen to them in the album context.

 

I would drop DD though to have a tighter album. It's a bit long as it is. Though I would keep the acoustic version on the super deluxe edition.

 

Break it to me is one of their grooviest songs ever.

 

I think this is their best-produced album since OOS or Abso for me. The synths especially sound the best they ever had, on Algorithm, Blockades, The Void in particular. And the guitar and bass sound quite huge compared to the last 3 albums.

 

If I were to do a ranking as I feel atm, it would be

 

OOS

Absolution

TR

Showbiz

BHAR

ST

T2L

Drones

 

For a muse album I'd give it an 8/10, which is purely based on how much I enjoy listening to it, rather than some objective measure.

Edited November 18, 2018 by Tim59

[Zepp]

YOUUUUU'VE BEEN BIIITTEN BYYYYYYYYY is one my my favourite moments on the album

[Jobby]

Lol I feel like you're at that same stage rn as when a person has just developed a serious crush on someone and finds every boring story they tell really interesting

 

You just don’t understand our relationship

 

YOUUUUU'VE BEEN BIIITTEN BYYYYYYYYY is one my my favourite moments on the album

 

Undeniable

[projektxtal]

idk i just feel like TC is 4 minutes of one riff with a whammy solo at the end, doesn't really grip me like a lot of things of ST.

 

YOUUUUU'VE BEEN BIIITTEN BYYYYYYYYY is one my my favourite moments on the album

 

"Can't lose, you make me offers that I can't refuse" is the best part of the album imo, especially towards the end of the track

[kueller]

Lol I feel like you're at that same stage rn as when a person has just developed a serious crush on someone and finds every boring story they tell really interesting

 

This is true and it's honestly adorable and wholesome.

[lewislimes]

I reckon this is their best since Black Holes, love every track.

[Nigel_Tufnel]

Lol I feel like you're at that same stage rn as when a person has just developed a serious crush on someone and finds every boring story they tell really interesting

 

That's pretty good.

 

I feel like my relationship with Muse right now has reached the stage where the other person's erratic behavior and idiosyncrasies are really putting a strain on the whole thing. Not yet time to call it quits but I'm definitely looking for more action on the side.

[Saint Rockwell]

That's pretty good.

 

I feel like my relationship with Muse right now has reached the stage where the other person's erratic behavior and idiosyncrasies are really putting a strain on the whole thing. Not yet time to call it quits but I'm definitely looking for more action on the side.

 

I've been cheating on them at the Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino when Muse leave for work in the morning (the affair's been going on for some time now unfortunately)

[Nigel_Tufnel]

I've been cheating on them at the Tranquility Base Hotel and Casino when Muse leave for work in the morning (the affair's been going on for some time now unfortunately)

 

I saw the proprietors of that facility a few months ago. A tight 21-song setlist spanning all 6 of their albums and including a hometown cover for the crowd. It was a great concert even though their special visual presentation only consisted of the word MONKEYS behind the stage. I can think of another band who could take some cues from them.

[Jobby]

I can think of another band who could take some cues from them.

 

are we still joking