The best and worst of each album

[Hat]

Slightly different idea to bring some short life into this section. Try to keep it to one thing per album. Like this:

 

Showbiz:

Best: The honesty. Unmatched by any other album in that regard. It didn't take long for Muse to become an act with their music.

 

Worst: The whining. Both by Matt and the instruments. So many high pitched sounds that the bass could barely make up for, and Matt...well...you know.

 

Origin of Symmetry:

Best: The originality. Sure, it took from classical music and video games, but they made it their own, and it sounded like nothing at the time.

 

Worst: Feeling Good. A bit predictable, sorry.

Absolution:

Best: The attention to detail. I mean it's mostly buried in that messy mix, but this is really where Muse have done most of their best work in the background. The synths in SS, the strings and backing vocals in Butterflies & Hurricanes and the amazing instrumental in general to Endlessly. Muse rarely ever got it right after this, and almost always went over the top or simply became a parody of songwriting.

 

Worst: The order of the songs. Just a fucking mess.

 

Black Holes & Revelations:

Best: The vocals. In general, this album had the best mix of Matt's two eras of vocals. He didn't have that popstar/hero voice, but he had gotten rid of the whiny and rather thin sound of Showbiz and OoS.

 

Worst: What happened to Assassin and Exo-Politics.

 

The Resistance:

Best: Exogenesis I guess? Not totally sure tbh. Nothing really stands out.

 

Worst: The Queen influences? Not really sure here either.

 

The 2nd Law:

Best: Isolated System. Everything about it really. The piano, the string arrangement, the synths and bass. Honestly everything is perfect. And not even the voiceover can ruin it.

 

Worst: How disjointed it is. It really brings down the album as a whole for me, which I've repeated enough times already.

 

Drones:

Best: The sound. It was either that or "Dead Inside, Reapers and The Handler". But yeah, the mixing and mastering is great. Everything can be heard, and it doesn't sound too clean and lifeless, which almost happened to the previous two.

 

Worst: The song quality. Mercy, Revolt, The Globalist, Aftermath, Defector, this album really has too many mediocre songs.

[Jobby]

Showbiz:

 

The emotional vulnerability (aka whining? ) in the lyrics and Matt's voice. Dude sounds like he's genuinely ripping his heart out mid-recording with some of those voice cracks and screams. That level of personal closeness is something totally unique to Showbiz imo, even if I totally understand why he started covering it up.

 

The immaturity in the songwriting and lyrics. It's still a long way from the Newton Abbot Demo but you could tell Matt was still coming into his own. I can enjoy it sometimes but it's a 50/50 between that and finding it a bit cringeworthy.

 

Origin:

 

Hate to parrot but yesyesyes the originality. You can hear some of the influences they still have even now but they actually made their own thing with them as opposed to just imitating. Nothing else gives me the exact fixes that Origin does.

 

Matt's guitar tones sound really thin and sharp. It's the only thing that's ever consistently bugged me about OOS. It was probs intentional at the time but, eh, it'd just be that bit more perfect if they were a bit fuller.

 

Abso:

 

The tracklisting. Flow's non-existent and there are too many meh songs (TSP, TOADA, TIRO, maybe even Blackout). It's not even something I can 100% sort out with a re-ordered playlist.

 

Black Holes:

 

Hard to pin down the one thing that makes be love BH&R so much. Part of me wants to say the introduction of more electronic/poppy elements but then half the album's, like, classical western prog rock? The one thing that's consistent through most of it though I think is the emoootions. In Matt's voice, the lyrics, the melodies and the composition - everything. Some of it's soft/cheesy as fook (Starlight, Invin, Glorious, Soaked) and some of it's genuinely sad (Map, Hoodoo) but, either way, it turns me into a puddle.

 

Production, 'nuff said really. Matt's tones ain't great and the mix is a landfill. No other Muse albums makes me crave a remaster more.

 

Resistance:

 

The flow and cohesiveness. You can narrow it down to blends of, like, 3 genres for the most part. Pop, alt. rock and classical rock.

 

It's booooooring. Not sure if it's 100% down to the cold, lifeless production or the fact that there's just too many slow songs. Probs a mix of both 'cause even some of the more energetic songs like Uprising, Resistance, MKU and US are weirdly...eh. Or at least more so than they should be.

 

2nd Law:

 

The vocals, literally the only thing that's consistently good (or consistent at all). Perfect storm of passion, power and range from Matt and the clarity of the production, if a bit too clean with the instruments, makes them even nicer to listen to. Idk what happened to put him in that form during that period but, fack me, I wish it lasted longer.

 

Absolute. Fucking. Mess. Like, Abso doesn't flow well at all but it actually annoys me how all over the place T2L is This was the first sign of them starting to really lack in the creativity department for me. The musical equivalent of throwing shit at a wall and seeing what sticks (very little of it did).

 

Drones:

 

The production - it's almost perfect for Muse imo, just gets a bit spiky at times during stuff like Mercy and The Handler. Makes a lot of otherwise potentially dull or naff songs fun (Psycho, Revolt, Reapers, Defector).

 

Lack of creativity/fan pandering. All the talk of 'being old myooz again', using old riffs, 'sequels' to fan favourites...it's all been well documented at this point, as well as the repetition and not really doing much with them. As much as I can enjoy Drones fine enough for the most part, there's so little I can get properly attached to because I'm already attached to the stuff that it's trying to copy.

 

 

 

....I just put more into that than the 3 uni essays I have in for Monday.

Edited January 20, 2017 by Jobby

[Hat]

Nothing positive to say about Abso?

[Bohemian-Cygnus-Running-Out]

Love this idea!

 

Showbiz:

 

Best: The potential. Muse show themselves off as a band with a particular sonic niche immediately, and although they don't have all the details worked out yet or have totally mastered songwriting, the best elements of the record all scream of the vast amount of potential this unit has. Yeah, maybe there's a deal of early Radiohead in the sound and style, but what they do with those borrowed elements is actually very unique and satisfying. Matt's obviously got a great range and powerful voice, if a little unwieldy, all three are obviously more than proficient on their respective instruments, there's a definite willingness to experiment with song structures, instrumentation, sound effects, and the like, and the album definitely shows off a very certain character of the band, one which obviously has what it takes.

 

Worst: most of the second half. The songwriting seems to have dropped off, as well as the interest. Too many fun, catchy, energetic, but naïvely written tracks that kind of blend together. Like I said earlier, potential, but not necessarily greatness all around.

 

 

Origin of Symmetry:

 

Best: I don't think I can disagree with what's already been said. Sure it's got practically all the elements and musisms you'd want, but it's crafted with this fierce originality, the sound of a band declaring that they are completely unique and completely awesome, which can be a rare combination. Nothing sounds like OoS, as has been said, and even the songwriting seems beamed down from space. The ideas and arrangements are just so alien to at least the average listener, and it's the kind of sound and songwriting that just gets addicting. There's a pure, unbridled energy to this record that can only come from Muse.

 

Worst:

Once again, most of the second half pales in comparison to side one in terms of songwriting. I mean, I love Screenager, Darkshines, and Meglomania, but they just aren't as memorable as PiB, HM, NB, Bliss, CE, SD, and MC, which could pretty much carry the album by themselves and have much the same effect if Muse had wanted a shorter record. Feeling is excellent, but obviously wasn't written by Muse, and thus doesn't much help the slight drop off in song writing in the second half. If you count Futurism though, at least the album ends with something to match CE, NB, and the like in terms of memorable songwriting.

 

 

Absolution:

 

Best:

The songwriting! At last they focus on writing great material and churn out more indisputable classics than nearly any other Muse record (of course OoS will always contend)! TiRO is my favorite Muse song of all time for a reason, it's a perfect gem of not just a popo rock song, but a MUSE song! Then you get Hyseteria, SS, B&H, RbS, AP, Blackout and half a dozen more (with albeit less classic status, but still excellent songs the lot of 'em). There's a reason this was released in America and OoS wasn't (though it's a dumb one, cuz OoS rules).

 

Worst: I'm actually mostly fine with the tracklisting, though it does feel a bit "vanilla." Heavy/fast song into soft/slow song into another heavy/fast song ad infinitum, with only a few exceptions. It does keep the albums pace going all the way through, but it isn't very creative. But what I truly lament about Abso (and why it's difficult for me to get into it at times) is the sort of cold, lifeless sonic landscape/palette it has. I know it's filled with all sorts of exciting sounds and instruments and all, but as an album it sounds too empty or limited somehow. It just gives me the impression sonically that I'm listening to a bunch of separately, perfectly recorded sounds being played simultaneously rather than the cohesive, blending, full fledged sound of a great band. A common trait of many 90s and 00's records, but brought to a fully blossom here. I expect a great album to create a specific soundscape in my head, and this one does not.

 

 

Black Holes & Revelations:

 

Best:

The focus. This is a band with a mission, and a record that feels primed to take on the world. The songs are there, the progress is there, the correct amount of commercial appeal is there, the Musiness is still written all over it, the lyrics are there (for once), everything is set to create a certain, massive, powerful effect on the listener. It works wonders, truly. It's as precise and concise of an album as they've ever made (and possibly ever will make), but it relinquishes none of what makes Muse so awesome in the first place.

 

Worst:

The loudness/production. Frankly I can sit through this fine almost all the time, because it is such a perfectly crafted "breakthrough" kind of album in it's own right. But when I can't make out the difference between the backing vocals, the crash cymbals, and the guitars on Assassin, or when Map is a solid pummeling wall of sound which threatens to give me a headache on headphones, there has been a serious error of mastering, mixing, or production of some sort. It feels the full effect of the "loudness wars," but is thankfully the only Muse record to do so, and since it still creates that perfectly clear soundscape I am able to stand the loudness as just another feature of said soundscape, unlike Abso's lack of soundscape.

 

 

The Resistance:

 

Best:

The soundscape!!!!! The production is clean but characterized. Mysterious, and somewhat sinister/clinical, but not lifeless like Abso, far from it. The sounds made on this thing are precise and definite, but they collectively create this sonic aura I just find irresistible. It tends to peek through in the reverb and synth layers book ending the title track, or the sound effects of Collateral Damage, or the cosmic orchestral attributes of Overture, but in truth it takes many forms and shows up everywhere. The soundscape is really what makes this my favorite Muse album, although I really enjoy and/or love all (yes all) of the tracks.

 

Worst:

I'm tempted to say I just wish Uprising wasn't the opener, but to be honest the songwriting in general has dropped on many tracks. Here they begin to take their references and quotations too far, and satisfy themselves with songs that, while they perfectly capture the mood of the record and work together to create something I believe to be Muse's best work, substitute much of the originality of OoS and Abso for Queen, Blondie, French Arias and whatever else they please. When I listen to it as a full album, it's bonkers amazing, but there are only a few individual songs I care to listen to by themselves. Uprising, UD, Exo (all three parts, or just the third with the music video), and maybe either MKU or the title track...maybe.

 

 

The 2nd Law:

 

Best:

The sheer Musey abandon of all the voices that said "don't do that" makes for an exciting and fun listen all the way through. From the shrieking cool of Supremacy, to the hot funk rock of Panic Station to the brooding, stammering chill of Isolated System, there's nothing they won't try on this record, and they'll put it all in any darn order they please. This creates some exuberant highs and some all time lows, but strangely the production and consistent inconsistency ties it all together into a record I could always put on and listen through front to back (and actually the production is phenomenal, thank goodness Muse don't have production issues anymore). Also Madness is one of the greatest pop songs ever written.

 

Worst:

The lack of original ideas is embarrassing. There's practically nothing on here that isn't, at it's foundation, Muse's take on someone else's song, sound, or idea. Also they've returned to front-loading their records like with Showbiz and OoS, but it's now reached lower lows. From Follow Me to Unsustainable you have one of Muse's late career gems, and a bunch of well played, enjoyable but frankly just embarrassing knock-offs. Panic Station was pointlessly hilarious enough to justify the comparisons to Stevie Wonder, Supremacy was well written though it was obviously a James Bond song, and only four songs are here where I see Muse at the core rather than some other band: Madness (one of their best works), Survival (one of their Musiest works), Animals (hardening back to OoS and Abso with taste and originality), and IS (one of their most original and masterful works). The other half of the album is either embarrassing in its lack of originality (Big Freeze), or just too poorly written to matter (Liquid State), though I do assert that I still enjoy it, because it is still done with that Musey touch that I love, and I like the acts they ripped off.

 

 

DRONES:

 

Best:

The sound of Muse just being themselves for once, not really wasting time ripping other bands off, just exploring what they can do with their own classic sound and influences (though they don't give up completely on the Queen and U2 references, but at least now they work well...plus Reapers features Matt as a Young/Morrelo fusion, but it's so impeccably crafted and well done I applaud him for that). When I first heard Psycho, I actually wasn't yet familiar with the old riff, but I knew one thing immediately that made me smile: Muse, truly just being everything I want them to be, were back. Of course it was awesome that they were also rocking out again and showing that they still kick butt live as a three piece, but that would've meant nothing if they'd written a bunch of Liquid States again (I.e. Blatant Foo Fighters and etc. rip offs with little Musiness). This albums rocks, it's exciting, it's dynamic, it's surprising, it's confounding, and it's consistent, but most of all it's got Muse written all over it, and that hadn't happened in a while.

 

Worst:

I could say the obvious people pleasing it was doing and relative lack of experimentation, but I enjoyed those aspects too much to hate on them. The lyrics are really the greatest source of displeasure on this album. I mean, they're funny at times in their over-the-top, immature, half-baked cheesiness, but they do feel like the worst Matt's written in a long time more often than they should. Granted there are some legitimately emotional moments he captures well in his lyrics, like the end of The Handler and the whole of Dead Inside. Other times though, you get Aftermath, which IMO would be a lot more bearable if Matt's lyrics were half as soulful as his guitar playing, or Psycho (silly, hilarious, strangely satisfying at first, but about as poetic as a middle schooler).

 

 

That was fun! And it did take quite a while, but it was worth it.

[Jobby]

Nothing positive to say about Abso?

 

Shiet. Abso was the hardest one to come up with a main positive for tbf, so I guess my brain just sacked it off

 

It's hard to put into words but I guess the fact that the heavy or dark songs still have a beauty to them? Like Stockholm's chorus, AP's bridges, B&H's solo + backing vocals, Fury's chorus, RBS's falsetto and twinkly piano. Something that Origin only really had hints of in CE and Screenager (not that that's a detracting factor of Origin tbf, just different vibes).

[Clunge]

Never understood the 'Abso doesn't flow argument'. Perhaps it was because it was the first Muse album where I actively engaged with the release cycle and thus got very very very attached to it by listening to it in order, but the flow is great for me. It rises and falls in all the right places, I like the contrasts - SFA into SS in particular.

 

Idk. I just like the flow of that album. BH&R, on the other hand, has horrible flow, although I think that's more because rather than the flow being broken by songs in the wrong place, the flow is broken by just plain horrible songs. Those last three tracks though .

[Zepp]

Showbiz:

Best: Matt's singing (voice cracks and screams as Jobby said) is very sincere and emotional. Sunburn, Muscle Museum, Cave, Showbiz and Uno (and HTAILY?) are still among the very best songs Muse have put out, and the immaturity of the other tracks is just cute.

Worst: That cover. Eww.

 

Origin of Symmetry:

 

Best: Unique, crazy and every song is at least a 9/10.

Worst: PIB with the longer bridge and the triplets would have been better.

 

Absolution:

Best: Massive. Doesn't even look pale in comparison to the great OoS.

Worst: The production at times, the lack of EM and Fury (TSP and TOADA should have been b-sides).

 

Black Holes & Revelations:

Best: Electronic Muse is a win. TaB, SMBH, MOTP and KOC are monuments in their discography.

Worst: Too much wasted potential.

 

The Resistance:

Best: Logical continuation from BH&R, mostly good/great songs.

Worst: Terrible tracklisting and the production is too clean.

 

The 2nd Law:

 

Best: Matt's vocals, although he doesn't sing on the best track of the album.

Worst: Lack of inspiration; Save Me.

 

Drones:

 

Best: The sound as Tjet coined it. Some really good songs.

Worst: The idea of going backwards.

[FabriPav]

Showbiz good: youthful, ballsy, Showbiz

 

Showbiz bad: songwriting is hit and miss, tracklisting

 

 

OOS good: ballsy, original, great songs

 

OOS bad: Feeling Good on the record instead of Futurism

 

 

Abso good: natural, non-forced, good evolution from the OOS sound

 

Abso bad: the record sounds bad - Fury isn't part of it - mediocre tracklisting

 

 

BH&R good: mostly natural evolution from Abso

 

BH&R bad: terrible production choices - bad mix - bad tracklisting - Soldier's Poem on the record instead of Easily

 

 

TR good: nothing except Exogenesis

 

TR bad: boring sound - some real awful songs - WATU not being the studio intro to Uprising

 

 

T2L good: nothing except Isolated System, Animals

 

T2L bad: it basically isn't an album - letting Chris put two songs on it

 

 

Drones good: nothing except The Handler and maybe Reapers a bit

 

Drones bad: everything but The Handler and maybe Reapers a bit, awful concept, awful execution, awful songs

[Zepp]

WATU not being the studio intro to Uprising

 

Oh yeah, that too.

[Jobby]

TR good: nothing except Exogenesis

 

m8

[Zepp]

Exogenesis, UD, USoE, Uprising are great and Resistance, MK Ultra, US, IBTY are good.

[TheHappySpaceman]

You know, I wondered if some particularly bitter fans would say that there's nothing good about The 2nd Law or Drones, and I was right.

 

Anyway, let's see the best and worst of each album! And I would include the live albums, but, well, nobody else is, so...

 

Showbiz

 

Best: This was when Muse was more personal and less political. We need to get some of this Muse again. "Hate This and I'll Love You" is also particularly good. I wish there was some high quality video footage of them playing that song live.

 

Worst: Matt's lyrics can be a little wonky, to the point where I legitimately believe that this album has more noticeable bad lyrics than any of their other albums ("I have played in every toilet," "Its scent has been blowing in my direct-shoon," "Five thousand houses burning down," "Royal Canadian blended," "Your brain needs some assistance," "I'm young but you know that I'm aroused"). Also, what's with that album cover?

 

 

Origin of Symmetry

 

Best: "Citizen Erased," which is by far Muse's best song IMO. There were also a lot of other great songs here, though do I really need to explain this further? Everyone seems to agree that this album rocks.

 

Worst: The production is a little off on this album. I frequently have trouble understanding what Matt is singing. Also, "Feeling Good" seems like it would have fit better on a B-sides compilation instead of an album.

 

 

Absolution

 

Best: Now here's where I may lose a lot of people: I think this album is better than OOS. There is so much I can praise about this album: the lyrics, the proggier direction, the fact that this is the perfect transitional album between Muse's early stuff and the more mainstream material they made later (I listened to The Resistance and Black Holes and Revelations first before I listened to OOS, which kind of puzzled me; when I relistened to OOS after having listened to Absolution, I was much more ready for OOS and liked it a lot more than my first listen). If I had to praise on thing, though, it's the amazing instrumentation on every single track, with particular highlights being "Apocalypse Please," "Sing for Absolution," "Hysteria," "Blackout," and "Ruled by Secrecy." The bass lines are especially improved here; Chris really shows off his talents. This album is a must-have for any Muse fan.

 

Worst: Um... "Endlessly" is a little slower than the songs before and after it. Also, the album mix of "Butterflies and Hurricanes" is a little weak;

 

 

Black Holes and Revelations

 

Best: In my opinion, this album has the greatest opening and closing tracks of any Muse album, IMO. "Take a Bow" and "Knights of Cydonia" are pure epicness. There are also a few other great tracks, like "Supermassive Black Hole," "Map of the Problematique," "City of Delusion," and "Hoodoo." Also, I don't care what anybody else says, Invincible kicks ass.

 

Worst: It's kind of a mess when it comes to tone. It's split between wanting to be a full pop rock album and a more epic one. "Starlight" is a little weak, and I'm also not a fan of the shortened "Assassin."

 

 

The Resistance

 

Best: This is the first Muse album I ever listened to all the way through, and it's a perfect introduction for newcomers to the fanbase, with hard rockers like "Uprising," "Unnatural Selection," and "MK Ultra"; poppier numbers like "Resistance"; and symphonic rockers like "United States of Eurasia" and the prog masterpiece "Exogenesis: Symphony." Also, this has my all-time favorite Muse album cover.

 

Worst: The studio version's ending of "Uprising" isn't as good as the live one, "Undisclosed Desires" and "Guiding Light" are far from perfect, and Matt's French just sounds corny on "I Belong to You," which I can't think of without thinking of a certain movie series.

 

 

The 2nd Law

 

Best: People were far too harsh on this album IMO. "Supremacy," "Panic Station," "Survival," "Animals," "Big Freeze," and "Isolated System" were all pretty great, and I actually enjoyed Chris's two songs. He needs to sing lead more. I actually didn't mind Muse dabbling in other genres like others seemed to. I even sort of liked "Madness."

 

Worst: "Follow Me" was a little bland. I know he wrote it for his son, but still. Also, "Unsustainable" could have been better and the album's cover wasn't as good as a lot of the fanmade ones. There wasn't really much of a structure to the album, either, apart from "we're doing this genre now" for every other track.

 

 

Drones

 

Best: This is probably Muse's hardest rocking of their post-Absolution albums. Everything about this reminds me of a really great album from the '70s or '80s; the concept reminds me of other rock operas like The Wall or Tommy, while some of the songs remind me of AC/DC. The production by Mutt Lange is really great and I think they need to collaborate again. "Reapers" has one of my favorite solos from Matt, and "The Gloabalist," "Dead Inside," "The Handler," and "Defector" were awesome tracks.

 

Worst: "Revolt" is awful. It sets itself up to be good only to have a completely disjointed chorus that feels like it was written for a different song. Also, the lyrics may be a little too on the nose for some. The odd repetitions of "babe" throughout the album don't help matters. And the album cover just looks silly. (Call me immature, but it reminds me of phallic imagery. )

[FabriPav]

m8

 

 

edit: .

Edited January 20, 2017 by fabripav

[forevermusic]

Showbiz Good: They give a good account of themselves as a young band. Good singles, decent lyrics for 19 year olds, and good expressive vocals

Showbiz Bad: Not as heavy as live performances as the era, and second half could be stronger. No Spiral Static on the full edition too

 

Origin Good: Much more balls-out, good riffs, and an excellent meshing together of the classical and hard rock influences

Origin Bad: No Futurism, guitar could be stronger

 

Abso Good: Most consistent song-writing, great choruses, builds very well on the Origin sound

Abso Bad: No Fury, heavy songs are overproduced, tracklist lacks flow

 

Black Holes Good: Sonic variety while feeling like the same band, good evolution

Black Holes Bad: Overproduced, lack of Easily or Glorious on full LP

 

Resistance Good: Decent riffs, track order mostly works, Exogenesis

Resistance Bad: Uninspiring pop material, Uprising outro, Guiding Light

 

2nd Law Good: Well produced, great vocal range, good use of strings

2nd Law Bad: Far too unfocused, lacks originality, Big Freeze

 

Drones Good: Good riffs, crisp sound, first half contains interesting material

Drones Bad: Crap lyrics, concept isn't really explored as well as it could be, Aftermath

[01FromFinland]

Showbiz

 

Good: Raw, young, energetic and Muse still being very personal. No political themes. Chris was amazing on this album, which has some of the more underrated bass tracks and tones he's had.

 

Bad: Well, the whole list I put up in the good-section. Raw, young and energetic can be a bad thing, which lead to some songs being mediocre, silly or just straight up cringy. Also, Matt's voice is just... uhh. It's great for a few songs but a whole album is a bit much.

 

Origin of Symmetry

 

Good: Tracks 1-7 are all in top-20 Muse songs. Darkshines, too. My three personal favorites are all on Origin, them being SD, MC and CE. Matt's vocals are much stronger, still somewhat raw but already much better than on Showbiz. 2nd best album for bass. The amazing, crushing tone of Human Gear Animato dominating so many tracks. The filter on PiB(which has been cracked by no covers I've managed to find btw), just so good!

 

Bad: Screenager, Megalomania and Feeling Good being on the album instead, of, oh, I don't know, Futurism, Yes Please and Agitated? Matt's guitar tones are very weak and overall the worst album for guitar in Muse discography. Drum tones are a bit questionable in some songs, too.

 

Absolution

 

Good: Epic, yet not forced. massive compositions and sounds. Basically no bad songs. Matt's guitar getting better. Best album for bass, just, wow! Hysteria, TIRO, AP, so much good stuff!

 

Bad: The composition goes a bit over the top at some parts, maybe Matt trying to be a little bit too epic. The production is a mess at some points, terrible mixing and mastering. The track listing is a complete disaster. Some songs getting overplayed over the years, mostly SS and TIRO. Fury not being on the album.

 

Black Holes and Revelations

 

Good: Absolutely stunning opener and closer, both perfect for their roles. TaB immidieately shows all the cards on the side of 'we can be electronic, too', while Knights is just a perfect closer with the whole album basically being buildup to it. Electronic components used perfectly. Matt's voice is possibly the strongest on BHaR.

 

Bad: Possibly the worst production quality of all Muse albums. Soldier's Poem suffers from it's position in the track listing. 'Glorious should've been on the album instead of SP' is a fully valid argument. Starlight and SMBH being played too much live, to the point where they've become memes.

 

The Resistance

 

Good: Great improvements on production quality. Exogenesis, Uprising, Resistance, MKU, IBtY and Unnatural Selection are all great songs, no matter how hard some of them get crap. UD is far from being the worst Muse song. Matt's voice is still very good.

 

Bad: Uprising and UD becoming overplayed live, while MKU, US and IBTY have died off despite being great live songs. Basstones and lines are getting much more boring. IBTY is a nice one for bass, but that's basically it. Track listing is a big fucking mess. WATU not being the album intro.

 

The 2nd Law

 

Good: Great production quality. A lot of good songs which fans give no credit. Supremacy, Survival, Big Freeze, Liquid State, Animals, Panic Station, Isolated System and hell, I'll go as far as to say Unsustainable, are all good or great songs. Supremacy is one of the better album(and setlist) openers they've had.

 

Bad: Ohh boy, Madness. I actually think it's a decent song, but boy do I get bored when they play it live. Basically the same level of a mood killer as Feeling Good. Follow Me and Explorers are forgettable, I don't even remember how Explorers goes because I almost always skip it nowadays. I guess I got bored of it or something? Anyway, Save Me isn't exactly a great one either. While Chris, I think, did a decent job on both vocals and composing LS, SM wen't a bit too far.Wouldn't be against Chris composing even more stuff if it's somewhat the same style as LS. T2L also suffers of the same symptom as almost all Muse albums, track listing is a big fucking mess. The lyrics are also just pure cringe at some points. T2L is such a polarizing album, it's music is actually very good or at least decent in nearly every point, but come on, Matt, you're a better lyric writer than that. Big Freeze, Animals and Follow Me especially, justt... wow.

 

Drones

 

Good: Just like T2L, gets way more crap from the fans than it should. Dead Inside, Psycho, Reapers, Mercy, Defector, The Globalist and Drones are all at least decent. Production quality is very good. Guitar, bass and drums all have good tones.

 

Bad: Dead Inside is another live mood killer. I'm not even going to go into detail why I dislike most of the lyrics on Drones, because we all probably agree on that. Two playback/intro/whateverthehell on the same album is kinda stupid, too. I think Drill Sergeant is actually fine, it's so short, it's funny and it gets crowd pumped a bit. JFK on the other hand... uhh, it really just seems like a filler, both for the album and live sets, being almost a minute long. Lazy. Also, Revolt and Aftermath... holy fuck, just... please, no more of that crap.

Edited January 21, 2017 by 01fromfinland

[LewisF]

Bad: Screenager, Megalomania and Feeling Good being on the album instead, of, oh, I don't know, Futurism, Yes Please and Agitated?

 

 

You rate Agitated and Yes Please higher than Screenager and Megalomania? Not saying that the former two are in any means bad, but the latter pair are so much better imo.

 

Not to mention that Agitated and Yes Please were both Showbiz era b-sides anyway.

[Hat]

Yeah not sure why they would put already released b-sides on a future album.

 

Oh and

You know, I wondered if some particularly bitter fans would say that there's nothing good about The 2nd Law or Drones, and I was right.

Literally no one said that though.

[01FromFinland]

You rate Agitated and Yes Please higher than Screenager and Megalomania? Not saying that the former two are in any means bad, but the latter pair are so much better imo.

 

Not to mention that Agitated and Yes Please were both Showbiz era b-sides anyway.

 

Yes, I do think they're better. And talking of Showbiz and OoS 'eras' is kinda silly imo, because they were released under 2 years apart anyway

[Hat]

I'm usually against saying this, but I really don't get what people see in Yes Please and Agitated.

[01FromFinland]

I'm usually against saying this, but I really don't get what people see in Yes Please and Agitated.

 

Raw, crazy, riff-heavy pure energy? Turned into a mad scramble of a song.

[Hat]

True, there are riffs.

[FabriPav]

raw

 

Yes Please and Agitated are just decent riffs. They're awful compared to Screenager and Megalomania.

[01FromFinland]

Yes Please and Agitated are just decent riffs. They're awful compared to Screenager and Megalomania.

 

Meh, I'll give you Megalomania. Never been a fan of Screenager tho.

[Hat]

Not even this version?

[FabriPav]

Would you really rather have a pointless riff that ruins the flow of the record? The beauty of OOS is its diversity in tone and instrumentation