hyper_chondriac_muser Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 I'll go right to the other end of the scale and say it's my favourite Muse album . In order: Apocalypse Please Stockholm Syndrome Ruled By Secrecy (Fury) Hysteria Butterflies & Hurricanes Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist Falling Away With You The Small Print Time Is Running Out Endlessly Sing For Absolution Blackout There's not a bad song on it. I love Blackout and Sing For Absolution, they're definitely solid 6 or 7/10 songs. ... AP is SOOO rarely people's first choice, but it's one of my top Muse songs, so I salute you for putting it first, too ! And you're absolutely right, there's not a Single bad song on Absolution - it's a classic album! I'm still a pretentious OoS lover who can't see past that as their number one album, lol, but Abso is so close behind, it's practically first-adjacent . My order = Apocalypse Please Fury Stockholm Syndrome Hysteria Ruled By Secrecy Butterflies & Hurricanes Time Is Running Out The Small Print Blackout Thoughts of a Dying Atheist Sing For Absolution Falling Away With You Endlessly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raiko Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Blackout Sing For Absolution Hysteria Endlessly Ruled by Secrecy Butterflies & Hurricanes Stockholm Syndrome Apocalypse Please Time Is Running Out Falling Away With You Thoughts of a Dying Atheist The Small Print Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
static shadows Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Behind OOS, slightly ahead of the other two. Stockholm Syndrome Fury The Small Print Hysteria Time Is Running Out Sing For Absolution Apocalypse Please Ruled By Secrecy Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist Butterflies & Hurricanes Endlessly Falling Away With You Blackout There's not a single bad track on it, but it also has a fair few songs I just end up skipping these days. Good album though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gareeh Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 fave album Apocalypse Please Hysteria Time is Running Out Butterflies & Hurricanes Thoughts of a Dying Atheist The Small Print Blackout Falling Away with You Stockholm Syndrome Sing for Absolution Interlude Intro Endlessly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spark_ Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 My favourite. Even though it probably doesn't have the "highest density" of awesome songs as OOS. Best bit? Everything between, and including FAWY and Butterflies. Not that the tracks above it are slouches but that four track progression is my favourite... ever. All superb tracks - and not all typical Muse either. The instrumentation on FAWY is surprisingly and complex subtle IMO (no subtlety about Butterflies, though). Having said that I just feel Hysteria is in the wrong place. It just breaks the flow a bit, I often skip it (and feel kinda bad about it) just to get the FAWY-Blackout-Butterflies thing going. Not a massive fan of TSP, Endlessly and Atheist, though. Good songs, but you compare it to the rest of the album and it doesn't have the same dramatic brilliance IMO. And since we're ordering... Falling Away With You =Blackout =Ruled By Secrecy Butterflies And Hurricanes =Hysteria =Stockholm Syndrome (you know you've got a good album when...) Apocalypse Please ~Time Is Running Out ~Sing For Absolution ~Endlessly Thoughts of a Dying Atheist The Small Print Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheStatusQuo Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Though it's not my favorite album (OoS stole my heart), Absolution is by far Muse's most polished album. From beginning to end, it has a very strong theme, and I applaud it for that. I feel like the only blemishes are ToaDA and TSP; I love TSP live, but it just doesn't really fit. ToaDA just feels cheap. Strongest Track: Stockholm Syndrome. It embodies everything that Muse is: the emotion, the powerful tone of the music, the lyrics. Weakest Track: ToaDA. Though it is a fun track to listen to now and again, I feel that the way it was assembled instrument-wise makes it a weaker song. Favorite Moment: Oddly enough, the last lines of Sing for Absolution. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MusoCuts Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 I like it but i don't know how to feel about it. A good album with a good atmosphere but that's all. Best song : Butterflies & Hurricanes (a masterpiece the solo is awsome!) worst song : sing for absolution weakest song : TOADA, it is not a bad song but miss something in it, it needs more power and it needs to be more agressive. sad thing : i consider that the bests tracks are The Groove, Fury and Eternally Missed ! If these three songs were in the album, it could be the best album of the band. I would like to see SFA, Endlessly and TOADA as b-sides Songs get their climax live ! And i love The Small Print and Apocalypse Please. And to conclued, i don't understand why people judge Intro and Interlude as bad songs, this makes no sense at all ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kreisky Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Stockholm Syndrome Hysteria Apocalypse Please Blackout Ruled by Secrecy Butterflies & Hurricanes (Fury) Thoughts of a Dying Atheist Sing for Absolution Endlessly Falling Away with You The Small Print Time Is Running Out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
apoco123 Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Its a 5 star album for me, changed me, one of my favourite albums of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OriginOfShowbiz Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 5 star for me too! It might not be my ultimate favourite album, but it has affected me the most I'd say. Stockholm Syndrome Blackout Apocalypse Please Ruled By Secrecy Butterflies & Hurricanes Hysteria Falling Away With You Time Is Running Out The Small Print Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist Sing For Absolution Endlessly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OsakaDan Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Stockholm Syndrome Hysteria Butterflies & Hurricanes Apocalypse Please Time Is Running Out Blackout Ruled By Secrecy Falling Away With You Sing For Absolution The Small Print Endlessly Thoughts of a Dying Atheist Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tasha_ Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Stockholm Syndrome Hysteria Sing For Absolution Ruled By Secrecy The Smallprint Time is Running Out Apocalypse Please Butterflies and Hurricanes Thoughts Of a Dying Atheist Endlessly Blackout Falling Away With You ...or something Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayal Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 ATM: 1) Hysteria - The bass riff and the solo... hhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! 2) Stockholm Syndrome - Amazingly powerful and beautiful at the same time. The only thing I dont like is the end of it. I mean THE VERY end of it (4:53). I think instead of the "Slamming bass strings" they should have fade it out or connect it to another song. - The Groove will go here... "Groovin around..." HAHA Brilliant! 3 )Time is Running Out - I love it, although the Live version is way better than the studio version imo. 4) Butterflies and Hurricanes - I love the vocals so much! WOW! TBH, the solo haven't dont anything for me yet... - Fury will go here... 5) Apocalypse Please - The piano delivers the song message perfectly. 6) The Small Print - ... - Eternally Missed will go here... 7) Blackout - Chilling and Beautiful... 8) Ruled By Secrecy - Extra Chilling... 9) Sing For Absolution - ... 10) Falling Away With You - ... 11) Endlessly - ... Although its no.11 in my list, I really like it! 12) Thoughts of a Dying Atheist - The only song I dont really like on the album. Something about the vocals just dont fit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Novus Dies Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 How would you rate Absolution? Feel free to give a short review including: Good things about the album Bad things about the album Best track Worst track Favourite moment Well we've done it 10000000 times 10000001 can't hurt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musical Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 I gave it 5 stars, it's my favourite Muse album. =) Hm, my order right now would be : Stockholm Syndrome Butterflies and Hurricanes (this was the song that got me hooked to Muse, simply amazing song.) Hysteria Endlessly Time is Running Out Sing For Absolution Ruled by Secrecy Apocalypse Please Blackout Falling Away With You Thoughts of a Dying Atheist The Small Print Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 My favourite Muse album, mostly 'cause it includes Endlessly, Blackout and one of my favourites ever - The Small Print. Basically, whenever I listen to it I'm nicely surprised how great it is and never ff any of the songs and just enjoy every second of it:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mizutsu Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Good things: PIANO!!, heavy bass in most songs, tender romantic songs with minimal cheese, great and memorable guitar solos, originality is literally spilling from it, soft moments and the most emotion that could ever be expressed by music. Bad things: Best song: Butterflies and Hurricanes with Stockholm Syndrome as a second Worst song: Favorite moment: Organ solo and use of mandolin in Endlessly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FallAway Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Absolution is my favorite album. Good things about the album: Great guitar parts, heart-wrenching lyrics, probably some of the best piano parts out of all five albums, amazing basslines, etc. I find the album cathartic, emotional, and simply astounding in every way I love music. Bad things about the album: Fury needed to be on every version, that song is a masterpiece. Best track: Either Stockholm Syndrome or Hysteria. Worst track: I never really got into Butterflies and Hurricanes. Favourite moment: The solo in Hysteria, followed by the "you will suck the life out of me" lyric from Time is Running Out. Interlude is kickass too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
haze015 Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 Erm, contains some of Muse's best and worst work, so as a whole I find it to be the worst album so far. But where it's good... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Originally_Symmetrical Posted May 31, 2010 Share Posted May 31, 2010 This is Muse's best album. It shows everything that they can do, and they can deliver it beautifully. I'm amazed at how many people don't know this album. It shows power, fear, and beauty all in one album. The perfect mix of Muse's best moments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sprocketeer Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Although I'd love to see it happen, I don't believe Muse will ever surpass the greatness of Absolution. It is undoubtedly my favorite album from them, as well as one of my favorites albums by anybody. I love Origin of Symmetry, don't get me wrong, but Absolution is able to strike that perfect balance that not only branches out to a wide audience (but doesn't pander to them), but is able to encapsulate what makes Muse so fantastic both before and after it. Picking a favorite is hard. Okay, so I lied, as Butterflies & Hurricanes is my favorite Muse song period. But my point stands in that nearly every track here is fantastic, from the hardcore rockers to the ballads. If I had to pick a weak point on the album, it would be Endlessly, which pales a bit compared to the other gentler songs on the album like Blackout. But when Endlessly is your weakest song, then you know you have quite the strong album on your hands. One last thing I love about Absolution is how the beginning and end contrast, from the raw, angry piano of Apocalypse Please to the daunting yet more majestic piano of Ruled By Secrecy (if that makes any sense at all). It starts out by talking about "the end of the world", then ends with "change in the air". I'm probably looking too deeply into this, but it sounds pretty cool to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enemy Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 Good things about the album: Heavy, soft, heavy, soft. Bad things about the album: No epic track lengths to be found (longest is 5 minutes -B&H) Best track: Stockholm Syndrome Worst track: Falling Away With You. Incredible verses, rubbish chorus. Favourite moment: Outro of SS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbroken_ideals Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 I believe it was their peak album. It's got great flow, and there's a song for every mood. Maybe it's just me, but I think that a lot of the songs on the album get old quickly. I was obsessed with most of the tracks on it for a week each, but then..Ah. It all went to buggery. Best track..Hrm. Well my favourite is TiRO, but I think SS and Hysteria deserve a mention, too. Worst track- Endlessly. Enough said. Hard...It's all good. But the SS outro, and final chorus of TiRO stand out to me. 5 stars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m0hawk Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 PROS: - Intense mood - The band's most emotional album - The layers and instrumentation in each track. - The best choruses of their discography. The second chorus differs from the first, the third from the second, etc. Take Hysteria's third chorus, where the lyrics change and smack you in the face. Endlessly's 2nd and third choruses, where the strings give it that extra ethereal edge. These little changes work perfectly. - SFA -> SS -> FAWY flows perfectly - The most piano-oriented Muse album CONS: - The lyrics, while imbued feeling, aren't as creative as OoS's - TSP and ToaDA feel quite flat compared to the rest of the majestic tracks. - TSP -> Endlessly -> ToaDA -> RBS does not flow well. BEST SONG: - Stockholm Syndrome. Muse's greatest accomplishment to date. The best lyrics on the album. The greatest chorus of all time. That dark chord progression in the verse. That immense break-down and outro. WORST SONG: - Thoughts of a Dying Atheist. It's not a bad song, but when you compare it to the rest of the songs, and it's awkward placement in between Endlessly and Ruled By Secrecy, it feels really out of place. FAVOURITE MOMENT: - Stockholm Syndrome's chorus. My favourite Muse moment, period. Firstly we have the lyrics, which are some of the most heart-wrenching in the band's discography. It is sung with such feeling that you can't help but be moved. Really showcases Matt's genius. Backing that up, we have the multipe layers of music. Obviously, you can hear the drums, guitar and bass, but it's really the other instruments that make this chorus so ethereal. You have the arpeggios, piano, and this subtle synth/strings undepinning the entire thing. You don't hear it on first listen, but once you do, you'll shit bricks. Another interesting thing to note that in the first and second choruses, the synth starts low and then ascends to its peak, while in the third chorus, the synth starts and ends at that peak. All thesse factors combine to create the curiousity that is Stockholm Syndrome's chorus. Beautiful. RANKING: 1. Stockholm Syndrome 2. Butterflies & Hurricanes 3. Endlessly 4. (Fury) 5. Ruled By Secrecy 6. Apocalypse Please 7. Hysteria 8. Falling Away With You 9. Sing for Absolution 10. Blackout 11. Time is Running Out 12. The Small Print 13. Thoughts of a Dying Atheist 9.5/10 Favourite album of all time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Muser Posted June 1, 2010 Share Posted June 1, 2010 First I would give it five stars for sure! The Good: It runs smoothly. We start with: - "Intro" which seems pointless because it is essentially 16 seconds of drumming but I think it MAKES; - "Apocalypse Please" - it provides the perfect lead-in to AP and then that kick-arse opening chord strikes and it is like an explosion. Then after four (or is it two?) bars, the drums kick in and the song just blows you away. After the arpeggios and the wonderful outro to the song, you can feel; - "Time Is Running Out" pick up where it leaves off from the bassy intro, into the opening verse and all through the song - lot of love for this song as it was the first Muse song I heard and I adore the way it builds up slowly - first the soft and smooth verses, before the punchy pre-chorus leading into the epic chorus and then from the second verse, the (I'm not sure what the musical term is for it) part that goes "How did it come to this, oooh yeah, yeah yeah..." and so on... espeically love the guitar just before the abrupt ending which leads perfectly into; - "Sing For Absolution" which again, starting from a haunting chord before the piano kicks in is so effective.SFA's guitar solo is INCREDIBLE! It would be my favourite but for mine it is unfortunately too short. If they had've made it the exact length of the previous two verses it would've been perfect. To this day, that remains the only thing i would change about this entire album. Of course, to its credit, it sort of comes back in the final chorus and the refrain.... Oooh, I get chills just thinking of that part - so exhillirating! As the song builds up to that magical crescendo and the final piano part at the end, you think "this album can't get better..." and then; - "Stockholm Syndrome" starts and from the opening riff to the end it is badass and you know it! Love the drums in this song, amazingly the first time I listened to this album, I wasn't wowed by Dom's drumming, except for in this song. It wasn't until i went back and purchased OoS and heard "Feeling Good" where I first realised how good he was... Anyway, getting back on topic. - Love the breakdown before the somewhat melodic chorus - oh and how hauntingly beuatiful is that piano in the section there. Leading into "I WISH I COUUUUUULD!!!" and then the breakdown - also got to love that solo in the middle and the outro (ten time better live, omg ) - you just don't want it to end but when it does, you don't feel like you can take any more epic so thankfully next up is the gentle, soothing opening tones of; - "Falling Away With You" - which is a very clever song, probably one of the most clever Muse have done in that the verses lull you into this false sense of security before the chorus just sort of comes out of nowhere. Its funny, because I can see how people love this song (I do) and how people hate it, becasue it just seems to be type of song that divides a forum. Listen carefully to the drums after the third line in the second chorus and you just can't help but fall in love with this song. I LOVE that it ends with another incomplete verse as well, so perfect - and sets up; - "Interlude" which again seems pointless but it serves its purpose as both wrapping up FAWY and opening; - "Hysteria" which like SS is epic from start to finish. It amazingly took me until the first time I heard and downloaded the instrumental vbersion of this song to realise the opening the riff is actually one chord played three times in a row not one chord sustained like I originally thought. - this song has a kick-arse guitar solo in it as well, best on the album for mine and second best of any Muse song (Newborn beating it) - yet again, I love the breakdown/outro in this song and like SS, you need something calm and relaxing afterwards. Enter; - "Blackout" perfectly placed - this right here is four minutes of tranquility and lovely music - especially love the solo which doesn't really sound like it belongs in there at first but no - it fits perfectly and then the final verse just flowats away and we are left with; - "Butterlies and Hurricanes" which is just epic from start to finish. Don't care what anyone says, that piano solo is fantastic and I love it! Love the punchy piano part that comes in on "Best...You've got to be the best..." and once gain, espeically love the abrupt finish - because it matches well with the equally abrupt start of; - "The Small Print" - my least favourite song on the album but still a very enjoyable one. Plus I almost every time at "Sell, i'll sell your memories for fifteen pounds per year". Gotta love that. I also really like the drums in this song, especially in the solo when you can really appreciate them. It also has an abrupt ending and then we have possibly the most and only awkward part of the album where; - "Endlessly" comes in. It just seems to come out of nowhere and to me, Endlessly is a very song. Again I do like it, but it just seems to be misplaced. On the other hand, not sure where else you could put it without spoiling the flow of the album. I really like the organ solo here too. Live, this song is even better. Next of course comes; - "Thoughts of a Dying Athiest" - marginally ahead of TSP because the solo to me is a little better. Plus i really like the chorus "And it scares the hell out of me... and the end is all I can see." - awesome! But after the abrupt finish of this song, the only thing that makes sense is the opening key of; - "Ruled by Secrecy" which from start to finish is absolutely immense. Starting with a single key - surely the only Muse song to do that - wait no, Space Dementia does too technically. I love the way this song builds, but in a different way to Tiro. We start with the inital right hand key sequence (again don't remember the technical musical term for that) before the left hand comes in to give it a bit more volume. Then we have the lyrics which to me are the best lyrics of any Muse song. then we move into the chorus and you can feel the melody building to a crescendo before the drums kick in for the second verse and the gradual build up into that absolutely FUCKING EPIC piano solo which is absolutely the BEST piano part of any Muse song. I love how it keeps building more and more to the final chorus and the soft and delicate outro before finaihing on that final lingering chord and the perfect album has come to an end... The Bad: No six minute songs. To me, any song that goes over six minutes is truly epic. because of this, all the songs that could be epic (BandH, SS, RBS, AP) fail because they don't reach this time limit. (I'm just kidding, they are still epic!) Best song: SS, followed closely by RBS and SFA Worst song: TSP followed closely by TOADA and then probably BandH Favourite moment: Definitely the piano part in RBS everyone has mentioned - it's like a wonderful orgasm! I was so excited when the countdown screen momentarily flashed up at Rod Laver Arena a few years ago when Muse last played down here and then they played Apocalyspse PLease. I mean, great song yes but GRRRRR I was so after that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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