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How would you rate Absolution?  

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  1. 1. How would you rate Absolution?

    • 1 Star
      2
    • 2 Stars
      0
    • 3 Stars
      13
    • 4 Stars
      86
    • 5 Stars
      370


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First I would give it five stars for sure! :happy:

 

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. :LOL: - 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 :awesome:) - 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 :LOL: 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 :wtf: 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 :mad: after that.

 

Superb summary. Nice to see some FAWY love as well, I love the instrumentation in the chorus, especially the drums and the bassline.

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I really like this album but it's definitely the most overrated Muse album IMO. Some awesome tracks on there like Stockholm Syndrome and Butterflies & Hurricanes, but some of their worst as well. I suppose my reason for saying this is that there is a lack of more progressive songs with lots of different sections, instead the album seems to focus on simpler verse chorus verse structures.

 

That said, I voted 4/5 - it's still Muse and is awesome, but it's eclipsed completely by the previous and following releases of OOS and BHAR.

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I really like this album but it's definitely the most overrated Muse album IMO. Some awesome tracks on there like Stockholm Syndrome and Butterflies & Hurricanes, but some of their worst as well. I suppose my reason for saying this is that there is a lack of more progressive songs with lots of different sections, instead the album seems to focus on simpler verse chorus verse structures.

 

That said, I voted 4/5 - it's still Muse and is awesome, but it's eclipsed completely by the previous and following releases of OOS and BHAR.

 

This definitely :yesey: Though I'm not a fan of B&H at all, but each to their own!

 

Because of the weaker tracks and the fast/slow quiet/loud nature of the tracklisting, this isn't an album I'd listen to all the way through and haven't done so for a fair few years now.

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4.5/5

 

Not perfect by any means, but a great album nevertheless. There are no bad songs on it (Like Guiding Light on The Resistance), only weaker.

 

Apocalypse Please

Stockholm Syndrome

Ruled By Secrecy

(Fury)

Butterflies & Hurricanes

Hysteria

The Small Print

Sing for Absolution

Blackout

Time is Running Out

Thoughts of a Dying Atheist

Endlessly

Falling Away With You

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Best track: Fury. I know it's technically a bonus track but it should have been a listed track. In terms of normal album tracks then my favourite has to be Hysteria, purely for that immense bassline and the fact that I love playing it :D

Worst track: Don't have one really, but at a push I'd say Interlude. It's so long and annoying...jokes! I don't have a worst track from absolution.

Favourite moment from the album: Where the chorus buildup suddenly turns heavy in Falling Away With You :D

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Best track: Fury. I know it's technically a bonus track but it should have been a listed track. In terms of normal album tracks then my favourite has to be Hysteria, purely for that immense bassline and the fact that I love playing it :D

Worst track: Don't have one really, but at a push I'd say Soldier's Poem. It just doesn't push the buttons for me.

Favourite moment from the album: Where the chorus buildup suddenly turns heavy in Falling Away With You :D

Yeah, Soldier's Poem really should have been worked on and maybe released on a later album.

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I bow down for your amazing knowledge about The Muse.

 

No need to be a twat - post above you had this to say regarding Absolution:

 

Worst track: Don't have one really, but at a push I'd say Soldier's Poem. It just doesn't push the buttons for me.

 

Sippe, I bow down for your amazing reading abilities. ;)

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No need to be a twat - post above you had this to say regarding Absolution:

 

 

 

Sippe, I bow down for your amazing reading abilities. ;)

:facepalm:

I quoted the person saying that SP was on Absolution, and made a sarcastic comment about it, that's all. Do you understand?

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:facepalm:

I quoted the person saying that SP was on Absolution, and made a sarcastic comment about it, that's all. Do you understand?

 

Hard to detect sarcasm over the internet tbh - no point in being a dick about it.

 

Anyway back to Absolution discussion!

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With OoS the best album from Muse. I love that angry, melancholic, most of the time dark sound.

 

The whole album is a favourite, hard to pick one or two songs out. "Endlessly" is awesome, I really liked this direction. There is no weakest or worst song imo. But I'm glad that "Fury" isn't on the album because this would have been the weakest song of Absolution..

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Superb summary. Nice to see some FAWY love as well, I love the instrumentation in the chorus, especially the drums and the bassline.

 

I love FAWY.

 

Actually forgot to order them:

 

SS

RBS

SFA

Hysteria

Intro/AP

FAWY/Interlude (afaic, this is the epilogue to FAWY rather than the intro to Hysteria :yesey:)

Blackout

Endlessly

TIRO

B and H

TOADA

TSP

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5... This album is monstrous.

 

Good things about the album - It's classical, metal, punk, and pop all flawlessly sewn into one album.

Bad things about the album - Some songs are a bit slow and make a huge leap from the previous song (I.E. How the album quickly traces from SS, an intense fast moving song, straight to FAWY, a noticeably slower song) which makes the album awkward and sometimes boring, depending on your mood and tastes. The end of the album (the last 3) is a bit forgettable, but all great songs nonetheless.

Best track - Intro + Apocalypse Please

Worst track - Endlessly

Favourite moment - The intensity of AP. The drumming is hearty and the piano is so powerful you almost forget Muse is a three piece band and that there is any other instrument in the song. TIRO just cause I can dance to it. :awesome:

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Favourite moment - The intensity of AP. The drumming is hearty and the piano is so powerful you almost forget Muse is a three piece band and that there is any other instrument in the song. TIRO just cause I can dance to it. :awesome:

 

There's no such thing as a three piece in the studio these days :)

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I do agree that the sequencing is a tad awkward. I mean... SS -> FAWY(Interlude) -> Hysteria -> Blackout... wat? That's a bit back-and-forth...

 

I'm glad someone else agrees with me. I get all hyped for Hysteria and then all of a sudden it drops off again. Then it seems like on the last three songs it slows down completely. Still love it though. I geuss they were just trying to disperse the faster songs evenly.

 

There's no such thing as a three piece in the studio these days :)

 

lol Point taken.

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