Naughtrish Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 4 stars Best track: Tie between Hoodoo and Take a bow Worst track: Soldier's Poem. Doesn't fit at all IMO Favourite moment: You will burn in hell for your sins Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perhaps Posted November 17, 2009 Share Posted November 17, 2009 4.5. So. About a month ago, I would probably have rated this a 3 at most. It took me a loooooong time to like this album. I used to constantly skip Soldier's Poem, Invincible, Assassin (couldn't stand it!), Exo-Politics and City of Delusion, which is pretty much half the album. I guess I just didn't like these at the first listen, and then just compulsively skipped them until I convinced myself that this album was just completely rubbish. Oh, how wrong was I. I found my BH&R cd in my car a few weeks ago and decided to give it another try after all this time. Oh god. Now I just can't stop listening to it, I swear! I can't believe I missed on all the awesomeness in BH&R for so long! Definitely my second favorite album after OoS. Best: Hoodoo, MotP. Worst: Starlight, Soldier's Poem (although I still like it on its own). Favorite Moments: Take a Bow: The short pause before the drums kick in. (1:38-1:42) Supermassive Black Hole: The fact that it makes me wanna dance everytime I hear it! MotP: ''Well I refuse to let you go'' and the whole song is bloody fantastic. Soldier's Poem: "Let's lose ourselves" and the backing vocals. Invincible: "And whatever they say, your soul's unbreakable". Exo-Politics: "Secrets locked up and loaded oooon my back". City of Delusion: "I will avenge!" and the trumpet. Hoodoo: I love everything about it: the lyrics, the singing, the piano, the DRUMMING. Awww. I could go on and on and on about this song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forevermusic Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Good things about the album Very powerful core of tracks, not too samey when compared with previous Muse records and also succesfuly explores a few new directions. Bad things about the album Feels overproduced on some tracks, some tracks feel to cluttered and the vocals don't sound as emotional as on previous albums. The wrong mix of Assassin was also chosen. Best track Map of the Problematique, Hoodoo and Knights of Cydonia Worst track Soldier's Poem Favourite moment When Knights of Cydonia explodes out of Hoodoo's backside and also Map of the Problematique's riffs have an impressive sound. 4/5 was the rating. It just doesn't feel as powerful both sonically and emotionally as previous Muse albums. It still boasts some good songs and some exciting sounds but it's just needs a bit more oomph and a bit more emotion. Has more power than The Resistance, but less emotion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiam16 Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 Awesome album, not my favorite but still worthy of 5 stars from me. Best: Map of the Problematique, Assasin, City of Delusion, Exo-Politics, Hoodoo, KoC Weakest: Soldier's Poem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
static shadows Posted November 18, 2009 Share Posted November 18, 2009 3/5 - I feel this is a bit harsh, but I need to distinguish it from Absolution and Resistance which I gave 4/5 (and OOS which I gave 5/5 to. Obviously!) Good things about the album: It showed Muse experimenting and produced some of the best tracks they've ever recorded. And after Absolution it gave a much needed splash of colour (if that makes any sense!). Bad things about the album: It also managed to produce some of the blandest and most clichéd songs Muse have ever written (while before Muse had been anything but clichéd). And even some good tracks like Assassin were butchered into blandness. Best tracks: Supermasive Black Hole, Map Of The Problematique, Knights Of Cydonia Worst tracks: Invincible, Starlight, Exo-Politics Favourite moment: When the distortion kicks in on MOTP. And the first ever pre-release radio play of SMBH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomeraangsquad Posted November 22, 2009 Share Posted November 22, 2009 4 stars. Good: A lot of the album seems to carry the great momentum that Absolution has. There are quite a few of amazing songs on this album. I love the string of the last 3 songs on the album. Bad: Adding on to that, there are also at least three bad songs that are unfortunately some of Muse's worst; some of the album is slightly disjointed as well. Best tracks: Knights, Take A Bow, City Of Delusion, Map, Hoodoo Worst tracks: Starlight, Soldier's Poem, Supermassive Black Hole Favourite moment: The outro to Take A Bow, the Knights bridge, when Hoodoo explodes As an extra I'll order the tracks form favorite to least favorite: 1. Knights 2. Take A Bow 3. City of Delusion 4. MotP 5. Hoodoo 6. Assassin 7. Exo Politics 8. Invincible 9. Supermassive Black Hole 10. Soldier's Poem 11. Starlight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Muser Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 3/5 stars Good things: breaks new ground, up until now it has sort of been the same old style but bh&r mixes it up a bit. Some terrific riffs, some works of genius and some great music. Bad things: too bland and forgettable. Too many tracks which are just good when they could be better. Fave track: City of Delusion Worst track: Starlight Best moment: when the drums kick in on "Take A bow" Track by track review The album kicks off with the synth arpeggio of "Take a Bow" with the orchestral background and straight away you can tell this album will be different. The lyrics start and at first it's like ":facepalm: another bloody song aimed at world leaders" but then the beat comes in with the chorus and the guitars and that sound like a plane is landing and the song explodes. This part never fails to send shivers down my spine, it is so majestic. The lyrics get even more fierce and determined here and the final "burn, you will burn. You'll burn in he'll," is immense and the final few moments of the song are both incredible and typical Muse. All in all, it is a terrific album and show opener. Then the feedback fades into the opening bass intro of: "Starlight" which sounds like a single straight off the bat. A very generic and mainstream Muse song with a nice melody. I love the synth in the pre-chorus before the quiet chorus building up slowly. This song is awesome live, even if it is ridiculously cheesy. Then the second hook of "hold you in my arms" leads back into the second verse and pre-chorus and then the drum beat from the pre-chorus continues into the chorus this time and I especially love the drum fill after the second line. A final hook over that nice piano piece rounds the song off nicely before the sexy opening riff of: "Supermassive black hole" which was the last song on the album that grew on me. I first heard this song and thought immediately that it was the worst Muse song I'd heard yet still okay. However after a while it grew on me big time. There is no denying this song is the musical form if sex, whether you love it or hate it. I love the falsetto, the bassline, the vocals and the guitar solo in the bridge section. I love the stuttering barely audible in the final chorus but I especially love Chris' backing during the chorus as well during "ooh, you set my soul alight" before another abrupt finish precedes: "Map of the problematique" which has a terrific intro, something not many Muse songs have. Love the piano, so small and yet powerful in the background, love the drums at the start, the gradually building up guitar and then when the main riff starts, love the drum fill at the end of every bar. The lyrics as always are a bit but again, love Chris' backing on "I can't get it right". Love the little guitar part just before "loneliness be over" then the awesome drumming in the section after that before a more agressive part during the rest of the song. This song is punctuated by the drumming, a little heavier than normal in parts. Another song which is terrific live. I can see why they usually played it second or third song in as it is great to get the crowd going. The drum fill once again through the outro and yet another sudden ending before the opening soft brushes of: "Soldier's poem" which is just basically two minutes of music but lyrically pure genius and for Muse that is saying something. I adore the vocalisation in the background of the song and the falsetto in the "there's no justice in the world" - the harmony here is to die for. This song wouldve been great if longer but not as effective. It leads perfectly into: "Invincible" which oir the first minute just seems cheesy and to be honest shit. Thankfully, from when Matt sings "during the struggle," the song picks up. The melody is not what I would call likable to this point and the marching band-esque drumming is tiring but then the real drums kick in and the song takes off. I like the way the guitar comes in during the second chorus too before the opening riff leading into that wicked solo. This goes off, probably one of the best solos they've done and in my opinion makes what was until then an average song pretty damn good. Love the guitar in the background of the final chorus here too leading into the last few heavy chords to finish the song. Then we have the contrasting opening guitar riff of: "Assassin" which at first listen sounds too heavy to be a Muse song. I love the little stuttery vocalisation in the background of the last line of each verse. The chorus is okay too but all in all this song seems like it is missing something as it could have been better. That's probably because it is. After the first chorus, there is actually another version of this song out there with a killer bridge section in it which improves this song. I love the fierce in-your-face outro though, especially those last few harmonics and drum fills before the opening beat of: "Exo-politics" which is a fairly weak song but has some good stuff going for it, notably the drums and the chorus which is great in my opinion. It picks up from "when the Zetas fill the skies" and that awesome guitar solo/bridge between the chorus and second verse. Again, the song is just average and seems to lack something. But I do love that in the second chorus if you listen carefully behind the second "I'm waiting patiently" there is a pretty good background riff that I quite enjoy. Another abrupt finish before my personal favourite song on the album: "City of Delusion" which opens with that Spanish sounding guitar before the drums kick in at the end of the first verse. Then the orchestral part before the chorus. Boy does this song have a great chorus?! I love "I will aveeeeeeeeeeeenge!!!!" the passion in which he sings it is incredible. Oh and then the second verse is terrific, first that punchy little beat over the wah-wah bassy backing riff (i would call this the song's main riff as it is throughout all the verses) which gets more distorted as the verse continues and then the more audible riff as the drums kick back in before the whole thing crumbles creating a perfect metaphor for the song. Then we launch into the second chorus and once again we have that intense and brash singing leading into the final little instrumental bar at the end of the chorus - you know the one! Also love Chris' backing "justify my reasons" (at least I think that is what he sings) before Matt sings "I will avenge". Then once more we have the opening guitar riff before that awesome trumpet solo. Love how Muse just completely surprises you with stuff like this. One more chorus with just as much passion and then another punchy finish. BAM! Love it!! after that, I like the continuing of the Spanish theme with the opening thirty seconds or so of: "Hoodoo" which sounds melancholy and slightly bluesy at first before the soft drumming and orchestral backing before that strained "Why? Why?" and then the awesome piano parts. Not enough genuine piano in this album in my opinion but this song makes up for it. Love the second verse or whatever it is here. Love the drumming, the guitar in the background and the orchestra once more before the very subtle and gentle finish and that final note sounds so bliss. Wonderful song. Then all too soon, the album has almost finished with the opening few seconds of: "Knights of Cydonia" with that weird noise sounding like lasers and horses and stuff before the riff starts. Love the drumming here, so rhythmic and energetic and then the vocalizing over the riff with the la-la-las and ooh-oohs. Also gotta love that trumpet in the background again. Then the lyrics start: "come ride with me" and then the intro is played again mid-sing leading into that part we all love - "No-one's going to take me aliiiive!!!" and the build up here is incredible. The guitar at first, then the drums coming in and leading into that breakdown with another terrific riff. It starts to get mental here. Leading back into another round if "No-one's going to take me aliiiive!!!" and the final riff with that orchestral keyboard part in the background - this is a perfect album closer and show closer too. I hope they finshed every show with this song because it deserves to be a finale song. Terrific! Best to worst: 1. City of Delusion (just pure awesome) 2. Take a Bow (probably the most perfect and complete song they've ever done) 3. Knights of Cydonia (kicks arse) 4. Map of the problematique (just an all round great song) 5. Hoodoo (piano, Yay!!) 6. Supermassive Black Hole (hooray for sex!!!) 7. Invincible (this rocks live and that solo - ) 8. Soldier's poem (genius ) 9. Exo politics (meh) 10. Assassin (meh meh) 11. Starlight (cheesy but still great live) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattC13 Posted June 10, 2010 Share Posted June 10, 2010 Five Stars Good things about the album: A lot of things, mostly the spacey and 'lively' songs. Bad things about the album: I'll have to think about this Best track: Knights of Cydonia Worst track: Supermassive Black Hole Favourite moment: I can't decide And um, 1. Knights of Cydonia 2. Map of the Problematique 3. City of Delusion 4. Take a Bow 5. Assassin 6. Hoodoo 7. Invincible 8. Exo Politics 9. Soldiers Poem 10. Starlight 11. Supermassive Black Hole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In Ryanbows Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 I might have posted here, I don't really remember. 5 Stars Good stuff: It has a little bit of everything. Soft songs, hard rock, powerful, gentle, epic, catchy, classical-based, pop-based, you name it. Bad stuff: Exo-Politics. 1. City of Delusion 2. Map of the Problematique 3. Knights of Cydonia 4. Soldier's Poem 5. Hoodoo 6. Invincible 7. Starlight 8. Take a Bow 9. Supermassive Black Hole 10. Assassin 11. Exo-Politics Best moment: The intro to MotP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigapoodle Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Gave it 4 stars. Love the album, but there a couple meh points that could've been prevented. Good points: It has variety. A little bit of pop, a little bit of rock, a splash of piano here and there, and very spacey. I like it. Good points in the songs: The explosion in Hoodoo, the final verse in Take a Bow, and loads of others that I can't be bothered to list. Bad points: Exo Politics, and horrible flow. Take a Bow into Starlight? The fuck? 1. Hoodoo 2. Assassin 3. Take a Bow 4. Knights of Cydonia 5. Supermassive Black Hole 6. City of Delusion 7. Soldier's Poem 8. Invincible 9. Map of the Problematique 10. Starlight 11. Exo-Poilitics Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wombat_714 Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Best track: Hoodoo & or Glorious Worst track: Starlight Favourite moment: The lazers in Knights of Cydonia This. 4. It's good, but not as good as OoS or Abso. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musical Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 5 stars. =) 3rd favourite Muse album. Good things about the album: There's a greater variety in the songs, so there's more experimentation going on. =) I also rarely skip any of these songs except maybe one or two. Bad things about the album: The order of songs could have been improved. It doesn't have the same flow as some of the previous albums. =/ Best track: Knights of Cydonia. Worst track: Soldier's Poem. Favourite moment: "No one's gonna take me alive." in Knights of Cydonia, "Take a bow-ow-ow-ow-ow" in Take a Bow, MotP chorus, strings in City of Delusion, all of Hoodoo. =) 1. Knights of Cydonia 2. Hoodoo 3. Map of the Problematique 4. City of Delusion 5. Take a Bow 6. Supermassive Black Hole 7. Starlight 8. Assassin 9. Invincible 10. Exo-Politics 11. Soldier's Poem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spark_ Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Probably everything I would say has been said by Aussie Muser. I must also agree with whoever said the production was really, really, really bad. I didn't like KoC at all when I first heard it because the production was so surprisingly poor (and then I heard the live version). 1. City of Delusion - most complete, well made track on the album 2. Take a Bow - YOU WILL BURN IN HELL 3. Hoodoo - beautiful, beautiful song. I just wish they put the piano version as they had initially wanted to. 4. Knights of Cydonia - production 5. Map of the problematique - good all round song 6. Supermassive Black Hole - lots and lots of guitar distortion. Me like. 7. Invincible - good live, great solo. 8. Soldier's poem - ok 9. Exo politics - ok 10. Assassin - ok 11. Starlight - ok Too many "ok" tracks through the centreline of the album for me to rate it higher than 3.5/5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whatchaoskills Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 4/5 I've really got no problems with this album. Good things about the album: I can listen to the album all the way through without getting bored, BUT... (see below) Bad things about the album: I can only listen to the CD so often (once a month, as a whole). I can listen to the songs randomly here and there, but mostly, the songs, while amazing, get old after awhile. Still an awesome album though. Best track: Map of the Problematique Worst track: Soldier's Poem Favourite moment: The elusive-ness (best word I could think of) of Take A Bow, everything about MotP, the amazingness that is the second half of KoC, piano breakdown in Hoodoo. 1. MotP 2. Exo-Politics 3. KoC 4. Take A Bow 5. CoD 6. Hoodoo 7. Starlight 8. Assassin 9. Invincible 10. SMBH 11. Soldier's Poem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aussie Muser Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Probably everything I would say has been said by Aussie Muser. I must also agree with whoever said the production was really, really, really bad. I didn't like KoC at all when I first heard it because the production was so surprisingly poor (and then I heard the live version). 1. City of Delusion - most complete, well made track on the album 2. Take a Bow - YOU WILL BURN IN HELL 3. Hoodoo - beautiful, beautiful song. I just wish they put the piano version as they had initially wanted to. 4. Knights of Cydonia - production 5. Map of the problematique - good all round song 6. Supermassive Black Hole - lots and lots of guitar distortion. Me like. 7. Invincible - good live, great solo. 8. Soldier's poem - ok 9. Exo politics - ok 10. Assassin - ok 11. Starlight - ok Too many "ok" tracks through the centreline of the album for me to rate it higher than 3.5/5. Wow, we have almost the exact same order! I have Knights at 3, Map at 4, hoodoo at 5... apart from that, every song in the same order. I was thinking I'd be different for most having CoD first. Having said that, I think TaB is the most perfectly created Muse song of all - I just have a personal preference of CoD over that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spark_ Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Wow, we have almost the exact same order! I have Knights at 3, Map at 4, hoodoo at 5... apart from that, every song in the same order. I was thinking I'd be different for most having CoD first. Having said that, I think TaB is the most perfectly created Muse song of all - I just have a personal preference of CoD over that. CoD is definitely the most complete, well-put-together, most interesting, varied and not badly-produced track on the album. And the last four are basically interchangeable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anxyous Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 Bad things: Incoherent, bad mastering. 5/6 from me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Veronica_cy Posted June 11, 2010 Share Posted June 11, 2010 3.5/5 Best tracks: City of Delusion, Take a Bow Worst track: Exo-Politics Favourite moment: I WILL AVEEEEEEEEEEEEEENGE!, trumpet solo, strings, bass / everything about CoD basically, when drums come in on TaB, KoC ending riff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbroken_ideals Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 4/5 I like most aspects of this album a lot better than TR- Because there's still some rock, some adventure- Some insanity. TR was too serious for me, and it sounded like they were doing it for the money and not for the love of music. Screw classical symphonies, THIS is what Muse is about- Songs that are fun to join in with, like Starlight. Epic riffage, like Knights. Emotionally intense songs, like Hoodoo. Or just songs that are all round awesome, like Map of the Problematique. This album is not great as a whole. The flow seems completely mutilated, and there are a few songs that are quite average. (No, I am not looking at Exo-Politics. It's actually one of my favourite songs off the album, and probably makes my top 25 Muse songs) This is actually the album that I discovered the greatness of Muse through, and I've got to give it a lot of respect for that. Best song: Map of the Problematique Worst song: Soilder's Poem Favourite Moment: Invincible solo 1. MotP 2. Exo-Politics 3. KoC 4. Starlight 5. TaB 6. SMBH 7. Invincible 8. Assassin 9. CoD 10. Hoodoo 11. Soilder's Poem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WutDaFucksy Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 3.5/5 Best song: Knights of Cydonia Worst song: Soilder's Poem Worst moment: All of Soldiers Poem, yawn. Favourite Moments: KoC riffage, TaB climax, Invincible solo, HooDoo (where drums come in) 1. Knights of Cydonia 2. HooDoo 3. Map of the Problematique 4. Take A Bow 5. City of Delusion 6. Supermassive Black Hole 7. Assassin 8. Invincible 9 .Starlight 10. Exo-Politics 11. Soldier's Poem Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xbroken_ideals Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Why the uppercase D in Hoodoo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WutDaFucksy Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Why the uppercase D in Hoodoo? It's just that good Nah I always write it like that, stupid iTunes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
drawakangaroo Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 I'd give it a 4.5, rounding up to 5. Good things: Every song is completely different and is great in its own way. True, this album is a bit more mainstream than Origin of Symmetry, but it all comes together in a great way. Bad things: The shortage of awesome riffs. Best songs: Knights of Cydonia, City of Delusion, Starlight (yes, I said it.) Worst songs: Assassin Best moment: The buildup in Take A Bow, pretty much all of Knights of Cydonia. I love that song so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bard4209 Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 Good things about the album - Variety of musical styles Best tracks- Take a bow, Knights of Cydonia, Starlight Favourite moment - No ones gonna take me alive!!! followed by riff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dina F.K.K. Posted June 12, 2010 Share Posted June 12, 2010 5 stars. I love BHAR sooooo much. <3 Good things: each song has its own uniqueness in music, a lot of lyrics in the album talk about conspiracy or politic. Best songs: Take a Bow, Hoodoo, Map of the Problematique, Knight of Cydonia, Assassin, City of Delusion, Soldier's Poem, Best moment: Take a Bow lyric, Starlight's piano, Knight of Cydonia's riff, yeah " I will avenge" in City of Delusion Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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