The Resistance - One Year On

[leeeeem]

MK Ultra

Uprising

I Belong to You

Unnatural Selection

Overture

Undisclosed Desires

United States of Eurasia

Cross-Pollination

Redemption

Guiding Light

Resistance

[Obi]

For starters, I think it was very unfairly panned by some critics/older fans simply because it wasn't OOS all over again. On the other hand, it doesn't hold a candle to OOS in quality...

 

Um. It's a double-edged sword.

 

When it first came out, I loved it, was convinced that Muse were back after their little blip, and overplayed it vivaciously for a few weeks.

 

Eventually it became clear that I was skipping certain songs regularly. Resistance and Guiding Light were virtually always skipped because they bored me to tears. Undisclosed was played a lot for a while, because it was catchy, but then repeated radio play killed it.

 

Same for USOE really, loved it at first for it's arabian strings (always WIN for me, see my obssession for Oriental Metal) but Chopin tagged at the end was pointless and bored me.

 

Unnatural Selection seemed to be a winner at first, but it just lacked the soul or capacity to keep interest that classics like NB or CE did. MK Ultra was more enjoyable in the long run, and I do play it every now and then. IBTY is a good song, unfortunately I just tend to forget it exists.

 

Then the symphony...ahhh. Erm. Well, the first time I heard it I jizzed. I thought it was phenominal; all of it. Different parts jumped out at me, and I was convinced Muse had made a masterpiece. Then I played it about 100 odd times, seperate from the album. By this point, I'd moved on from listening to Muse entirely. In fact, I've not properly listened to Muse since January/February really. It's not that I dislike them, I just overplayed and got bored of em. They stopped being my favourite band a while ago after all.

 

For a while, this made me think that perhaps TR was just bollocks, especially considering I found myself only able to bear OOS anymore without getting bored. But then I realised it was the same for virtually everything Muse recorded. I just needed a break. They're still a favourite band of mine and I'm sure I'll revisit it in time, but NSC really put me off Muse as a whole for a while. Until they start writing some good riffy songs again, I'll probably be too busy listening to other bands sadly.

[amuseme543]

I bought the album back when I wasnt a huge Muse fan (only really knew their popular songs) I really liked it and I still do. Two of the highlights for me were UD (you're not the only one Niall ), USoE, and MKU. And I'm probobly the only person on this forum that likes Guiding Light (it was the first one i listned to on the album cause it finished downloading first hahah). However, I did not like Exogenesis. It was "meh" (though I must admit Matts voice is incredible on Part 1). And the bonus tracks like Popcorn and Who Knows Who where pretty good too. But I DO NOT like NSC AT ALL. To me its just some commercial song for publicity (which I understand, I would do it too). THe album alos kinda want me to investigate more into their other stuff. And I'm glad I did.

[amuseme543]

I know I posted a review, but I wanna do a track by track.

Uprising: Great beat, very modern sounding (I think this is the style that will be popular in about 5 - 10 years)

Resistance: Very Musey (I just coined a new word ). The whole intro synth bit with the piano bursting in really did it for me. And Dom's drumming is spot on and suits the song well.

Undisclosed Desires: I hate to admit its one of my favorites on the album. The whole string bit I stellar. Its great to listen to cranked up in my room or on the surround sound (but you need a good sub to get the full "thunk-tha-tha-thunk thunk").

United States of Eurasia / Collateral Damage (Excerpt from Nocturne in E-Flat, Op. 9 No. 2): I love this track reminds me of Queen a bit. But the strings just throws the whole Queen idea out the window. The piano excerpt at the end is beautiful. (even my dad likes it haha) And yes I did copy and paste the title from iTunes......

Guiding Light: Not a BAD song, just not stellar. The guitar is very good, and the bass part fits in well.

Unnatural Selection: The riff is reminiscent of New Born. And I love the slow bit in the middle.

MK Ultra: My personal favorite from the album. The guitar/synth combination is really cool sounding and I love the vocals just a really nicely played song musically.

I Belong to You / Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix: Very fresh sounding. Its good to listen to when you just wake up, if that makes sense..... And the clarinet solo just makes me smile hahha.

Exogensis Symphony: I personely do not like it but its still a great competition.

[Furygirl]

I don't think it has held my interest as much as some of the other Muse albums, but I still enjoy it. It doesn't have any skippers on it for me (all the others do), but that's still not enough to make me say it's my favorite. For me the whole album is steadily good, but not jaw-droppingly epic. I'd give it a 7.5/10, which I guess is what I would've said a year ago, can't really remember.

 

IBTY is actually probably my favorite, followed by Uprising. Unnatural Selection is great because of the bridge. Of the Exos, I think Cross Pollination is the best. I had to really get to know UD before I could say I liked it, but I really enjoy it now. I guess the one song I like less now than I did a year ago is Resistance. It hasn't aged that well for me.

[Mizutsu]

I genuinely think I Belong To You is the best song on it these days, I love the quirkiness - it doesn't feel forced or poppy for the sake of being poppy like Resistance, Guiding Light and Neutron Star Collision do.

 

And it's got clarinet. Win.

 

+1

[GSMU7]

Uprising - Loved it. Now not so much. The live riff version is better

Resistance - Loved it then and love it now.

Undisclosed Desires - Not a fan. The only good thing about the song live is the extended intro.

United States of Eurasia - Loved it. Got a bit boring now.

Guiding Light - More like guiding shite.

Unnatural Selection - Great live song. One of my favorate off the album.

MK Ultra - The best song off the album by far. Hope it doesn't die live after this tour.

I Belong To You -Didn't mind it at first. Now i hate it. No more please.

Exogenesis - Work of art. Shame its not just 1 long song. Must be played live in full.

 

Overall the good songs r amazing but the bad songs r some of the worst muse have done.

[Pig Man]

Over the past year, my perspective on this album hasn't changed too much. I'd still say it's an 8/10, and it does have some great songs (Exo 1/2/3, IBTY, Uprising), but I'll just say what I thought about it.

 

I don't write album reviews that much (let alone put them on the internet), but I did this a while back and think it's appropriate now.

 

*this album review has been edited since it was written*

 

The wait is over, and one of the most anticipated albums of the year has finally arrived (or at least, one of my friend's), and I've decided to jump into it in hopes of enjoying Muse. I haven't really listened to Muse (not a huge fan, but I've heard their recent albums), so I'm giving this a shot. The Resistance is a different take from Muse's previous albums, and goes further into experimenting with genres (which is what they started to do in BHaR, i.e. RnB). It starts off with a crowd-pleaser (Uprising), that has a smooth, crisp bass line and good vocals on Matt's part. The rest of the album started to decline in energy since that song, but that doesn't make it in any way bad, actually offers for an interesting listen. Throughout the rest of the album, different topics are brought up such as love (in the 1984-influenced Resistance), and then the regretful and remorse of Exogenesis Symphony Part 3 (Redemption). The lyrics are interesting (but like the rest of Muse's work, it's no surprise as to why they keep you listening), especially in Exogenesis 3. Throughout the album, there are influences from Queen and even music from Indiana Jones, and it surprisingly flows nicely with the rest of the songs. The aptly named love letter-of-a-song I Belong To You brings in some interesting elements, including Matt belting out french lyrics and a nicely-put bass clarinet solo. From that to the synth riff of MK Ultra, the album presents itself in a nice way, and the ending will have you appreciate the whole thing. I don't know about you, but this album has a nice way of going out, in the form of a symphony titled "Exogenesis". The symphony is split up into 3 parts, with the 3rd part stealing the cake for sure. As Matt belts out the lyrics "Just let us start it over again/and we'll be good, this time we'll get it right", you can't help but shed a tear for all of the emotion that they managed to pack into one song. Overall, The Resistance is worth the buy, and it is certainly different from what Muse has done previously.

 

8/10

 

I'd have to say that I have the same stance on the album, so nothing really has changed.

[blinkin fightuse]

UPRISING: one year on - instead of enjoying just the riff, i now enjoy the rest of the song and find the riff to be a bit stale and repetitive.

RESISTANCE: one year on - i still am not too fond of it. but i enjoy the end.

UNDISCLOSED DESIRES: when i'm in the mood, but overall a track i thought should have been left out for a b-side.

UNITED STATES OF EURASIA: fucking laugh this track. one of my favorite muse tracks.

GUIDING LIGHT: guiding shite.

UNNATURAL SELECTION: riff is proper loud but i don't like muse playing safe like this. would've enjoyed a fleshed out song version of the middle 8.

MK ULTRA: standard muse rock.

I BELONG TO YOU: didn't enjoy at first. hated when associated with twilight. now i think it's quite a lovely track. it's fun, simple as that. and truly experimental.

OVERTURE: boooooooooooring.

CROSS-POLLINATION: great track. a definite progression from the epic piano style of bhar.

REDEMPTION: a lovely closer and lovely piece. one of my favorite muse piano tracks.

 

so a 6/10 then.

[wombat_714]

If I were to rank it:

 

MK Ultra

Uprising

Overture

Cross-Pollination

Unnatural Selection

Redemption

United States of Eurasia

Undisclosed Desires

Resistance

I Belong To You

Guiding Light

 

I guess.

 

I think we're the same person.

[MattXXI]

MK ULTRA

Uprising

Undisclosed Desires

Unnatural Selection

Overture

Resistance

United States of Eurasia

Guiding Light

I Belong To You

Cross-Pollination

Redemption

 

I loved it when it first came out and I still love it.

[Super Sammy!]

The only two songs from the album I can say I enjoy anymore are Overture and Redemption, and they got boring quickly anyway. MK Ultra is alriiiight, the rest of the tracks are just dull mush to me. The album was always going to be disposable cheesy tracks, and it lived up to that exact definition.

The only part of the album that could've been amazing was Exogenesis, and Cross-Pollination is absolutely horrid. I actually can't stand listening to it, it's that bad.

 

With the inclusion of Prague and Popcorn being the only b-sides of this era, Neutron Star Collision being the only non-album a-side, and the underwhelming live tour for the past year, this is by far the worst Muse era yet, they've done nothing but go down the path a lot of Musers didn't want them to go down.

 

12 months ago, I rated the album about 8.5/10.

6 months ago, I rated the album about 6.5/10.

Now, I rate the album about 3/10. It's just not a good album.

 

Redemption

Overture

-

MK Ultra

-

-

-

Resistance

I Belong To You

Unnatural Selection

United States of Eurasia

-

Uprising

Guiding Light

-

Undisclosed Desires

-

*continues for miles*

-

Cross-Pollination

[Calliope.]

Still love it. My favourite album.

[miss_meadows]

It's still not my cup of tea. I don't know, it's just nothing special, forgettable pop music and forgettable lyrics. I can listen to it as background music but it's just not like the other Muse albums which you could just put on to really listen to.

 

I still really like Exogenesis Overture and Uprising.

[Ami34]

I still like the album but I'm not sure where I would place it in my favourite albums list , in the middle I guess. I enjoy all the songs from the album but there are more songs I prefer on the other albums. I think this album is quite short too, as I count exogenesis as one song so there's only 9 songs :/ , I would have liked to have more to listen to, it felt kind of lacking.

[sharika]

I first got it and loved it with all my heart...though partly it could've been because i won muse tickets that same day it came out haha..then i over listened...then gagged whenever i heard it..left it and loved it again it's amaazing though i think it's best listening all at once..if you mix it in with a giant muse shuffle you'll always end up skipping over them

[Mozza]

There's something I like in every song, but usually something(s) that ruin a lot of the songs

 

Uprising - funky, catchy but a bit flat(?) for an album intro

Resistance - awesome intro, decent verses but the pre-chorus and chorus are just

Undisclosed Desires - I actually like what they tried here, but I don't think it's strong enough for a Muse song and probably a bit of overkill considering the rest of the album

United States of Eurasia - the arabain feel of this song is awesome but really not keen on the outro, think it's too much like Queen in places and Collateral Damage is completely pointless

Guiding Light - I actually like the bass effects on this song. If I turn down the vocals and guitar it's actually listenable

Unnatural Selection - it has a riff and is fast. But it's nothing particularly special either

MK Ultra - great song

I Belong To You - like the rhythm, actually like the fact it sounds a bit Maroon 5-ish but the French bit is just too over the top. But then without it it's just another 'pop' song but with a clarinet

Exogenesis - decent but sounds too fragmented

[Enemy]

Still listen to it all the time. Has always thought the album had gone back to the usual awesomeness of Muse, especially after the sub-par BHaR (which is still a great album on its own, just not compared to Muse's regular output).

[Carbo]

I think I overestimated the album back when I first heard it but it still holds up for what I always thought for it, and its pretty much just as much of a favorite of mine as Absolution.

 

Like all Muse albums they grow old but that doesn't really change much.

 

Uprising is still the best song I have ever had the chance to experience live. It does nothing else than provide a great groove and catchy atmosphere that you cant help but bob your head to. Or in the case of a live scenario, headbang, jump and clap along while shouting.

 

Resistance still has a really catchy verse. But the chorus holds less of an effect on me nowadays.

 

Undisclosed Desires is still sexy and ingenious. One of the best melodies the band has made to be honest.

 

USoE is still the weakest track but still good for what it is.

 

Guiding Light is still cheese, but the good kind.

 

Unnatural Selection could still be passed up for B-Side material but is still fun to jam along to.

 

MK Ultra is still one of the band's best riffing songs.

 

I Belong To You is still fun as fuck.

 

Exogenesis is still awesome.

[xbroken_ideals]

My least favourite Muse album. The majority of songs are full of shit, and the remaining two lost their colour a while ago. Vastly overrated.

 

There's no guiding light left inside

[Niall]

Lol.

 

This was my review from listening party.

 

It has fail.

[~Tom]

Hahah love the eponymous reference that Muse seem to picked up on.

[arelagord]

While it may musically be one of their better albums, for me it personally ranks at the bottom. When it came out, yes I was listening to it alot, but I honestly can't remember the last time I listened to one of the tracks off it out of my own choice. None of the songs, even the better one such as MK Ultra, stand out to me as ones I want to have in any of my playlists over those of the previous albums. I think this is due to the way in which the album designed around the idea of it holding a consistent flow; the weaker songs such as Undisclosed Desires deters me from listening to it as a whole, and the stronger ones don't have enough credentials behind them to warrent individual listening.

 

However I do have to say that many of these tracks do hold much better when played live. Yes, there are those like Undisclosed Desires and Guiding light which should just be stopped now, but overall many of the songs are engaging and enjoyable in a live environment. While the lack of variety in the setlists is an obvious concern it does, unfortunatly, seem the lifeline of the Resistance...

[Bliss :)]

One year ago I discovered Muse. I still love it, as well as the other 4 albums (though I rank it 4th).

[Man 0f Mystery]

I think I overestimated the album back when I first heard it but it still holds up for what I always thought for it, and its pretty much just as much of a favorite of mine as Absolution.

 

Like all Muse albums they grow old but that doesn't really change much.

 

Uprising is still the best song I have ever had the chance to experience live. It does nothing else than provide a great groove and catchy atmosphere that you cant help but bob your head to. Or in the case of a live scenario, headbang, jump and clap along while shouting.

 

Resistance still has a really catchy verse. But the chorus holds less of an effect on me nowadays.

 

Undisclosed Desires is still sexy and ingenious. One of the best melodies the band has made to be honest.

 

USoE is still the weakest track but still good for what it is.

 

Guiding Light is still cheese, but the good kind.

 

Unnatural Selection could still be passed up for B-Side material but is still fun to jam along to.

 

MK Ultra is still one of the band's best riffing songs.

 

I Belong To You is still fun as fuck.

 

Exogenesis is still awesome.

 

I fully agree with this, except on one (major) point. I think Uprising is the worst track. But this can be due to that I played it to much in the beginning. But still, almost nothing is happening (musically) in this song. (It's a very good song live though)

 

Also, I'm not so happy with the 'bridge' in IBTY. It was funny for the first two times, but it started to annoy me. Not because of the French, it just sucks as a bridge for that funky song.

 

But yeah, it's a great album. On number four for me, which means I liked others more, but this album is also good.