The Resistance - One Year On

[nohopeinfear]

Still listen to at least 70% of the album everyday

 

Uprising

Undisclosed

Resistance

US

MK

Exo

[Clunge]

Worst songs: MK Ultra, I Belong to You, Unnatural Selection.

.

 

Each to their own .

[Hopix]

Still listen to the album. Still love it.

[DebraE]

I still enjoy listening to it as much as I did in the beginning. I'm still not crazy about guiding light, but the rest are great. its still 150% better than the crap out there on the radio

[bunerz]

It probably sits as my 4th favourite album ahead of Showbiz. I'd rate it a 7.

 

Uprising- still love

 

Resistance- loved to start with but now skip every time

 

Undisclosed- wasn't keen to start with but now think it's really well-crafted

 

USoE- liked it after the treasure hunt when it was the first new Muse material for ages but probably over-listened to it and now I only listen to it rarely

 

Guiding Light- Guiding Shite, live as well as on record. Nuff said.

 

US- love this live and on record

 

MK- ditto

 

IBTY- makes me smile every time I hear it- love it (especially watching the French sing along at Casino de Paris!)

 

Exo- love all 3 parts

[Burning_October]

Resistance is a great album musically. In fact, at it's core it's one of the best things Muse have put out (though USoE could've been stripped down. It's far more powerful in it's guitar-and-Queen-harmonies-less live version). The lyrics totally kill it though. Just so so bad. Granted, Matt was never the BEST lyricist ever, but the stuff was still fairly good, and never detracted from the songs (and occasionally it was great). Resistance though...ugh. The lyrics are just horrible, and it really brings down the songs.

 

In any case, though, overall i'd say this is definitely Muse's worst album. Best songs:

 

MK Ultra

Undisclosed Desires (it's actually a great little experiment in full on r&b songwriting)

I Belong To You

Overture

 

Worst songs:

 

Uprising

Unnatural Selection

Guiding Light

[control]

I desperately tried to like TR when it was released, but I gave up after a while. I think it's by far the worst Muse album and to date it's the only Muse album I've never purchased in any format.

 

I like Uprising, MK Ultra and I think Exogenesis I-III is just beautiful (I never truly expected a 'symphonic monster')

Undisclosed Desires: I was very disappointed, 'Muse meets Depeche Mode' sounds fantastic to me, but the actual song is terribly mediocre. Resistance to me is bland and uninspired. IBTY has some interesting parts - I love the clarinet and the atrocious French bit- but the actual tune and the lyrics are just too hilarious to me to properly enjoy it musically.

Unnatural Selection (which on paper sounds great) to me is too ham-fisted and lumbering, I still like it but I was also disappointed by it. One of the tracks that really sound like Muse recycling Muse.

Guiding Light: best to pretend that never happened:LOL:

USoE: I love the intro + the eastern scales, the rest is appalling. This one hurts a bit because I loved the treasure hunt and got very excited about hearing a new track. But I guess it works as a pastiche

 

I did love the artwork by the way, it looks fantastic. But overall TR is my least favourite Muse album by far. I never feel the urge to listen to it.

[hyper_chondriac_muser]

 

Initially, I loved it. Like everyone, the 'hype' of a new album coming out had overtaken, and I was hooked on each track... and even found myself wondering if TR could rival Absolution (lol). Looking back, I think I overrated it (again, it's common for fans to kind of be 'blinded' by the fact that a new album is finally out after a 3 year wait and fall in love with it), but I do still like the album a lot.

 

My opinion of the songs hasn't changed too much. I still think Exogenesis is a brilliant piece, even if it isn't the greatest example of a symphony; it truly epitomises what Muse are made of - epicness! I found the diversity of the album quite refreshing... it wasn't as wishy-washy as the musical 'theme' of BH&R - which seemed like it was grappling to hold onto a sense of seamlessness, but didn't quite make it, and ended up sounding a bit random (style of songs and order).

 

Although the tracks are also very different on The Resistance, I felt that they could at least be tied by a common concept that expresses itself through various musical guises. I still think this, which is why I'm still quite fond of the record as a whole and don't think I've been disappointed or let down.

 

However, it probably ranks 4th out of their 5 studio albums, for me. There's something... just Something that's lacking, or too much, or not enough - I don't quite know, but when I compare it to the other albums, I honestly don't see it as being better than BH&R, and definitely doesn't beat Absolution or OoS. The quality of songs hasn't deteriorated as such, but they're not quite as... memorable? Maybe that's not the word. All I know is, there's at least 5 songs from BH&R that I'd rate in my top 20, whereas I'd only put about 2 or 3 from TR.

 

It could be that there aren't enough riff-heavy, 'rocky' songs, which are usually the songs I find most gripping and powerful. Uprising, Unnatural Selection, MK Ultra and parts of Exogenesis are the stand-out riffier tracks, with Resistance kind of following; the rest vary in style. BH&R has Take A Bow, Supermassive, MOTP, Assassin, Knights, Exo-Politics. Even Starlight has a strong bassline to it, hehe.

 

In all, it's a solid record, and does what every Muse album does - takes another dramatic direction and experiments with alternate musical and generic styles. I don't think I'll be disappointed with the next album either, but I'm coming to realise that they've moved away slightly from producing the style of songs that I Really love (circa OoS and Abso - dramatic, OTT, loud, aggressive etc.) It's still there in parts (TaB, KoC, Exogenesis, USoE), but those songs don't dominate their albums anymore, which is why OoS and Absolution can never be topped, imo. Although never say never, I s'pose .

 

[garseys]

Well I didn't think that Undisclosed Desires and Uprising would become 2 of my favourite muse songs!

 

Anyway

 

Uprising: Still love it, Great live and hopefully will be a set mainstay for the next tour.

 

Resistance: Quite Meh about it, its decent but it lacks pace live.

 

Undisclosed Desires: Amazing on the record, Does not work live at all. Theres something missing from it, sounds empty.

 

USoE: Generally skip it now

 

Guiding Light:....

 

Unnatural Selection: Still love it, its phemonenal, New Borns replacement when the inevitable happens.

 

MK Ultra: Not crazy about it as much now, Havent seen it live.

 

IBTY: Fun cheesey, and skipped most times now!

 

Exogenesis:Rarely listen to it now, I won't over play it. Still the bands best work.

 

Original Review: 8.5/10 Current Review: 6.5/10

[Travis III]

I still think it has the best overall flow of any Muse album, and the individual tracks themselves are (mostly) excellent. Overall I'd say it's their third best album after Absolution and OoS.

 

Uprising - Not the best thing Muse has done musically, but it's a fun, slightly-ahead-of-it's-time pop-rock tune.

Resistance - I know it's old for some people now, but I still enjoy this song quite a bit. Initially I was a bit thrown off by the structure, but it's grown on me. Love the intro and outro in particular, awesome piano.

Undisclosed Desires - A really catchy, enjoyable pop song with awesome bass (mainstream music desperately needs more slap bass) and vocals (including backup vocals, which work really well here).

United States Of Eurasia - As with Resistance, the structure of this song initially threw me off slightly, but I have to admit it is an enjoyably over-the-top, Queen-esque track.

Guiding Light - I enjoy it more than most, but it's not the strongest track on the album. Nice riff and synths.

Unnatural Selection - Pretty much a typical Muse rock song, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. The album version is solid, but it sounds better live.

MK Ultra - Really entertaining and unique blend of rock and electronica. I like this one a lot.

I Belong To You - Catchy, jazzy, eccentric little love song. A bit cheesy, but no more than half of the stuff on Showbiz. I don't think the French part quite works when listening to the song individually, but it does fit in with the rest of the album.

Exogenesis - All parts are absolutely beautiful, and it's nice to see lyrics that are slightly less direct than usual (though still highly moving and evocative). One of my favourite Muse songs for sure.

[drawakangaroo]

I actually like it a lot more than when I first heard it. At first, I was like "What the hell is this shit?" Then I heard the second half of the album and was like "Never mind, this is awesome. First half still sucks though." Now for a track-by-track:

Uprising - I pretty much feel the same about this as I did when I first heard it. It's not bad by any means, but it's not particularly good. It's somewhat enjoyable, but I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it.

Resistance - If it weren't for the "it could be wrong"s, I'd probably like this song a bit more. That just annoys me. Other than that, the song's pretty good. Nowhere close to my favorite Muse songs, though. The first time I heard it, though, I hated it because of the "it could be wrong"s.

Undisclosed Desires - The first time I heard it, I was like "WTF Muse." Then it slowly grew on me, and now it's probably in the lower part of my top 25 Muse songs.

United States of Eurasia - I absolutely hated this song when I first heard it, because it sounded like a Queen ripoff. Now that I have gotten past that, for the most part, I've started to really enjoy it.

Guiding Light - I've actually never hated this song. I've never loved it, but I honestly don't understand all the hate for it. The guitar solo is the best part of the song, and I like the beginning, other than that, it's slightly boring, but not by any means bad.

Unnatural Selection - At first, I was like "WTF, riffcycle much?" But I still liked the song. I have gotten past the fact that it sounds slightly like New Born, and I really like it now. The slow part in the middle really makes it interesting, in a good way.

MK Ultra - I loved this song from the first time I heard it. It's definitely in my top 10 Muse songs.

I Belong to You - I hated this song with a passion until just a little while ago. I can now tolerate it, but I definitely don't like it. Probably my least favorite Muse song ever.

Exogenesis - Don't really feel like writing a review for each part, so I'll go with the whole thing. From the beginning, I loved this. Cross-Pollination used to be my favorite, but now I think it might be Overture.

 

Anyway... it's my fourth favorite album, but that definitely doesn't mean that I don't like it, because I really do. I just think BHaR, OoS, and Absolution are better.

[CarrieB]

Still adore it! Remarkable album. At least on a par with their others.

 

Only comment that Uprising and USoE grew on me with time.

[Tasha_]

I quite like this album, although it is not my favourite and it took a while for it to grow in me, I must admit

My favourite songs are MK Ultra, Undisclosed Desires and Uprising.

My least favourite is Guiding Light, because it just seems too cheesy so I have been skipping it almost every time I listen to the album, although it's not really that bad, I guess.

[musefanlondon]

Loved it then, love it now. Sure, it's not the best of theirs but it's still damn fine album.

 

In fact, some of the songs I wasn't so sure of a few months ago I've since grown to love, so I guess I Iove it even more one year on.

[Interzone]

A year on:

 

Uprising - Quite average really and borrows from several other popular songs.

Resistance - I do like the whole 1984 Winston and Julia theme but the song as a whole isn't really that great.

Undisclosed Desires - It's good that Muse wanted to try something different but not this kind of something different.

United States of Eurasia - I still quite like this.

Guiding Light - My opinion of this one hasn't changed. It's an abomination.

Unnatural Selection - One of the better tracks on the album.

MK Ultra - Definitely the best track on the album. Muse proving they can rock out. Should be played a lot more live. At least once when I'm there, please?

I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S'ouvre a ta Voix) - Fun but probably shouldn't have been an album track.

Exogenesis - Musically a very good work indeed. It's not really a 'symphony' but still, sounds lovely.

[WutDaFucksy]

Sort of liked it when it first came out but nowhere near that enthusiastic about it now. Strongest parts of the album are definitely MK Ultra and Unnatural Selection, just shows at least they haven't forgotten that they can rock.

 

Uprising: Has catchy and "single" written all over it. Although quite likeable and good live (especially with the riff ending). 7/10

Resistance: Just an average rock song that doesn't really get going until the last 10 seconds before it mellows out again. 6/10

Undisclosed Desires, well they tried that direction and I don't think they should pursue it, its not very good live and on record not much better, can see why people enjoy it mind. 5.5/10

United States of Eurasia: Big, over-the-top and a whole lot of Queen but I like it! 7.5/10

Guiding Light: Terrible. 3/10

Unnatural Selection: Strong bass and rocks out most of the way through with the nice bridge in the middle. Good rocking tune! 7/10

MK Ultra: Undoubtedly the highlight of the album, a cool riff, a great sound and rocking out at the end. Best song off the new album live by a mile. 9/10

I Belong To You: Just a bit of fun! Catchy piano and the French bit does make me smile. 6.5/10

Overture: I like it, good start to the "Symphony" and works quite well live. 7/10

Cross-Pollination: Big build-up but a little disappointing overall, takes a long time to get to where its trying to go. 6/10

Redemption: A nice tame ending to the symphony and the album, a good song. 7.5/10

 

Overall: 6.5/10

[futurellama]

IBTY is a good song, unfortunately I just tend to forget it exists.

 

this happens to me too

[Originally_Symmetrical]

Uprising - I knew it just sounded like everything else from the start.

Resistance - One of their easy songs. Almost too simple. I think they could have done a lot more with the Winston and Julia take on it.

UD - Yea, they wanted something different, but they shouldn't have done this.

OSoE - Powerful, but I don't love it. I think that the Collateral Damage is the best ending though.

GL - Cheddar and swiss x5000.

US - A good protest song, though people argue its better than CE, I don't see it.

MKU - An awesome rock song that shows Muse's true potential with what they can do with modern day techniques and technology.

IBTY - Meh. Its cute.

Exo - A great ending to the album, I just wish they changed the order above a little bit. You're going from cheese to epicness. It doesn't fit right.

 

7.3/10. Could have done better.

[Bluefish]

When I first heard it I was thinking it was probably the second best album after OoS, but that has sure worn off. It's most likely fourth before BH&R now.

 

Uprising - I still like it

Resistance - I like it quite a bit but the chorus is god-awful

Undisclosed Desires - Meh. Too repetitive and it sounds a bit empty.

United States of Eurasia - I find it hard to get myself to listen to it but once the first part ends I enjoy it

Guiding Light - crap

Unnatural Selection - Great, not a newborn ripoff.

MK Ultra - Like it somewhat but not nearly as much as when I first heard it.

I Belong to You - Pretty meh

Exogenesis 1 - Pretty good.

Exogenesis 2 - Unimpressive, though "Spread our codes to the stars" gets me

Exogenesis 3 - Unimpressive

 

Exo in particular was the biggest letdown of the album. I don't know why people call it a masterpiece or whatever. The best track is probably Unnatural Selection, and the best moment is its breakdown. It's also probably the only TR track that has made it to my top 10.

 

When it first came out, I think I gave it an 8 or 8.5/10. Now I'd probably give it a 6.5 or 7.

[Jessicat]

Honestly I could hardly ever listen to it, as I found it almost unbearable. And yeah still do find it unbearable. Sorry. I'm hoping for a miracle next album.

[Burning_October]

Am I the only one who thinks Undisclosed Desires is a great live song?

[Wingardium LevioSIA]

Okay, after having not listened to it for quite some time, I wasn't sure how I would feel about it now. But I've listened to it again and I can say it's still great. Obviously it's very different from OoS and Absolution, but it manages to be a brilliant album in its own way.

 

Uprising: it's probably one of the weaker tracks, and not as good as Muse's other openers. It's good fun and an obvious choice for a single, but I think it keeps doing the same thing for a bit long.

Resistance: this song had quite a fan club at first, but nowadays nobody seems to really rate it. A shame, because I still love it, though it's possibly not my favourite track on the album anymore.

Undisclosed Desires: another unpopular track that I really like. The style is really cool, and it isn't the Timbaland-esque R&B monstrosity people make it out to be, though I can understand it being a bit dull live.

United States of Eurasia: like Uprising, a really fun song. Completely bonkers and helps the album's story. I also get quite nostalgic about it due to the treasure hunt.

Guiding Light: not a particularly strong track, but another underrated one. I always quite enjoy it when I hear it, but unfortunately the guitar solo is too short and the final section too long. Still decent though.

Unnatural Selection: similar to USE in that it's absolutely nuts. I enjoy every part of this song, and though there are better tracks on the album, I still think it's great.

MK Ultra: I went off this one a little bit because I had it as my ringtone for ages and so I ended up overdoing it. Anyway, it is still as good as it used to be, with an odd structure and great rock sections.

I Belong To You: the unchecked silliness of this song would probably make it more apt for a B-side, so it was rather brave to put it on the album. Not one to be taken seriously, but loads of fun, and in a less predictable way than Uprising.

Exogenesis 1: an excellent, dark track to mark the beginning of the end of the album. It's powerful and contains some of the best guitar on The Resistance.

Exogenesis 2: not quite as good as the other Exogenesis parts, but still pretty solid. The build-up is really good, and I'm quite surprised it doesn't get played live, as "spread our codes..." onwards should make for a great singalong.

Exogenesis 3: it initially took me a while to get into this, but now it's my favourite track on the album, and one of Muse's best in my opinion. Another slow build-up to emotional vocals with lyrics that are simple but probably the best on the album.

 

So yeah, I still love it. Far better than Showbiz, which is generally weak, and BH&R, which is just too loose. Even though the genres are all over the place, it has an ongoing story and and overall feeling of old-school ridiculosity that makes it extremely enjoyable.

 

The era in general has been a bit rubbish though. In the lead-up to the album, it was great, with the treasure hunt and the gradual revelations of track names, cover art (their best so far), etc. But once it came out, it all went a bit flat. The singles seemed like afterthoughts, the B-sides were non-existent, and they released a non-album single especially for a Twilight film, which is quite a fun song, but not actually all that good. As I understand it, the tour wasn't so great either, with some very unadventurous setlists. The most intriguing things they did were release Exogenesis as a very limited edition 12" and wear some silly clothes.

 

For their next album, I'd rather they don't continue in the current direction, because I think one Neutron Star Collision is really enough. I also don't want them to actively go into reverse and rehash a previous style. Now that they've achieved such success, I think they can get away with doing something totally different, building on the style of one or two particular songs or just trying a style they've never really done before.

[Niall]

Am I the only one who thinks Undisclosed Desires is a great live song?

 

It think it's good but I can definitely understand the people who don't like it live. It is definitely lacking something in its live performances.

[spark_]

Hmm...

 

I'm liking it a lot less. Whilst songs such as MKU/Parts of Exo etc. maintain their power and there is some undeniably interesting things going on in the instrumental of UD and USOE, I just get bored too fast.

[emperorhand]

I think The Resistance is the only album where most of the songs sound better recorded than live, unfortunately. Uprising is quite good live, as are Unnatural Selection and USOE. As much as I love MK Ultra, though, I think its live performance is lacking that little spark that would put it over the top. I've seen it twice, and for some reason it felt...flat. And I hate to say that, since it's by far my favorite song off of the album.

 

I used to like Resistance much more than I do now; it's horrible on record and worse live. UD is actually okay on the CD, but it's yawn-inducing when Matt faffs around on the keytar. And Overture sucks, especially as an opener. Overall, I don't love the album, but I do like the MK-US-IBTY-Exo string. It just doesn't compare to BH&R's back half.