BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS

1. Take a Bow- Starting out with an intriguing keyboard part, this song increasingly makes use of that and Bellamy's vocals, then building into a climax when other instruments come in and show you a pretty good typical Muse song. This song is a bit proggy, especially during the very odd yet neat sounding keyboard segment of the song after it builds. Definitely more than your average modern rock song. 8/10

2. Starlight- Wonderful song, one of my favorites from Muse (if not my favorite). It was a hit/single, and it has a decently straightforward structure. The overall atmosphere to it, however, is incredibly enjoyable. Try not liking this one! Bellamy's vocals and instrumentation are great, and the rest of the band is up to considerable par. This is really an extremely well-crafted song and I can't find any fault with it other than the fact that it's not particularly groundbreaking (though that's not why you would listen to Muse). Second best song on here other than Knights. 9/10

3. Supermassive Black Hole- Interesting experiment here, almost bordering very pop-like vocals and structure here. This song was even more of a hit than the previous one, and god help me, I enjoy it. It certainly is a good song, but not one of their best, despite my enjoyment. Solid song, nothing else. 7/10

4. Map of the Problematique- My thoughts on this song are similar to the previous one, although both songs aren't too similar other than being Muse songs. This one is again not the most proggy song, but it is a good rock song. Good drums, vocals, keyboards, bass, as usual. 6/10

5. Soldier's Poem- Great acoustic and vocal interlude. It really sets a good atmosphere up and still flows on the album. It isn't groundbreaking at all, just pleasant. The vocals here are especially neat. 6/10

6. Invincible- Here we go. Now this is a hell of a song. Good entry vocals and marching drums, and the mood is perfect. I love when the guitar parts come in a very distant tone and give a soaring indomitable feel to the song, which fits it perfectly. Together we're invincible! Very moving song, and it builds perfectly once more. 9/10

7. Assassin- Proggier song once more, and that can be discerned immediately. The opening guitar part is quite interesting and the song here is pretty good. Good rock elements while still maintaining typical Muse bombastic rock structure. It is accomplished, but it doesn't strike a chord with me especially as a few of the other songs especially have. 7/10

8. Exo-Politics- Great song again, but again, not perfect. It has good instrumentation and good songwriting as always, but it doesn't break any new boundaries nor does it really strike a special chord with me. Probably my least favorite song on here. 5/10

9. City of Delusion- Good song, with a cool acoustic opening and vocals. The way that the song unfolds again is applauded and Muse certainly is effective at churning out decent rock songs one after the other. 7/10

10. Hoodoo- Slower song that is in the vein of some of their songs on previous albums. It is pretty good, and I more so like the second half of the song where the piano and drums take a more dominant role. 6/10

11. Knights of Cydonia- This is perhaps the most proggy song on the album and Muse at their finest. This is easily their best track on this album and probably the best track they've ever recorded. The awesome intro, the commanding, galloping drums, then the extremely bizarre guitars all through the opening tell you that this one is going to be quite a ride. No faults here, this really is the epitome of what Muse is all about. I love the opening, the part when the vocals break out with the synth-guitar backing in the middle in an extremely cool mood setter, and of course the rocking guitar battle at the end. They should make more songs like this! 10/10

12. Glorious- Good track in the vein of a typical rocky bombastic Muse song. More than an average rock song easily and quite good, similar to most of the tracks on this album while still covering new ground as to not become too uninteresting. 7/10

This is a tough one to rate star-wise. It is an excellent addition to a musical collection and it's far from essential, but I'm not so sure if a progger's collection would suffer at all from not having this. Good, not essential, definitely their best album. Check this out if you want some enjoyable, wonderfully crafted prog-influenced modern rock, but this will definitely not appeal to everyone.

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