BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS

I was in the car with a friend one day, he had some intriguing music playing. When I asked him what it was he said it was the album Absolution by Muse. Never heard of Muse before and he said the only way he could describe them was "epic rock". I don't know what 2 or 3 songs I heard but I liked them enough to go out and buy and album, the record store had "Black Holes and Revelations".

I kind of regret that decision, this album now sits near the bottom of my pile. This album is the only actual CD from Muse I have so I can't compare to their overarching work. This album though has a general pop rock sound, but with pretty strong alternative rock tendencies. It has a lot of strangeness to it overall, lots of synth, and unique guitar and drum work. I can't deny that these guys are pretty good musicians, especially frontman Matt Bellamy who is quite unique and creative. However, while there are good moments in most of the songs, a lot of them are just flat out bad. I found a lot of this boring, or just unlistenable. The only songs I really like all the way through are Assassin to Knights of Cydonia. Yeah, strange how it comes in a block like that.

The rest of the album is just too difficult to make it through any songs. Bellamy's voice is filled with emotion, and sometimes he really uses that passion well. Best example I can think of is, "How can we win, when fools can be kings" as well as the "No one's gunna take me alive..." chorus, both in Knights of Cydonia. However, often his vocals just grate on me. I can't stand them. A lot of the songs are boring, or drag to much. Supermassive Black Hole seems to be one of Muse's bigger hits, but this was the most boring song on the album. Honestly, a lot of the album is just uninteresting. Flat, not much there, boring.

So while the musicianship is there, I only like 5 songs from this album out of 12. The others I really can not listen to. That leaves only one rating for this album.

Two Stars