THE RESISTANCE

So after much anticipation (and being a huge Muse fan, enough to scour for their rare songs and B-sides), I decided to swing by Best Buy and pick up not only this but Porcupine Tree's The Incident. I was so happy. I thought I was going to be listening to two fantastic albums, but alas, The Incident also suffered the same fate that this album did.

The irony behind the title The Resistance is that it does very little "resisting". This album is very close to a pop album, leaving behind many of the alternative elements that their previous albums had. It tries to do what Black Holes and Revelations did and have many styles on one album. This is not a bad thing as this is what gave BHAR its appeal. However, it feels more forced here. I would give this album 2.5 stars, but I'm feeling a little generous, and they really did succeed in some areas, but decided to just utterly destroy it.

The album opens up with Uprising, which is probably their most well known song along Knights of Cydonia and Time is Running Out. It obviously is a rock anthem, which their is nothing wrong with that, but the lyrics are so blatant that it becomes very annoying. The lyrics are revolutionary in nature, but it sounds like being preached to, rather than having fun or trying to figure out what Matt is saying.

The title track follows afterwards and presents us a traditional Muse song. The piano and bass drums at the beginning give off a nice feel and builds up to a great climax. The lyrics here are based off of 1984 and are far better than the previous song's lyrics.

Undisclosed Desires is a song that when I first heard, I wondered "What in the world is this doing on a Muse album?" It is a very pop-like song with absolutely no guitar. It's lyrics are more akin to Brittney Spears than Muse.

United States of Eurasia is what I thought would be this album's Knights of Cydonia or Citizen Erased. Many people say that this song sounds a lot like Queen. Some people have gotten upset at this, but I like it. I do not regret saying that the symphonic parts are something I can play on an endless loop and never get tired of it. However, half-way through, the song turns from an epic symphonic rocker to a Chopin cover. Um.... why? Especially considering the second part of the song is called Collateral Damage. This comes absolutely out of nowhere. It really has no purpose at all, except to show that Matt has some classical tastes.

Remember when I said the Resistance (song) had an excellent climax? Forget it for this song. Guiding Light opens up with a dramatic drum opening, but then turns into a cheese fest. The drums seem to be building up to something, but then just jump into it.

Unnatural Selection is probably the closest thing on the album to traditional Muse. Featuring an organ opening and great electric guitar work and great lyrics, this is probably the best song on the album.

MK Ultra was a little surprise. It has a nice melody, guitar playing, and synth. Very underrated.

I Belong to You starts off very promising (with a catchy piano-bass line), but Matt apparently didn't learn from USOE, and threw in another classic piece in the middle. However what is odder than USOE is that after a couple of minutes, it goes back into the I Belong to You song. I sit thinking to myself, what were they thinking?

And last but not least, the biggest disappointment in Muse history, the Exogenesis Symphony. I appreciate the fact that Muse is partly influenced by classical music and I appreciate the fact that they are willing to experiment with different styles. In early interviews, Matt mentioned about on the next album wanting to do a "15 minute space rock guitar solo" and just hearing this put us all on the edge of our seats. When we finally get it, what is it? A third rate symphony. The only redeeming value is are the piano at the beginning of part 2 and the story. Muse is a rock band, not a symphony.

While my review may seem harsh at times, I don't think they sold out or anything. I truly believe they had their hearts in the right place because this album has some fantastic elements. However, they tripped up along the way and messed up some pieces that could have been perfect songs.

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