THE RESISTANCE

Must admit straight away that this album is a big dissapoinment to me. The previous album (Black Holes And Revelations) had some thrilling prog moments while Absolution before that is a fantastic energetic effort full of great songs.The Resistance on the other hand is just flat and over stretched seeming to me like an ageing band that is struggling with its direction and now lacking the adventurous spirit that carried itself into the limelight in the first place. The Orwellian themes of being oppressed just seems very artificial and perhaps too 'right on' .This is no distopian nightmare more restless night wondering if you remembered to put the rubbish out for early morning collection.

Am I being too harsh(?!) Previous reviews suggest this has good qualites and certainly it can't be denied that its well produced with plenty of melody throughout.They've also had a stab at something proggy with Exogenesis but I find it all a bit too ponderous and again lacking in any real excitement.Matt Bellamy is an awesome talent but the question for me is whether he has outgrown the band and would be better able to express himself with more 'qualified' musicians capable of appreciating his talent and therefore challenging him to achieve greater heights.In a similar situation many decades ago a certain Mr K Emerson came to that conclusion.