Muse - The Resistance

Written by Helena Torstensson Monday, 05 October 2009 18:29

Title: The Resistance (CD+DVD)
Artist: Muse
Genre: Alternative / Rock
Release Date: 14th September 2009
Label: Warner Brothers

Introduction

MUSE don’t really need any introduction - or do they? Oh well… MUSE was formed in 1994 in Teignmouth, England. The band has released five cool albums from the start: ‘Showbiz’ (1999), ‘Origin of Symmetry’ (2001), ‘Hullabaloo’ (2002), ‘Absolution’ (2003), ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ (2006) and the live album ‘H.A.R.P’ (2008). Several singles have come through the years and some of my personal favourite songs are ‘Bliss’, ‘New Born’ and ‘Butterflies and Hurricanes’. The last I heard of the band was when I saw the movie ‘Twilight’ and the song ‘Black Holes and Revelations’ comes and kicks off the football game in the movie. ‘The Resistance’ is the name of the new MUSE album, the first song that was released from the album was ‘United States of Eurasia’ and it was released on the bands official homepage the 20th of July 2009.

Detailed Review

01. Uprising
The first single from the album ‘The Resistance’ was released the 7th September with a cool video. I like the darker sound in this one, cool handclapping in the background creates an extra beat in the song. World critical and strong lyrics “They will not force us/ The will stop degrading us/ They will not control us/ We will be victorious/ So come on” together with really good music opens up the album.

02. Resistance
The title track begins with soothing synthesizer sounds, and then piano, drums and guitar builds a strong song about forbidden love. I am impressed by the music and the way Matthew Bellamy sings in this song.

03. Undisclosed Desires
Is different and interesting with strings and a darker vibes, this is one of my favourite songs on the album. I think that MUSE shows with this song that they can do something different. Great lyrics and a chorus that easily gets stuck on your mind “I want to reconcile the violence in your heart/I want to recognize your beauty’s not just a mask/I want to exorcise the demons from your past/ I want to satisfy the undisclosed desires in your heart”.

04. United States of Eurasia (+ Collateral Damage)
Piano intro where Matthew Ballamy’s beautiful voice caress your ears then the song opens up and becomes something faster and so much more. I almost fell out my chair the first time I heard this song. I really like the oriental sounding music and the flowing piano; it’s a strong song with great music and vocals. The last part features Frederic Chopin’s ‘Nocturne In E Flat Major’.

05. Guiding Light
Is an impressive song with a lot of feeling, good melody and lyrics, this song is really impressive but it never becomes too much. The vocals are really something special and it sounds like Matthew sings for king and kingdom.

06. Unnatural Selection
Starts light musically but with darker, world critical lyrics “They’ll laugh as they watch us fall/ The lucky don’t care at all/ No chance for fate/ It’s unnatural selection/I want the truth”. After the intro the song changes, gets darker with cool drums and great guitar. I really like this song with its cool lyrics and the way Matthew sings that he wants the truth.

07. MK Ultra
Ah how I like the impressive guitar and bass intro that flows through the song, changes and becomes something more - it’s simply brilliant! This is song where you really listen and enjoy the music, the lyrics and vocals are good but the music is stunning.

08. I Belong to You (+Mon Cœur S'ouvre A Ta Voix)
Cool hand clapping and piano creates an interesting and different song that I keep hitting repeat on. The song feels creative and I like how the piano sounds kind of playful during the song. In the middle features a part of ‘Mon Cœur S'ouvre A Ta Voix’ from the opera ‘Samson and Delilah’ where Matthew sings beautifully in French. Amazingly the song changes direction once more after the French part and returns to the hand clapping and playful sounding piano - the song kind of moves around in a circle and is simply breathtaking.

09. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture)
Violin and double bass intro and then Matthew voice comes and caresses your ears beautifully. I like the flowing music it’s really impressive.

10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination)
Great keyboard / piano and the vocals in this one is simply breathtaking, I love how the song opens up, and changes into something so much more, then it returns to the piano… like a beautiful circle.

11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part III (Redemption)
The last song also starts with beautiful piano but it’s different in a way it’s like the piano is more flowing and changing in this one. Cool how it builds until the vocal come. I really like all three of these symphonies, they are very special and impressive.

Tracklist

01. Uprising
02. Resistance
03. Undisclosed Desires
04. United States Of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)
05. Guiding Light
06. Unnatural Selection
07. MK Ultra
08. Belong to You (+Mon Cœur S'ouvre à Ta Voix)
09. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)
10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross Pollination)
11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption) 04:37

Extra

DVD: The Resistance - The Making of

Line up

Matthew Bellamy - lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, programming
Christopher Wolstenholme - bass, backing vocals, double bass, synthesizers
Dominic Howard - drums, percussion, synthesizers, programming

Website

http://www.muse.mu/ / www.myspace.com/muse

Cover Picture

Conclusion

‘The Resistance’ is an album that I practically lived with the last couple of days, the song are impressive and makes you really feel the music. I think that MUSE shows with this album that they can go beyond what they have done before and create something that is new and fresh without losing the musical soul that is MUSE. Matthew Bellamy sings truly beautiful on all the songs, I like the way he varies his vocals during this album. The melodies and the songs are well built and they make a great whole impression.

The DVD of making ‘The Resistance’ was for me very interesting to see / hear how the songs are built musically with the different layers and to hear the finished result in the end since this is something I have been wondering about for some time. Watching the DVD gave me a more total experience of the album and I really enjoyed seeing how the guitar and bass intro to the song ‘Mk Ultra’ was done, cool and impressive how Matthew Bellamy’s and Christopher Wolstenholme’s fingers are flowing over their instruments. It was fun to see how the band created as well as recorded some of the sounds like the snapping of their fingers, clapping of hands and the stomping of their feet. The only bad thing with the DVD is that I kind of wish it would have been English subtitles on it because sometimes it’s hard to hear what the band members are saying while joking with each other.

Rating

Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras: 9
Total: 9 / 10

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