Kate Reviews “The 2nd Law” by Muse

Music Critic|October 30, 2012

Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy, left, and bassist Chris Wolstenholme perform at the Olympic Stadium inLondon, England, during the Closing Ceremony for the London 2012 Summer Olympic Games, Sunday, August 12, 2012. 

Hilltop Views Music Critics, Kate and Sam, take their personal music tastes and review the newest albums from established artists in various genres.  They each provide their unique points of view in head to head weekly music reviews.

After claiming the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album for 2009’s “The Resistance,” there were high expectations for their next album. “The 2nd Law,” released earlier this month, introduced new sounds to their already expansive repertoire. In particular, they incorporate electronica and dubstep. “The 2nd Law” reveals unseen strengths in Muse’s musicianship, but the album was too varied in genres, thus lacking any flow.

Opening with “Supremacy”, a lavish Zeppelin-esque track to be featured in the upcoming Bond film, “The 2nd Law” is off to a brilliant start.

 

But after a couple songs, things start to go downhill. Something an album needs is a narrative; however, not only in the lyrics, but in the sound.

 

For their first five albums, Muse was able to string together their rock-opera, alternative and progressive influences very well, creating an audio journey pleasurable to the ear.

 

However, “The 2nd Law” desperately tries to force too many genres together, creating a mess that was quite a shock for Muse fans.

But despite the rockiness of the album, there were some new heights achieved by the group. To start, the single “Madness” is a majestic song spotlighting singer Matthew Bellamy’s top-notch vocals and introducing heavy electronica influence. As well, with the modern dubstep movement, it was no surprise that Muse tried that genre on for size – and it is no surprise they succeeded.

As one of the most respected bands in the world, Muse disappointed with “The 2nd Law” in that they packed together too many genres into one album.

 

However, they are still proving to us that with the music styles they try on, they can, to put it simply, do anything they want.