In terms of noisy epic mastery, Muse have had more than a few contenders snapping at their heels, particularly in wake of their highly imitated debut album Showbiz. Fortunately for them, nobody seems to have quite surpassed them in terms of emotive breadth… anyone can play guitar, and anyone can make noise, but you would be hard pushed to think of any other band that does it with such gusto, such dexterity, such excellence. More so than ever, Matt Bellamy is still a sociopath, the gargantuan star in his own crazy and bloodied rock opera. Perhaps because
of unfortunate timing (and possibly those pained falsetto vocals), Bellamy has previously been compared to a “heavier Chris Martin”. Certainly, Muse’s songs have the same exalting and exhilarating power as some of Coldplay’s, yet when Bellamy sings “I tried to give you up/but I’m addicted”, on ‘Time Is Running Out’ you’re not exactly going to argue with him. In fact, you almost feel like offering an apology to the poor bugger.
In a way, the beauty of any Muse record, and definitely with Absolution, is the very filmic, vivid and vital quality of the music.
Like the albums that came before it, Absolution is pure yet corrupt, baroque yet carnivorous, controlled yet distorted. Either way, Muse are very much a one-trick pony. But, oh… what a fucking trick it is…