Muse -Black Holes & Revelations
Muse are a band originating from Devon who were formed in 1994. Matt Bellamy is responsible for singing, guitar and keyboard playing, Chris Wolstenholme is the bassist and Dominic Howard is the drummer. Muse are mainly an alternative rock band but have trialled many genres of music in their many albums, showing a wide range of instrument uses.
Muse had moderate success with their first album Showbiz, that featured such tracks as Muscle Museum and �Sunburn. This was released on October 4th 1999. It was underappreciated at the time but it still saw Muse receive some recognition for it from reviewers.Muse�s real rise to fame came with their second album, Origin of Symmetry. This album was more of a rock album with improved guitar play but also involved pianos among other unusual instruments. Muse had hits on this album with Bliss, New Born, Plug in Baby and a cover of �Feeling Good�. However, Muse did not get proper recognition until they released their third album; Absolution. The best tracks on the album were Hysteria, Time is Running Out, Stockholm Syndrome and Butterflies and Hurricanes. The album was themed around the end of the world but it was only the start for Muse. Muse were crowned Best Live Act at the 2005 Brit Awards after performing at Glastonbury in 2004. Since then they have headlined numerous festivals and increased their popularity. This popularity was what sent their new album; �Black Holes and Revelations� to number one in the British album chart.
Black Holes and Revelations is a massive departure from anything Muse have done before. It is more alternative than Muse�s previous albums and probably is more similar to Showibz than their other 2 albums. Take a Bow introduces the album and really displays how different and unusual this album is. It�s a decent first song and builds up well but is quite disappointing in the end. Starlight is a song that is almost pop and is not likely to please traditional Muse fans. It is the light keyboard backing track that spoil the song. However, there are some good parts of it and it makes an okay pop song. Near the end of the song is when Starlight really becomes a song worth listening to with lyrics that the album title lends from.
If you were getting a negative feeling from the first two songs then you should find it eradicated when you listen to �Supermassive Black Hole�. This song is certainly the highlight of the album and is the closest the album gets to Absolution and Origin of Symmetry. There is a heavy use of guitars in this song and the vocals are brilliant. When you first hear the song you may be shocked but for most people it soon becomes clear this is another Muse classic among the likes of Hysteria and Plug in baby. The tune is infectious and is sadly of a higher quality than the other songs on the album. However, the next song is still a big improvement on the first two songs on Black Holes and Revelations. Map of the Problematique is a massive song that features a varied amount of instruments which results in a brilliant tune. The tune sounds like very little Muse have ever done before but fits in perfectly with the album. It almost sounds like a reworked, faster version of Muse�s old song �Map of Your Head�.