Muse -Black Holes & Revelations
Soldier�s Poem is next up and this is another strange one. It is extremely slow and really not appealing to my tastes, with no guitar solos or exciting range of vocals. As peaceful, boring songs go its an average effort but some people probably like this. Starting in a similar way to how Soldier�s Poem ends is the 6th song on Black Holes and Revelations; Invincible. This definitely is not as bas as the previous song though. It is very similar to some of the offerings on Muse�s first album, Showbiz. Invincible is like many of the songs on the album as it builds up slowly and finishes very strongly. The second half of the song is reasonably enjoyable while the beginning is probably enough to force you to turn the music off. There are even some fantastic displays of guitar playing as the song finishes with a bang. Following Invincible is the only track on Black Holes and Revelations dedicated to shouting vocals and loud guitars - Assassin. Muse have evidently tried to restrict this on this album and have tried to find a new sound for themselves but this track is still a very good reminder that Muse are a brilliant rock band. While Assassin is a great rock track that Muse fans will appreciate it isn�t the best Muse have done and isn�t as good as Stockholm Syndrome or Plug in Baby.
Supermassive Black Hole is a lot better than anything else on Black Holes and Revelations but I personally think Exo Politics comes closest to reaching this high standard. It is not one of most people�s favourite tracks on the album but is greatly underrated. It features a drum beat more dominant that on other tracks that is strongly addictive. Exo Politics also uses the bass guitar to wonderful effect throughout the song but it is probably the way it combines Muse�s various talents into one giant song that makes this song brilliant. The main part of the song is extremely memorable and the Queen style vocals work better in this song than they do on the rest of the album. As with most songs on Black Holes and Revelations it finishes strongly but unlike many others it is also very listenable throughout. Similar to the quality of Assassin is the 9th song, City of Delusion. It is not quite a hard rock song but uses the acoustic guitar reasonably well to reach some high points. It is a decent effort from Muse but is only really exciting in the parts where Bellamy screams out �Destroy this city of delusion.� It also features some unusual Western sounding music that is to be used more heavily on later tracks.
After City of Delusion is another song that chooses to start with some Western sounds before drifting into a slow, extremely quiet song that only picks up halfway through the song. Hoodoo then utilises Bellamy�s piano playing and dramatic vocals to create a more impressive sound. Hoodoo is then quite impressive but is nothing special, spoilt by the slow beginning. Finally, Muse decided to finish the album with a song that well represents and sums up Black Holes and Revelations. Knights of Cydonia is a song of epic proportions and is something that will amaze you so much, you will not be able to describe it unless you have heard it five times over. Of course when you have finally come to a conclusion you will realise that this is a great song. It borrows from other songs as it shares a steady drum beat just as in Exo Politics and a Western style from Hoodoo. The song also starts with sound effects suitable for a UFO movie. This then leads onto amazing vocals effects with a Western style. Finally there is a steady drum beat and traditional Muse guitar play still with a Western, Sci-fi feel. The journey continues as the first lyrics are heard a third of the way through the song. Knights of Cydonia puts further effort in to make labelling the song with a single genre impossible when halfway through Muse yet again use Queen�s joint collective vocal style to great affect. This is followed by awesome guitar playing from Muse and more intriguing lyrics and a mysterious backing track. This song is the most ambitious Muse have ever done and more ambitious than most bands would dare dream. The success of this song is the fine line between this album being successful or unsuccessful because of the slight lack of high quality songs in Black Holes and Revelations. Knights of Cydonia achieves its goal though and therefore makes Black Holes and Revelations worth trying out.