9/10
After what has seemed like the longest
three months of my life, Muse have finally released their long awaited seventh
studio album, Drones.
The follow up to 2012’s The 2nd Law, Drones takes the English trio back to an
older style, which many fans have been expecting since the release of Black Holes and Revelations in 2006.
Drones is the first proper concept album the band have made. The closest
they have come to it before being the three part Exogenesis Symphony at the end
of their fifth album The Resistance.
As you may have guessed from the title of
the album, it explores the concept of drone warfare and the use of technology
in war. However, it also explores the concept of a human being as a drone –
someone who can be manipulated and controlled by a higher power.
'Drill Sergeant' and 'Psycho' really hammer
these points home. A drill sergeant can be heard shouting “Are you a human
drone?” and “Are you a killing machine?” during Psycho, which has a strong riff
which the band have been using live for over 15 years.
Songs such as ‘Psycho’, ‘The Handler’ and ‘Reapers’
take Muse back to a heavier and older sound that was described by Matt Bellamy
before they started making them album. These three songs have strong riffs and really
show the bands ability to strip everything back and create a three-piece sound,
with Reapers containing one of the most intricate and impressive guitar parts
Bellamy has ever written.
The second half of the album sounds
different from the first, with songs such as 'Revolt' being a little more pop
like than previous songs. The second half also takes a less stripped back
approach to the first, with songs such as ‘The Globalist’ and ‘Aftermath’ using
extra parts such as orchestras.
Influences from fellow British band Queen
can be heard strongly in songs like ‘Defector’, which has a strong riff and
features Matt Bellamy’s falsetto voice frequently.
Despite the second half of the album not
being what I expected, I still really like it. It shows how the band are still
willing to experiment and change despite some peoples dislike of their previous
two albums.
Muse: Drones Deluxe Edition, including: Double Vinyl, CD, DVD and two exclusive artwork prints
I think it’s only fair to give the last
word to ten minute long epic ‘The Globalist’. Billed by the band as the sequel
to Origin of Symmetry classic ‘Citizen
Erased’, the song is a ten-minute epic about the protagonist from the story
destroying the world with a nuclear weapon.
The song takes inspiration from so many
different such as classical music and this creates a really well rounded song,
which showcases the many talents of the band. With one of the heaviest riffs
Matt Bellamy has ever played, the song really picks up pace for a frantic
middle section, and then slows down again for a calm and strong ending to one
of the most impressive the three piece have written to date.
Some will see Drones as a return of form for Muse after they’re experimentation
on The Resistance and The 2nd Law. However for me, Drones is a
continuation of a staggering form that they have continued across all of their
albums.
