I’m sorry but in all seriousness Drones is awful and is probably worse than The 2nd Law, which I don’t even know how is possible.
While there are some enjoyable moments on the record, it is packed with cheesy radio rock and stadium anthems that would put me to sleep in a live setting.
High points for me, personally:
1. The second half of Reapers, from the guitar solo until the end. It’s nice to hear the octave shift pedal being used effectively. The last chorus shows that Muse still has skills in building up a song to a climactic ending.
2. The Handler, which is easily the best track on the album. The riff feels very Muse, and it’s great to hear an extraordinary vocal performance from Matt. This song really shows that his voice is becoming more sophisticated. Also, DAT BASS.
3. The middle section of The Globalist is great. The grandiose backing vocals and nuclear launch countdown to “FIRE” take the song into another dimension of intensity. Once the riff fully kicks in with the strings, the song erupts into pure ecstasy.
Needless to say, these high points are not NEARLY enough to compensate for the rest of the album.
1. While Dead Inside is catchy and groovy, it doesn’t feel like anything new for the band. It’s Undisclosed Desires with heavier drums.
2. Drill Sergeant is a cringeful joke.
3. I’ve already given my thoughts on Psycho and they haven’t changed. The song hasn’t grown on me.
4. Don’t get me started on Mercy. Otherwise known as a poor man’s Starlight, this song is a giant cornball full of cheese. Rotten cheese. It’s obvious that Muse is trying to get radio plays with this song. Same with Dead Inside.
5. Reapers is enjoyable because it’s the first song so far that has any effort. My only honest issue with this song is the lyrics, which is a problem I have with every song on the album. So I’m not even sure if that counts.
6. Like I said, The Handler is the best song on the album, in my opinion. My only gripe (besides the lyrics, obviously) is the bridge, which is a knock off of the In Your World riff that goes on for a bit too long without really progressing anywhere.
7. I don’t even know what they are trying to do with JFK. What’s even more annoying is that we’ve heard Muse use this speech before back in 06 during the Black Holes Tour, so it’s unsurprising.
8. Defector is an enjoyable song. It feels very Resistance-y only because of the Queen-esque backing vocals that pop up every now and then in the chorus. The riff to the song is great, but again, my gripe is that I feel like Muse has lost it a bit when it comes to writing songs with interesting structures or progression. The guitar solo drags and comes up TWICE without any variation.
9. Holy fuck. I gagged the first time I heard Revolt. Not to mention the blatant rip off of Animal Collective’s “Unsolved Mysteries” in the synth riff. This song sounds like the theme song to a sitcom from the 1990s.
10. Okay. Okay. Okay. What I’m about to say is from the bottom of my heart. I honestly mean this with everything in my body.
Aftermath is the worst song Muse has ever made. Ever. Worse than Neutron Star Collision. Worse than Guiding Light. Worse than Save Me. Worse than the song you like the least.
I love Muse. I really do. They were the first band that got me to passionately care about music in general. I’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for all of the good times this band has brought me through my adolescence.
I’m sorry but WHAT IN GOD’S NAME WERE THEY THINKING WHEN THEY RECORDED THIS SONG? This fucking song is the equivalent of getting your legs slowly sawed off with a steak knife and being dragged along the freeway afterwards.
I’ve never heard Muse sound so fucking bad. They sound like they were trying to record an adult contemporary record with Christmas carols. This fucking song is so god damn boring. There is nothing enjoyable about this song. Nothing. This song genuinely pisses me off.
11. The Globalist is the epitome of wasted potential. I don’t mind slow burners as long as the pay off is worth it. Although, I like the western style intro to this song, it sounds like it could fit well in Black Holes. When I first heard the guitar riff, I remember thinking “Holy shit, this is intense. I hope they keep building on this because this can potentially be a great song.” However, as much as I hate to say it, this riff is just Assassin. It literally is just Assassin. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Assassin. But if I want to listen to Assassin, I’ll just listen to it. The structure of the riff and the drum beat is Assassin 2.0. Also, this intense moment is criminally cut short just to return to more balladry and U2 covers. This is Matt’s idea of a “stadium rock anthem! XD”
12. Drones could have been one of the most interesting songs in the Muse discography. The overall idea is not only unorthodox for the band but really for any band in their position. It’s definitely a bold track, and I condone them for trying something new and intriguing here. But again, the lyrics make it cringe worthy.
My issues with this album stem from the fact that I know what Muse has the potential to do. To me, this album felt like a band that doesn’t know where to go from the corner that they’ve backed themselves into. From the recycling of old ideas/material, lazy lyricism, uninteresting song structures, I can’t help but feel like Muse is afraid to take any risks and therefore compromise their sound to appeal to the masses to stay in the media’s eye.
I’m sorry Muse, but you’ve really lost me with this one.
