Sunday, November 29, 2009

Resistance is Far from Futile

This September, the music world was treated to a new album by Muse, the British alt/indie rock trio whose over-the-top prog overtones seem to defy any particular genre. The Resistance, the band's fifth album, provides the listener with a bombastic and exhilarating experience.

From the first notes, the album immediately grabs its audience with the energetic "Uprising," a relatively straight forward rock song a pulsing drum beat and guitar riffs reminiscent of an aggressive Blondie song. Once energized, the listener gets the enjoy of delving into the title track "Resistance" which plays like a modern day Queen song, replete with huge harmonies, monstrous Brian May-like guitar riffs, and rattling drum beats. By the time "United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)" Matthew Bellamy's vocals and guitar riffs simultaneously capture both May and Mercury enough to make even the casual listener do a double-take at the similarity between the aforementioned Queen.

Amazingly, though, the album is not admirable simply for its reminiscence to the pomp of Queen. Bellamy's riffs and highly emotive voice, combined with skilled and catchy drumming and a solid pounding bass backing are enough to be completely engrossing. The album finishes with an astonishing and extravagant three-song set, each entitled "Exogenesis: Sympathy." The tracks form a suite that mixes classical movements, including Chopin's Nocturne (which clearly influenced Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue), with more towering layers of guitar riffs that make the suite feel like a joint effort between a prog super group and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Moreover, the suite provides a stunning end to the entire album, a stunning crescendo to an aural experience of epic proportions.

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