Tours Through Discographies: Muse

   My second favorite British band! And, much like my first, they like to sing about the apocalypse and government ills a lot. Maybe being in a British alt rock band gives you some kind of predisposition to wanting to write about that stuff.



1. Showbiz (1999)
    This isn't really a bombastic debut album like The Killers' Hot Fuss or Bastille's Bad Blood, but it's not bad either. It's just pretty good. It's not Muse's best work, but they've done worse. As far as debut albums go, it does just fine. Some of the tracks here still hold up extremely well to their more recent music.
TOP 3 TRACKS: "Sunburn", "Overdue", "Fillip"

2. Origin Of Symmetry (2001)
    This album is a step up, not that Showbiz was bad. This one just shows Muse shaping into what they were going to become, the writing and the instrumentals all kicked way up into a pretty awesome album. The guitars in "Plug In Baby" are my favorite guitar parts in any song ever. It's insane. All of these songs are memorable, some weaker than others, but even the weaker ones leave an impression.
TOP 3 TRACKS: "Plug In Baby", "Hyper Music", "Darkshines"

3. Absolution (2003)
   This is one of my favorite albums ever. Definitely Muse at their best. And, other than Drones (more on that one later), here they are at their most government-hating. It's so bombastic and energetic, and you can just tell that the guys put a lot of passion into the process of making this album.
TOP 3 TRACKS: "Stockholm Syndrome", "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist", "Time is Running Out"

4. Black Holes And Revelations (2006)
    I'll admit I'm not as familiar with this album, or the next two for that matter. But what I do know is pretty good. And three tracks here are absolutely legendary Muse songs that remain prominent to this day. Those tracks will be my top three.
TOP 3 TRACKS: "Supermassive Black Hole", "Knights of Cydonia", "Starlight"

5. The Resistance (2009)
   Again, not super familiar. I've listened to this whole album, and even though I'm not familiar with all of it, it seems kinda choppy and feels more like an experiment than an actual record. But come on man, it's Muse. Even their weaker stuff is still considerably better than most music. Plus this album has "Uprising", perhaps their biggest hit ever.
TOP 3 TRACKS: "Resistance", "Uprising", "Undisclosed Desires"

6. The 2nd Law (2012)
    Again, I should probably familiarize myself with this album more. But I think with what I know I'd probably put it above The Resistance. I only know four of the thirteen tracks here, but they're all absolute bangers. I'm gonna feel bad having to hold one of them off. You've probably heard "Madness". Mom, you definitely have, because I remember you thinking Matt sang "praise the Lord" instead of "I need your love".
TOP 3 TRACKS: "Follow Me", "Panic Station", "Madness"

7. Drones (2015)
    This was my favorite Muse album for a long time, and sometimes I feel like it still is, and it makes me feel bad putting Absolution above it. This is basically a concept album, with the album taking a double meaning on the word "drones": both the literal drones used to commit remote killings, and the idea of militaries turning soldiers into mindless drones that do nothing but obey. I've compared this album to American Idiot by Green Day, just for its sheer level of societal calling-out-ness. My favorite Muse song ever, "Mercy", is on this album. This was also their newest album when I first got into them, so that causes a little bias.
TOP 3 TRACKS: "Mercy", "Reapers", "Revolt"

8. Simulation Theory (2018)
    I'm gonna say it: I love this album. A lot of the Muse fanbase lambasts this album as their absolute worst, but I think it's great. Yeah, the whole electronic thing meant they stepped away from the harder rock music they were known for, but they rocked those synthesizers absolutely beautifully here. It feels like a space opera, like David Bowie meets Star Wars or something. I'd probably get mocked online for praising this album so much, but I genuinely believe this one is some of Muse's best work.
TOP 3 TRACKS: "Get Up and Fight", "Thought Contagion", "Pressure"

9. Will Of The People (2022)
    This album's tour was the one I saw them live on, so like Drones, I have some bias towards this one. The government and society hatred is back in full force this time, with masks and characters and rebellion and such, even with accompanying videos to make this feel like a concept album, like Drones. This album draws on a lot of societal unrest happening around the time, what with the pandemic and all the political division and such. It's very topical, and written very mindfully and artistically. Don't show your mom the name of the closing track. "Kill or Be Killed" is one of their best songs ever, "You Make Me Feel Like it's Halloween" tells a frightening tale of domestic abuse during quarantine, and "Verona" is an absolutely beautiful ballad.
TOP 3 TRACKS: "Kill or Be Killed", "Liberation", "Verona"

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