Artist: MUSE
Expect to pay: £13.99
Rating: 9/10

This, the third album from the Dorset trio, shows they have no plans to disappoint fans of ‘Showbiz’ and ‘Origin of Symmetry.’

Arguably more sophisticated than the previous two albums, with the first track being a slow build-up, running directly into the second.

With heavy chords on the piano, reminiscent of a Rachmaninov composition, yet quintessentially MUSE; the listener is thrown mercilessly into ‘Apocalypse Please.’

This amazing track sounds almost like a warning from the band, the message seeming to be that we should stop worrying about the possibility of us destroying our world within the next 50 years, and realise that it requires attention now.

A brief gap after the striking finish, again primarily given by the piano’s contribution (delivered by Matt Bellamy), allows you to ‘recover,’ and a brief chance to contemplate how the band have planned to follow that performance.

The answer, though, does not keep you waiting for long. However, it is instantly clear that track three (the single ‘Time is Running Out,’ released late last summer) is taking a different path.

Beginning with an infectious bass line, the style is much more that of the ‘traditional rock song,’ though, thanks largely to Bellamy’s idiosyncratic vocal style.

Again, the focus appears to be on the immediate necessity to address problems with the world, perhaps more politically, this time, though. However, a slight ambiguity can be sought, leading you to believe this may be more specifically concentrated on one particular couple, and that the ‘time is running out for them if they do not assess their relationship soon.

A slow starting track four points towards the remorse of the ‘speaker’ for the harm inflicted upon the subject of his desires. The pianos are back, accompanying the ever-present drums and bass, and Bellamy’s own six-string.

‘Stockholm Syndrome’ (track five on the album) is an interesting mix incorporating loud, heavy, percussion filled verses, a lighter chorus with scales of the piano dancing in the background and a definite fill between provided by an overdriven guitar.

The ‘Interlude’ of the seventh track allows the listener further relaxation time in which to digest the appetisers and starters, before moving on to the main course and desert.

Similar to ‘Intro,’ ‘Interlude’ prepares the listener for ‘Hysteria’ (the recently released single) which again employs a reverberating, digitally distorted bass line and heavy percussion to ensure a ‘traditional rock song.’  

This is the story of a man in love so badly that it literally seems to be tearing him apart from the inside out. Excellent delivery of an emotion otherwise very difficult to describe.

Doubtlessly, the masterpiece of the album is the rhapsody ‘Butterflies & Hurricanes’ (rumoured to be the next single to be released from the album). The thrust is definitely that you will only have one life, and you should use it to make the most changes to the world as you can.

“You’ve got to change the world and use this chance to be heard.”

Approximately three minutes in, the drums die away, the bass leaves, and only a string ensemble complement Matt Bellamy on the piano, once again. In this moment the style is so far removed from expected rock music that my Grandma actually came in and asked if "that wonderful piano music" was coming from my room.

As one source said, “you can almost see the tears of effort as Bellamy desperately tries to make us understand.”

Brilliant as it may be, this track would have made an excellent finale, but instead it alienates the remaining tracks, and makes them seem inferior, almost to the point of not deserving a place on the album by comparison.