Jobie's Bite-Sized Music Reviews #40: Absolution (album) - Muse
- arrangednoisefan
- Jun 23, 2022
- 2 min read
Recommended
Absolution is a 2003* alternate rock and progressive rock album by the English rock band Muse. The album is a semi-concept album that deals with apocalyptic and theological concepts. It is the band's third studio album. The album's sound is packed with your standard rock elements (riffs, breakdowns, etc.), but also incorporates a lot of texture by tossing in some classical elements. Whether that be through the subtle but present piano in “Stockholm Syndrome”, or the more classical than rock-sounding “Blackout”, the album has many parts where these classical elements are incorporated. Unique instrumentation is also present in some tracks, such as “Falling Away With You”, which opens with a handpan being played. To my knowledge, not many songs make use of this instrument (the only song I can name off the top of my head is C418's “Aria Math”, so it's nice to see it get some use on this track. Vocally, Matthew Bellamy, the lead vocalist, did a great job with the vocals on this album. Perhaps his best vocal performance is in the song “Butterflies and Hurricanes”, where his vocals are the cherry on top of an already excellent song. Lyrically, the album discusses apocalyptic and theological concepts, as stated at the beginning of this review. The song “Apocalypse Now”, for instance, sings very directly about the end of the world, while the song “Thoughts of a Dying Atheist” describe an atheist's experience with death. Each track is fairly well-written. Though there are many highlights from Absolution, the highlight of the entire album has to be “Butterflies and Hurricanes”. The song starts off slowly, before building up to a passionately sung chorus. The song then culminates in one of the best piano solos on any rock song, fitting surprisingly well with all the rock elements that the track has. From the first second all the way to the last, “Butterflies and Hurricanes” comes out to be one of the best tracks on the entire album. My other favorite tracks from Absolution are “Time Is Running Out”, “Stockholm Syndrome”, “Hysteria”, and “Thoughts of a Dying Atheist”. Overall, Absolution is a great album from Muse. With its progressive rock trait of mixing rock and classical sounds together, the well-written lyrics, and the amazing “Butterflies and Hurricanes”, the album is great all-round. If nothing else, one should listen to “Butterflies and Hurricanes”, as it is the best track on the entire album.
*Version reviewed: 2004 digital version.
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