... crucifies its enemies! ... (Origin Of Symmetry - Muse)

Member Name: robsharpe

Product:	Origin Of Symmetry - Muse
Date:	02/04/02 (226 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Every track is golden, I can easily recommend this whole album!

Disadvantages: Some tracks just a bit mellow, and the openings of some of the songs do not reflect the quality of the rest of the track.

'Origin Of Symmetry' is the second album from UK rockers Muse, and in my opinion, better than their debut album 'Showbiz'. Admittedly, I haven't always been Muse's biggest fan, and I hadn't even heard of Muse until a few months ago when I first heard them on my friend's mp3 player. But recently I ventured to purchase this CD, and now it is a firm favourite in my ever-expanding CD collection.

Track-by-track Review (11 tracks).

01 New Born - The first Muse track I consciously heard (although I am pretty sure I heard Plug In Baby without knowing it was Muse), and still one of my favourites. The tension is built up superbly in the opening section of this song, and continues until it transforms into a loud guitar piece around 1and a half minutes into the song. After listening to this song, you will not get it out of your head for a long time.

02 Bliss - Only 4:12 long (by stark contrast to the 6 minute+ New Born), and immediately introduces drums, guitars and a repetitive keyboard. One of the better tracks on the album.

03 Space Dementia - The second longest track on the album at 6:20, and my personal favourite. Not a guitar track by any means, but a song that sounds meaningful from a rock group, which is uncommon with the likes of Limp Bizkit and Kid Rock infiltrating the UK charts. Somehow manages to put some rather sickening lyrics in a nice song, most likely due to the soft piano throughout the song.

04 Hyper Music - Second shortest track on the album. Very weird guitar tune repeated at the beginning, which hits you straight away, especially if you listen through headphones. Good song, I like it a lot, it is of a sufficient standard to be released (not sure if it already has?), because it has more mainstream appeal than some of the other tracks.

05 Plug in Baby - First release, highly mainstream, and easily sold. The guitars aren?t too loud, but still loud enough to satisfy t
he most hardcore rocker out there. Brilliant singing and excellent guitar in it. Without a doubt, this is one of the best tracks on the album. Highly catchy chorus.

06 Citizen Erased - Longest track by far, a mammoth. This track especially reminded me of the George Orwell book '1984', by the title of the song 'Citizen Erased' (where if you remember in the book, people are erased for speaking out against the 'Big Brother' and the socialist government). Then, when I heard the chorus, 'Open minded, I?m sure I used to be so free', I was shocked at the similarities between the two. I think this may have been an influence to this song.

07 Micro Cuts - Starts off with a beginning extremely similar to New Born. Not my favourite track on the album to say the least. Still a decent song though.

08 Screenager - Shortest track on the album at 3:19. Starts off with some very Spanish sounding guitar, and the introduction of acoustics is overwhelming, despite being quiet, especially after listening to the previous 7 tracks. Looking at the lyrics, evidently a lot to do with the mood of a teenager, and I think it captures this quite well. I like this track, but it is very quiet, and doesn't display the rock side of Muse, but show the ability of the group to make meaningful music without the need for electric guitars.

09 Darkshines - The very beginning of this song, bar the quiet guitar, reminded me of a very dodgy song by 'Earth, Wind and Fire'. The less said about that the better, but it makes the transition from a quiet song to loud about a minute in. It is a very good track, slightly more easy to listen to than the first few.

10 Feeling Good - This is a cover song, I have heard it before by someone else, admittedly I don't know where, or by whom. This track has grown on me a lot since I bought the album, it's a song which needs to be listened to a few times.

11 Megalomani
a - The final track on the album, and a lot more subdued than the rest. Gets slightly louder at the end, but I think this is a poor choice to end the album with, as the impression it leaves is not as good as some of the tracks at the middle of the album could have given off. However, it does its job as an ending, the use of the church organ is good, and I like the lyrics.

CD SLEEVE
The CD sleeve shows 12 different artists' interpretations of the words 'Origin Of Symmetry'. Actually, I lie; there are 12 pictures, but two by the same person. It also shows the lyrics to all the songs on the album, and the normal producers/writers list. It also shows the Muse official website URL (http://www.muse-official.com). I also got one of those common cards, which are found in so many albums nowadays, where you fill out your details, and post it (Freepost) to receive updates on Muse etc.

MUSE TV
Stick the CD in your PC, and go online to use MuseTV. Basically, it lets you watch their videos etc. For some reason, it doesn?t want to work on my 56k modem (but I am told it should), but it works perfect on my friend's ISDN line (maybe I am just impatient at home).

In conclusion, I would go as far as this is one of the best five albums I have ever bought. All but a few tracks are good enough to be released as a single in their own right. You really have to listen to the whole song to appreciate it, and not skip after a relatively uneventful opening. One of the best things Muse do is build up tension in their songs, and then explode into a rock guitar song.

A must buy for any alternative rock fans.

Thanks for reading,
All comments appreciated,
Rob.

Summary: