Review Summary: Origin of Symmetry combines all of the best elements of Muse to create a masterpiece of an album.
Origin of Symmetry is Muse's masterpiece. It's an epic, powerful album that grabs you from the first note, and it's something that should be in everyones music collection.
The album starts off with New Born, which starts off with some simple piano work that is quickly joined by an equally simple bass line. It sounds like it will be a softer track, but then a loud distorted base line comes in and changes the whole mood of the song. It mellows out slightly (as in, its still really loud) for the verse before reaching the amazing chorus. It's an amazing song, one of the best that Muse have ever done.
The next track is Bliss, which begins with an some interesting electronic keyboard, before exploding into a wall of guitars. The song is definately more pop sounding then New Born, but it is just as good, if not better. It also does a good job of showing how much variety there is in Muse's sound. The next track confirms that point, with some classical sounding piano being pevalent sound.
Hyper Music and Plug In Baby are both great rock songs, with the guitar and bass led verse of the former being one of the albums highlights. Citizen Erased, a favourite of most Muse fans, is an interesting song, changing tone half way through. The guitar riff in this song is one of the best Muse have ever put to tape, and coupled with the bass and drums it is certainly one of the bands most powerful songs. The quieter second verse sounds great, especially coming right after the loud chorus. Matt's vocals also shine on the track, his fallsetto in the chorus is amazing. Unfortunately, the song drags slightly in the second half.
The next song, Micro Cuts is an intense, dark masterpiece. Mett sings fallsetto for the whole track, and the end result is one of Muse's most interesting songs. The solo at the end adds a lot to the atmosphere of the song, as does the distortion found through most of it.
The rest of the album continues with the classical sound, with one great track after another. Album closer Meglomania is one of Muse's most epic songs, starting out with some quiet organ playing and slowly building up before reaching the climax of the second chorus. Matt's uses his singing to amazing effect here, layering his fallsetto over his normal voice. The end result is nothing short of amazing, and it closes off the album perfectly.
As you can tell, Origin of Symmetry is an incredibly varied album, showing almost all of Muse's different sounds. The whole album is just amazing, and there are no filler tracks. Some songs, such as Screenager and Megalomania may take a few listens to grow on you, but once they do you will probably find that they are actually great songs. The album also does not get old quickly; you can listen to this for a long time before you grow tired of it. This is an amazing, original album, and one that every music lover should give a listen.
Members of Muse:
Matthew Bellamy- Vocals, Guitar Piano
Chris Wolstenholme- Bass, Keyboard, Vocals
Dominic Howard- Drums
