Muse
Origin of Symmetry

Release Date: 2001 | Tracklist

Most of us have come to know the eccentric powerhouse from England as the musical form of going over the top and entering and exiting in dramatic fashion. 2004's Absolution presented this in a very accessible package, filling the record to the brim with hooks and pop sensibilities. The release of Black Holes and Revelations gained the band many new fans and lost many old ones with its increased focus on pop and experimentation, which made a good portion of us miss the dark and apocalyptic nature of Absolution. Somewhere deep within the 2001 opus Origin of Symmetry, we're taken back to the dark days (albeit in a very different way). Be warned: Venture into this world of insane energy with caution.

Haunting piano creeps along as the bass joins in for the beginning of “New Born”, but it’s not long before it explodes with a meaty riff and blasts from all band members. What makes this so wonderful is it’s heavy without being heavy, and intense without being intense; there’s no ridiculously distorted guitars, no harsh vocals, and nothing in-your-face about it. There doesn’t have to be; the copious amount of energy being exuded from this explosion speaks for itself, and Matthew Bellamy’s falsetto is as dramatic and ridiculous as ever. Or is it? It’s not until you get to the beastly “Micro Cuts” that you witness the vocal pitch closest to shattering glass without shattering glass that will ever grace your ears. It’s all on top of an immensely dense sound created with guitar and synth, making for an almost scary effect. Oh wait, it’s not scary compared to the darkest piano-driven piece you’ll hear in years in “Space Dementia”. The (once again) over-the-top vocal performance by Bellamy in the song can really rub some the wrong way, but this record doesn’t exactly have a friendly demeanor in general. You’ll likely go through feelings of being threatened, uncomfortable, claustrophobic and if you’re really paying attention, comatose before the album ends. But that’s only if you skip the wonderfully uplifting “Bliss” or the powerful and hard-hitting “Hyper Music”.

Not all of Origin is hard to stomach though. Only one listen of the relentlessly catchy riff of “Plug In Baby” will most definitely not quench your thirst; it’s no wonder the riff has been in numerous top 10 and 50 lists. By the time the rest of the band joins in, it’s too late to deny any infiltration the song has made on your brain; an extremely energetic blast overtakes you once again, much like “New Born” did. The cover of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good” may seem out of place at first, but it’s hard not to welcome the jazzy and upbeat number after being at the mercy of the trance-like “Darkshines”. You’re not in the clouds for long, though, as the bleakness and darkness makes a vengeful return in the form of “Megalomania”; its spiraling concoction of church organs and synth ensure that the listener doesn't escape without a finale, and what a climax it is. With all of the emotions and moods Origin throws at you, none of them even touch the effectiveness of the album's centerpiece and opus “Citizen Erased”; Bellamy showcases all of his talents here, switching between guitar and piano as the song alternates between its barbaric main riff and its meandering calm sections. Oh yeah, then there’s the guitar solo comprised of the spacey sounds that season the entire album, in addition to the shredding of course.

My first few bouts with Origin left me a little indifferent, mostly because I didn’t want to take the effort this album infinitely requires for you to have any idea how you feel about it. There’s simply too many moods and adjectives that could describe this record to call the whole thing one or two things. Every single song brings something new and fresh, both from the last song, and all of music in general. I still haven’t heard anything like this album, not even from the same band. Every song here hits you in a different place and it makes me happy to be able to say every track has its own place. A lot of people consider "Screenager" to be the worst song, but really it's just the least awesome. This acoustic number sort of hits your blind side because it's so strange, but is there anything about this record that isn't strange?

One thing’s for sure: this is a piece of music that reaches into the deepest unexplored corners of your conscience and thoroughly challenges them. Many records do that, but what warrants this one a special place is its ability to also extract positive emotions when there is absolutely no reason for it; you’d think a record as dark and menacing as this one wouldn’t have any soft spots, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. They say energy is the key to the universe, and after getting intimately familiar with Origin, I have come out of it completely obliterated. Don't say I didn't warn you.

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4.1 excellent

Rank: #59 for 2001