Muse "Madness" (TRACK REVIEW)

Before I start this track review, go give the song a listen. http://youtu.be/Mq9zhpBweDk There's the link. Ok,you listened? Great. Let's continue.

Muse is,or um,was,a progressive/symphonic rock band that is known for releasing critically acclaimed albums since their debut album "Showbiz". Each album has it's own unique style, and sounds different, but has always retained the signature Muse style, which includes soaring falsettos and vocals from lead singer Matt Bellamy. Their last album "Resistance" was definitely their most different to date, and my least favorite, but it at least still had songs that I could say, "yeah,this is Muse music for sure" to.

Muse released an album trailer back in June for the new album "The 2nd Law" which will be released October 2nd of this year. The song from the album "Survival" was the theme song of the 2012 London Olympics, and honestly, I found the song extremely annoying and ridiculous. The song from the album trailer "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" was released in full recently, along with a video for it. The song is mostly instrumental, with some of Bellamy's vocals soaring near the end of the song. The song starts off slow and symphonic with reports about the state of the world, but quickly breaks down into a dubstep sounding track, which I find to be absolutely absurd. Really? I thought to myself. The whole album better not sound like this,I continued.

But then we get to August 20th, the official release date for the next official single from the album "Madness". I excitedly click on the link to the lyric video on YouTube, my expectations clearly far too high for the song. Sadly,that is. The song starts off with a loop of Bellamy singing "M-m-m-m-mad" which annoyingly loops throughout most of the song. There's an electronic/dubstep sounding beat that repetitively plays in the background. I think to myself "where are the instruments? Clearly this band has musical talent and have proven that they can play the guitar, drums, and ESPECIALLY, the bass. Why are they putting out a slow paced song like this as a single?". And I'm still confused by this. Granted, I like the ending half of the song better than the first, but still, its only mildly entertaining to listen to. Bellamy's vocals sound nice at times, but at times, they lack energy and passion of previous releases. My favorite part of the track is undoubtedly the surprise guitar solo. Although short, its a catchy and nice addition to the single. And the harmonies are very rich and sound great at times.

Overall, I'm somewhat disappointed in the band's choices musically, and my hopes for "The 2nd Law" are up in the air. There's such a thing as growing and maturing musically in a good way, but then there's something called "trying to stay relevant" which causes the band to just sound generic.

3/5

-Jon