Muse

Muse is a three-man British progressive rock band and they have developed quite a hefty fan following throughout the world. They have released several albums and have matured over the course of this process. I like Muse quite a lot for several reasons. The influence of classical music and classic rock are quite apparent in Muse's sound. Muse is very versatile, being able to pull off anything from almost metal, to classical or soft rock. Their latest album, The Resistance, illustrates how much they've developed from being an already good band several albums ago (they even employed a full-fledged symphony for a few tracks), although I sure miss the intensity and heaviness of the old Muse. The frontman, Matthew Bellamy, is seriously trained in the vocals, guitar, and keys. The vocals are exceptional, especially his range which gets very high, even higher with falsetto. The guitar is good and has a distinct Rage Against the Machine feel, although being about the wacky effects more so than raw virtuosity, I don't find it to be the best part of the ensemble. The keyboard is the best I've ever heard yet in a modern band, often with literal or reminiscent Chopin and Rachmaninov infused delicately into the modern compositions to create angelic hybrids. Aside from multiple styles of acoustic piano, there's also plenty of synthesizer (mainly leads), and some organ. I haven't noticed anything so special about the bass as of yet but it's decent. The drums are also decent but, being of a rock style, are quite basic and typical. It's easy for me to say that Matt is the winning factor in this band. Once again, I miss the heavy side of Muse which seems to have disappeared and one of the few things that could make this band any better would be some metal style especially rhythmically, so I guess I'll just keep dreaming for now.

Overall score: 8.4

Composition: 8.6

Performance: 8.7

Production: 8.2

Vox: 9.0

Lyrics: 6.5

Guitar: 7.8

Bass: 6.0

Keys: 9.2

Drums: 6.5