Black Holes And Revelations

Following 2003's smash hit album 'Absolution', Muse return with brand new studio album 'Black Holes And Revelations'. With the aim of combining club beats with alternative guitar licks, whilst still retaining all their epic, space-aged rock melodica, Muse sound like a new band; expanded of mind, settled of spirit and anything but sedentary of sound, 'Absolution 2: Back To The Planets', this most certainly is not.

Still, some of this might come as a shock: after opener 'Take A Bow' takes over where 'Absolution' left off – all doomy celestial synths and Matt's preacherish wails of "You will burn in hell for your sins!" – we suddenly rocket off into unexplored quadrants. 'Starlight' is an Abba gig on the moon, 'Map Of The Problematique' is Depeche Mode impersonating Queen for a Bond theme and, most surprising of all, 'Supermassive Black Hole' is a dance floor electro-metal stomper, resembling Beck giving Marilyn Manson a helium blowback in Studio 54. Which is not to mention the triptych of Italian folk-influenced meta-country that closes the record in a flurry of flamenco frenetics and mariachi horns.

For continuity, in fact, we must also look to the lyrical themes, where fans of the apocalyptic soundbite, the madcap conspiracy theory, the revolutionary rabble-rousing, the weird stuff about aliens inventing all earthly religions and other such classic Muse concerns will not be disappointed. For instance lets look at the single, 'Supermassive Black Hole', an emotional metaphior based around the theory that the Earth is actually an expanding sphere, being sucked towards the gigantic black hole at the centre of the universe! Also examined is the fear of our civilisation going the way of the Roman Empire (surf-prog album closer 'Knights Of Cydonia') and the loss of hope in the face of unjustifiable wars ('Soldier's Poem' and 'Invincible').

Whereas 'Absolution' gazed on helplessly at the subjugation of humanity by corrupt world leaders and encroaching environmental or galactic disasters (and certainly, 'Black Holes And Revelations' has its fair share of climate change/ oil crisis/ global inflagration paranoia), on the new album's pivotal track 'Assassin', Bellamy appears to be calling for nothing short of a global revolution – "Shoot your leaders down/ And join forces underground…. Destroy demonocracy". The time has come. The New Muse Order is on the rise.