Muse: Black Holes and Revelations
Rating: 
I have exactly one complaint with Black Holes and Revelations, and it’s so minor that I’m going to start the review with it knowing it will turn approximately zero people away from picking up this masterpiece: As with Absolution, they once again failed to cover a jazz standard. Ok, maybe I’m being unrealistic, since part of what makes the cover of “Feeling Good” (off of their second album, Origin of Symmetry) so mindblowing is how unique it is, so re-treading that ground probably wouldn’t have the same results a second time.
Ok, enough of that, how about we talk about the subject at hand? As the sole album in a body of work, I might wish for a few more heavy songs on Black Holes and Revelations, but this is Muse’s forth album (excluding EPs, singles, and live albums), and I’m willing to let them grow up, so long as they do it in style. And my, have they ever! “Take A Bow” is a phenomenal opener, not quite erupting so much as gradually building tension until you’re just overwhelmed, teasing you with impending climax until you realize the wave is never actually going to break, just continue to build and build until it falls apart. What it falls apart into are a couple of dancy numbers, the first mildly so, the involuntary hip-shaking driven mainly by syncopated drums and a clap track, but when “Starlight” gives way to “Supermassive Black Hole,” you’ve no choice but to, well, get your groove on. We get some traditional muse on “Map of the Problematique,” a lovely, plucked-string shuffle in “Soldier’s Poem,” and then my favorite track, “Invincible.” It wasn’t something I expected when I started listening to the album, a slow-burning, uplifting ballad that just grabs at the drama geek in me to sing along, more like the highlight from a Disney movie than a rock album. Of course, Muse rock the shit out of it, so even if “power ballads” are your pet peeve, I don’t think you’ll cringe too severely. I’m not going to give you a play-by-play of the rest of the album, but I will say this: crank it up. Got a road trip planned? Perfect! Pop Black Holes and Revelations into your car’s CD player (or other audio-broadcasting device), put a brick on the accelerator, and attempt to ruin your speakers, for this is an album designed for maximum speed and volume. Not your thing? Um… well, there’re plenty of other 4.5-beet albums out there, but this one might not be your cup o’ tea.
1. Take A Bow 2. Starlight 3. Supermassive Black Hole 4. Map Of The Problematique 5. Soldier's Poem 6. Invincible 7. Assassin 8. Exo-Politics 9. City Of Delusion 10. Hoodoo 11. Knights Of Cydonia
– Quinton