New Muse album- Simulation Theory

[Mansin Humanity]

alright i'm in. I wish Algorithm was an instrumental. stay tuned for more reactions while i procrastinate at work!!

[Nicklord]

1 hour ago, Mansin Humanity said:

alright i'm in. I wish Algorithm was an instrumental. stay tuned for more reactions while i procrastinate at work!!

So?  

[Mansin Humanity]

I respect that they're still trying new things. Some of it hits, some of it doesn't. I liked Propaganda, Break It To Me, and Blockades from the non-singles the most.

[D..]

On 09/11/2018 at 2:47 PM, Nicklord said:

@D..

I have no idea how you can feel it's not inspired. To me it just feels fresh and every song is coherent even the ones with 10 styles in it.

It's even their best reviewed album so far.

I don't know. I think you should listen to it some more, maybe it will click. Even their message board likes it and they hate Muse there

 

Does it mean anything that it's their "best reviewed album so far" though? ; ) 

Whether it's movies, video games or music, the reviews are more and more biased within each year depending on the popularity of the product.

Back in 2001, the first Lord of the rings movie had mixed reviews over here in France. It was the beginnings of the internet over here. By the third film, the reviews were getting a lot better because the public had bashed to death the different websites that bashed the first movie.

Now in 2018, if you are a professional critic, if you bash something that's very popular, you'll get smashed. That's just the way it is. You cannot trust any professional reviews or famous youtubers, they just won't tell you exactly how they feel. They'll go with the current tendency.

As for the last album, I gave it another try in my car with maximum sound. Algorithm and The Void sound alright with a good sound but it's still lightyears from what I expect from this band. And Kavinsky is just far better in this genre.

As for Propaganda, Break it to me, Get up and Fight, Dig Down, Thought Contagion, I find them to be garbage/very mediocre at best. No way I can consider this as a good album.

[chevelle]

I actually like a handful of songs on this album, which is more than I can say about most of their work from The Resistance on. Overall though it just feels very forgettable to me, there's nothing I'd want to hear over anything on their first 4 albums. 

[wasted]

It does sound kind of fresher. I still have a problem with the lyrics and vocals. Too angsty sounding vocally and lyrics coukd be less blunt here and there. Overall it just needed a once over to smooth off the edges. But there’s nice bits of music and transitions and riffs and solos, piano, effects. They should cover Shackler’s Revenge. 

[wasted]

I reslised though Muse is still stadium rock so the vocals and lyrics have to be big. Not many bands can blend stadium rock with iphone production. 

[ZoSoRose]

On 11/9/2018 at 5:15 AM, D.. said:

Yep have listened to it several times since it leaked, and I am sorely disappointed. Have I made it this obvious that I'm a fan? Haha ; )

I didn't have very high hopes for this album either since I really didn't love any of the songs they had released so far, except for Pressure which is a very pleasant change. It's a very fun song.

But this album is really the weakest they have ever released, by far.

I have been a fan for almost 20 years now, I always got why they tried out new stuff and genuinely loved it. However, Simulation Theory is clearly lacking inspiration, sincerity and urgency. It feels fake, forced, way too much inspired by the "return to the 80's" fashion, targeted to Stranger Things, Ready Player One & co lovers (I don't like any of those products, I like the real thing).

What pissed me off the most is how much they stole from Kavinsky with their track "The Void". Listen to the first song of Kavinsky's "Out Run" album. I swear it's the same song and the same sound. Only, Kavinsky did it much better years ago. 

"Propaganda" steals from Prince too much. I also get a NIN and a Justin Timberlake vibe from it and it's somewhat distracting. I did love when they showed their influence from Queen or Depeche Mode, but here it just feels like... they stole too much. And I hate the "pro pro pro pro pa ganda" part, it's absolutely terrible, wish the acoustic version removed that. It could have been a great song because I do enjoy the melody and the subtle choirs overall, but as it is, it doesn't click, for me anyway.

"Break It To Me" is absolute garbage. The intro is just unacceptable. I can't stand the sound. Also, they stole, intentionally or unintentionally, from "Killing me softly with his song" (The Fugees version) and added autotune in it. It's terrible.

"Get Up and Fight" sounds exactly like the worst song 30 seconds to mars could come up with, only Matt sings instead of Jared. It's easily the worst song they've ever released.

"Algorithm" is decent in its alternative reality version. Sounds like Vangelis without the proper synths Vangelis used, sounds a bit amateurish and not long enough, but it's alright.

"Blockades" might be the best out of the lot (not counting the songs we'd already heard), it sounds a lot like "City of Delusion" from BH&R, but CoD was a lot better.

So it's pretty weak overall. I love Pressure though, clearly the best song from the album and one I will still listen to in a few years. The Dark Side is okay, but they've done the same kind of stuff better in the past. Thought Contagion is too repetitive and I hate the chorus. Something Human is garbage. Dig Down is passable.

 

Drones was a far better album, more coherent, with real ambition. You can't take anything away from Dead Inside, Reapers, The Handler and The Globalist. Those songs are absolute killers, I still listen to them and love them. I can't see myself listening to any of the songs from Simulation Theory in 10 years, except maybe for Pressure (but even Pressure is lacking something, a good solo for instance, it's too repetitive).

Also, what I'm really disappointed in with this new album: there is not a single ambitious song. No Globalist, no Exogenesis, no Unsustainable... all those great tracks that closed the three previous albums, I thought it'd be a staple from The Resistance on, but they stopped doing it for some reason. Shame.

All of that being said, I'm still a fan, I have a deep respect for that band. They have been on the road for almost 20 years (and even more if you count their beginning, and actually they released one song before Showbiz, "Twins" - but it had a different name, forgot it - in 1996, and their first EP was released in 1998). They have made it big, and if you look at their start, they have evolved so much. 

This album is failed, and I hope Matt will realize he fucked up and completely change his approach for the next album. I don't understand what happened within 3 years. Drones was a much more mature album. This one looks like it has been written by teenagers who are hyped by the current hype with the 80's vibe and can't make their own sounds. It's crazy.

I hope they won't get sued by Kavinsky.

My best friend actually has similar views to you. Resistance is his favorite album and everything since has been hit and miss for him. He hates this one 

Muse has been on a big decline for years for me and Drones was a disappointment imo. I was not expecting much based on Dig Down. I'm surprised I like the album as much as I do. I think it feels like they had more fun with it and took it less seriously and I like that about it its whacky but I really dig the songs I like. With more spins, I totally get why some fans arenlet down though 

[wasted]

Most bands have 3 albums then keep repeating themselves with different sounds. 

[ZoSoRose]

Got GA tickets for the show. Going to take my gf (it's her favorite band) and my sister. I'm really excited, I bet the stage show will be awesome.

I peeked at some of their recent preview shows. They are doing Algorithm, Dark Side, Pressure, and Break it to Me along with a medley of some cool older songs/deep cuts. I'd be happy with a medley over getting no old non hits like the Drones Tour. If they keep all of that and add Blockades and The Void I'll be very happy.

Edited December 10, 2018 by ZoSoRose

[ZoSoRose]

Pressure has shot up to one of my favorites. Its a blast of a track. I also like the alternate versions of the songs. The alternate Dig Down is way better than the album version. 

[ZoSoRose]

Anyone else seeing this tour? The stage show looks awesome

[Mansin Humanity]

Gonna be a game time call for me. It's on a Tuesday here and I'm going to a festival the weekend before so gonna depend on how alive I am. If I can get a cheap-ish ticket I probably will.

[D..]

You should @Mansin Humanity

Despite what I think about the last album, I still follow the band, and the live gigs & setlsts keep on delivering. The songs from the last album actually bring something to the table when it comes to live shows. I like that they open shows with the alternate reality version of Algorithm. 

I may attend another Muse gig after all. I'm still not satisfied with the last album, but I do listen to some songs every week, in my car. I listen to Pressure, Algorithm (especially the alternative version), The Dark Side, and sometimes The Void & Blockades when I'm in a good mood. I tried "Break it to me" several times, for some reason I don't hate it as much as in the beginning. It's okay. It's weird and still hard to understand how it made it onto an album. It sounds like a bad b-side. But it's Muse, and I'm a fanboy.

I never listen to Thought Contagion, Get Up and Fight, Something Human and whatever the other tracks may be, I don't care about them. Oh yeah, Dig Down... it was shit to begin with. The alternate version is way better, but still very average.

The setlists from the current gigs, though... I'm okay with it.  It's still one of the best bands from the last 20 years, and without question one of the very best live bands as of now.

So I may attempt the next Paris show. We'll see. They are still my boys after all. I've invested so much time and money in them. I can't rule them out completely because of one failed album.

[ZoSoRose]

After being dissapointed with the setlist on the Drones tour, I'm pretty happy with this one. Obviously, it helps that I really like Simulation Theory.

I think one more song from the Showbiz-Black Holes era would have been nice (or at least another one with vocals in the medley at the end), and not having Blockades is a bummer for me. 

Seriously, Blockades is begging to be played at an arena or stadium with a crazy light and laser show

Add that, get rid of Mercy (why is that being played??) and replace it with something like Bliss or Apocalypse Please, and maybe extend Assasin to include a verse and chorus in the medley and the set would be an A for me (with realistic expectations)

Edited March 4, 2019 by ZoSoRose

[D..]

Totally. I think Blockades would be great live. The Void isn't being played either and it could sound better live.

I'm pretty sure they'll play Blockades & The Void eventually though, maybe for the stadiums.

Also bear in mind it's the beginning of the album tour, they never play the whole album from the start. 

But... almost every album has a "forgotten" song. 

I remember when I was young, I loved "Falling away with you" from Absolution. I swear it was NEVER played live during that tour, and even after that. What a shame, it's an amazing song. Still, I was lucky enough to hear "Endlessly" and "The Groove" (b-side from Absolution) live.

Also "Exo-Politics" from Black Holes & Revelations was only played live like 3 or 4 times, if you don't count the earlier version of that song called "Burning Bandits". I attended a show in Toulouse (south of France) which was the first gig in France from that era, hoping they'd play it, and they didn't. They banished Exo-Politics from the setlist without reason. It was one of the best tracks from BH&R.

Of course, on "The Resistance", as soon as I'd heard the album, I was almost 100% sure they'd never play the full Exo-genesis live. And they never did. Didn't surprise me. They did play part 3 in Japan for some reason, but they absolutely never played it complete with Part I / Part II / Part III. They never even played part 2 which is the easier to play on piano than Part 3 (which is also easy).

What's really unforgivable on "The Resistance" is that Bellamy dropped the Chopin outro in "United States Of Eurasia" live. You know why he dropped it? Because they did promo Resistance shows in Teignmouth, and he fucked up on the Chopin part. He said "sorry, I forgot". After that, he never tried it again. Maybe he felt so ashamed he fucked up that he never wanted to feel this again, who knows. But I'd rather witness to someone who fucks up than somebody who doesn't even try.

Actually, that's why I learnt this Chopin piano piece, I wanted to understand if it was so hard to play. It's tricky, but it's definitely not so hard, and it's something Matt Bellamy could absolutely play perfectly live if he trained for it. I think he thought "meh, the audience doesn't care for it, don't want to fuck this up again". I CARE FOR IT!!!

On "The 2nd Law", Big Freeze (amazing song) was never played live either. Such a shame. Big Freeze deserves so much more than most of their boring singles, especially "Mercy" from Drones now that you mention it. Mercy is garbage.

On "Drones", I think Aftermath was left out, and maybe Revolt too. But I can't blame them, I hate Revolt (one of their worst songs), and Aftermath isn't so good either. What surprised me on this album, is that I thought they'd never try "The Globalist" live. But they did, they played it constantly, and it was glorious (another song they should play more often, what a fucking great b-side). They even played "Defector". 
Drones is a blessed album. Great album, and they played the best songs from it live, contrary to most of the other albums where they constantly banish one great song and play poor singles.

 

I do hope Blockades gets justice. I thought "Break it to me" would be one the songs they'd banish. Absurd that they play it live really. They do ignore "Get up and fight" for the moment, and that's great news to me.

What I really hope is that Bellamy wakes up one day and says to himself "fuck, I've composed so many great songs in the past, I don't care for the bloody singles, I don't care for the length of the setlist, I will surprise them tonight!", then goes on to play:

 

INTRO: Algorithm Alternate Reality Version (full)

1. Take a Bow

2. Hyper Music

3. Dead Star

"BONSOIR PARIS!"

4. Shrinking Universe

5. Showbiz

6. Eternally Miseed

7. Host

8. Futurism

9. Exo-Politics

10. Escape

11. Reapers

12. Piano Thing

13. The Dark Side

14. Shine

15. Guiding Light (don't care what anyone says, it's a great song)

16. Cave

17. Dark Shines

18. Blockades

19. Falling Away with you

INTERLUDE

20. Hysteria

21. Micro Cuts

22. Space Dementia

23. United States of Eurasia (+ Chopin)

24. The Globalist

ENCORE

25. Exo-Genesis Part I

26. Exo-Genesis Part II

27. Exo-Genesis Part III

ENCORE II

28. Pressure

29. Neutron Star Collision

30. Unnatural Selection

31. Easily

32. New Born

33. Knights of Cydonia (with "Once upon a time in the west - Man with a harmonica" intro)

34. The Void

 

I'd pay $1000 to witness a show like that.

 

 

 

[ZoSoRose]

2 hours ago, D.. said:

Totally. I think Blockades would be great live. The Void isn't being played either and it could sound better live.

I'm pretty sure they'll play Blockades & The Void eventually though, maybe for the stadiums.

Also bear in mind it's the beginning of the album tour, they never play the whole album from the start. 

But... almost every album has a "forgotten" song. 

I remember when I was young, I loved "Falling away with you" from Absolution. I swear it was NEVER played live during that tour, and even after that. What a shame, it's an amazing song. Still, I was lucky enough to hear "Endlessly" and "The Groove" (b-side from Absolution) live.

Also "Exo-Politics" from Black Holes & Revelations was only played live like 3 or 4 times, if you don't count the earlier version of that song called "Burning Bandits". I attended a show in Toulouse (south of France) which was the first gig in France from that era, hoping they'd play it, and they didn't. They banished Exo-Politics from the setlist without reason. It was one of the best tracks from BH&R.

Of course, on "The Resistance", as soon as I'd heard the album, I was almost 100% sure they'd never play the full Exo-genesis live. And they never did. Didn't surprise me. They did play part 3 in Japan for some reason, but they absolutely never played it complete with Part I / Part II / Part III. They never even played part 2 which is the easier to play on piano than Part 3 (which is also easy).

What's really unforgivable on "The Resistance" is that Bellamy dropped the Chopin outro in "United States Of Eurasia" live. You know why he dropped it? Because they did promo Resistance shows in Teignmouth, and he fucked up on the Chopin part. He said "sorry, I forgot". After that, he never tried it again. Maybe he felt so ashamed he fucked up that he never wanted to feel this again, who knows. But I'd rather witness to someone who fucks up than somebody who doesn't even try.

Actually, that's why I learnt this Chopin piano piece, I wanted to understand if it was so hard to play. It's tricky, but it's definitely not so hard, and it's something Matt Bellamy could absolutely play perfectly live if he trained for it. I think he thought "meh, the audience doesn't care for it, don't want to fuck this up again". I CARE FOR IT!!!

On "The 2nd Law", Big Freeze (amazing song) was never played live either. Such a shame. Big Freeze deserves so much more than most of their boring singles, especially "Mercy" from Drones now that you mention it. Mercy is garbage.

On "Drones", I think Aftermath was left out, and maybe Revolt too. But I can't blame them, I hate Revolt (one of their worst songs), and Aftermath isn't so good either. What surprised me on this album, is that I thought they'd never try "The Globalist" live. But they did, they played it constantly, and it was glorious (another song they should play more often, what a fucking great b-side). They even played "Defector". 
Drones is a blessed album. Great album, and they played the best songs from it live, contrary to most of the other albums where they constantly banish one great song and play poor singles.

 

I do hope Blockades gets justice. I thought "Break it to me" would be one the songs they'd banish. Absurd that they play it live really. They do ignore "Get up and fight" for the moment, and that's great news to me.

What I really hope is that Bellamy wakes up one day and says to himself "fuck, I've composed so many great songs in the past, I don't care for the bloody singles, I don't care for the length of the setlist, I will surprise them tonight!", then goes on to play:

 

INTRO: Algorithm Alternate Reality Version (full)

1. Take a Bow

2. Hyper Music

3. Dead Star

"BONSOIR PARIS!"

4. Shrinking Universe

5. Showbiz

6. Eternally Miseed

7. Host

8. Futurism

9. Exo-Politics

10. Escape

11. Reapers

12. Piano Thing

13. The Dark Side

14. Shine

15. Guiding Light (don't care what anyone says, it's a great song)

16. Cave

17. Dark Shines

18. Blockades

19. Falling Away with you

INTERLUDE

20. Hysteria

21. Micro Cuts

22. Space Dementia

23. United States of Eurasia (+ Chopin)

24. The Globalist

ENCORE

25. Exo-Genesis Part I

26. Exo-Genesis Part II

27. Exo-Genesis Part III

ENCORE II

28. Pressure

29. Neutron Star Collision

30. Unnatural Selection

31. Easily

32. New Born

33. Knights of Cydonia (with "Once upon a time in the west - Man with a harmonica" intro)

34. The Void

 

I'd pay $1000 to witness a show like that.

 

 

 

Haha that set would be ridicolous. Id pay a lot to see that, too. Very cool you got Endlessly at a show. Great song. I was lucky to get Citizen Erased and Butterflies and Hurricanes at Lollapalooza 2011

With Muse, they only do bit tour cycles based on new albums and always heavily showcase new material. Its a catch 22 if you dont like whatever the new album is, but I respect that and appreciate that.

They just have a lot of older material Id love to be in the set, more. We dont need songs like Mercy on the set imo. It got played ad naueseu on the Drones Tour. That makes sense, since they were showcasing Drones, but it wasnt a popular song and isnt rare so why play it on the ST Tour? Theres room in the set for a few more rarer older songs, that Mercy slot is a perfect slot for something like Bliss, Space Dementia, Showbiz, etc. Take a Bow is a good addition. As I said before, if they subbed out Mercy for an old song and then changed the medley around (cool concept, and I like Reapers and the Handler, but they were also played a ton recently) with older rare songs, itd be a lot better. Muse has always struggled with showcasing older material. At least they finally dropped The Resistance. Despite my critiques, I think its a pretty good setlist. 

I know they dont always play every new song off of a new album. Very few bands do, I just personally really like Blockades and think it could have been a live showstopper with the special effects. The Void is great, too, but I'm not that surprised it isnt in the set. Very glad to have Algorithm, Pressure, and The Dark Side in the set. I like Break it to Me and Propaganda, so I'm happy both are there, too. Id trade one for Blockades though.

Either way, its a decent sized set forba Muse arena show. Its longer than The Resistance and Drones Tours.

 

[ZoSoRose]

Saw the tour last night. We got rail on the center catwalk. Best seats in the house. It was spectacular. Topped The Resistance Tour for sheer spectacle. The light an stage show was insane, dancers, acrobats, robots, the huge skeleton, trap doors, and more. It was absurd, ridicolous, and sensory overload and it was perfect for the band and album. I thought the setlist was paced great and had a ton of great songs. My gf and sister loved it. Matt also stopped to shake my hand which was weird and cool. The cherry on top was getting an autographed show poster in one of the balloons. Increadible show, one of the best I have seen. 

This album and tour have really made me nuts for Muse, again 

 

[ZoSoRose]

I know I'm talking to myself but I'm fired up. We decided to go to the Chicago show so we could sit in seats and experience the stage show better. We rushed after work and drove from Detroit. Walked in during the intro and made it on time. The video graphics were malfunctioning but it was still a great show. Muse show 5 for me and 3 for my gf.

Now for the best part.... We got wind that Matt is in a sometimes Beatles cover band with members of NIN, Jet, and more. We heard they were playing a tiny bar after the show. We managed to not only score admission, but got to the front row. Chris joined in on a song and Dom watched the show. So we got to see 2/3rds of Muse rock out in a freaking bar. I couldnt believe it. It was one of the coolest live experiences I'll ever see

Someone filmed it,

 

[ZoSoRose]

They put out a concert film to document the tour. Although it is missing some of their hits, I think it was a very solid release. The extra stuff did not detract from the show footage too much and the mixing was some of the best I have heard for a live release.