Drones by Muse
An Album Review by Chascoso
Heeey! Finally posting - wooo!!
So this entry is about Muse's latest album: Drones.
Before I get into it, I shall remind you that this is a concept album.
Something they haven't done before but have hinted towards.
So, straight off the bat I know this won't be their best work - even
though they like to think this is!
Without a further ado. Let's get into it!!
Review: Drones kick starts with Matt's "dead inside!" Which may seem like nothing at first, but if
you consider the plot of the album - then it all makes sense. Dead Inside is meant to show the start
of the protagonist being, essentially, dead inside by - according to the lyrics - someone else who is
already 'dead inside.' Tempted, the protagonist gives in an becomes dead inside along with
the - in this case - antagonist. That's the summary of the meaning behind this song.
The first instrument we hear (other than Matt's "dead inside!!") is Dom's drumming. It may seem
like nothing at first (and let's face it, it is a simple beat) but it shows him using a double bass
pedal for the first time - so that's new. There's occasional drum fills to make the drumming a bit
more interesting. But even that is limited as it's just hitting the snare with a double stroke.
The bass follows the same pattern as not much happens either. So there isn't much to say.
I imagine the sound effects, synths and other sounds comes from Morgan. Which can be heard at 2:07.
Then there's Matt. Who's the main star to this song in particular. We don't hear him using many
vocalist techniques. Not even vocables. Which gives much more emotion to the song as it shows
it's just him using expression to make the melody (his voice) the main attention grabber.
As I mention on my personal opinion, this song is Matt's ballad as he's the main interest here.
Even though his vocals are still fairly simple. But he does hit high notes without using
falsetto - and that's not always easy. Not much to say on the guitar either. It's just strumming of
chords using distortion - also used on the bass.
Overall, Muse tried to get an impression from the listener of:
with this song playing first.
It's unexpected from Muse with it's simple instrumentation, structure and overall technicality of it.
But the emotion is there. And I think that goes along with the whole "dead inside" feeling.
Personal Opinion: At first, I thought this was very unlike what they have ever done before and I
just thought, "damn Muse are
!!"
In all honesty, I didn't like this track at all at first. It took some time to get use to.
Overtime, I began to love the song for what it was.
To me, this track is meant to be Matt's way to show off and give Dom, Chris and Morgan a break.
This is, in a sense, Matt's ballad. I think. However, it doesn't show all of his singing
abilities - like his insane high note hitting and falsetto. It's more about expressing pure emotion
without the need for singing techniques.
The drums, bass and guitar is simple and while it does remind me of Madness from their album
The 2nd Law, it's a great listen and it's nice to sing along to just to let out some steam!
- Track 2: Drill Sergeant + Psycho
Review: Did you hear that guys? "Your ass belongs to me now!!"
It's no wonder they put a 15 rating for this album because of the 'strong language'.
Anyhow, the song starts off with a sort of 'filler' only, it's relevant for the story behind the song. So, now
that the protagonist is dead inside, he (I presume they're a he; going by the music video) is being trained to fight
for some unknown organization, person or group of people. They're going
to be part of this unknown organization's form of force and there doesn't
seem to be any way to get out of it since his mind is "just a program" from now on. So, that's why they added
the sergeant yelling at the beginning.
Moving on to the instrumentation, we first hear the iconic riff that started getting everyone
excited - muser and non-musers alike. As the drums come in and bass, we learn this will soon be the chorus.
And yeah. The song follows the verse chorus bridge form. So, once again, nothing significant. Although, unlike
Dead Inside, there is plenty for the drums, guitar and bass (the bass even has a small solo!) to play even if
most of it is just repetition. So, once again, not much happens here.
The relation between the story of the track and the song itself is the angry, heavy rock mood given
out through rock-like techniques explains the fury of the one learning about the protagonist's story. Or, perhaps,
it explains
the chaotic feel of a sergeants rampant shouting, the almost torturous training undergone and the way that the main
character feels little to no remorse or feelings towards the situation. This unemotional wreck is probably why
the song is titled "Psycho". Because the character has become just that.
Personal Opinion: This is what I expected when I heard them say it's going to be a "heavier" album! I've heard
mixed views on this track but honestly, I love this track. I adore the hard rock feel and distortion. You just can't
ignore your temptation to head bang to it. I just can't wait to hear this live and jump to it! Hypeee!!
Review: And thus begins the protagonist's redemption. He finally realizes he's done wrong
and begs the people he harmed, the one listening to his story to show Mercy to his wrong doing.
The song starts off with an instrument that Matt doesn't play as often as he once did
(Exaggeration - Explorers from The 2nd Law was full on piano that Matt played live, not Morgan),
with a simple chord sequence that the bass (I think) follows. Like the songs prior to this one,
it follows a basic structure with simple beats and all.
However, Matt's vocals begin to shine as we hear falsetto on the part just before the bridge.
There's also some melisma (melismata, in music, is the singing of a single syllable of text while
moving between several different notes in succession - although
he goes down in steps really and it's not several really).
Like the vocals, more and more musical techniques are used as the album progresses. While the
drums and bass are still simple, they bring in more ideas little by little. The drums doesn't play the
same beat during the chorus and verse - unlike Dead Inside - granted, Dom does that on Psycho.
And there's more use of the crashes, more
snare and occasional tom fills and a crescendo (gradually getting louder) hitting of the snare to lead up
to the chorus once more before the song ends.
You probably gathered that I don't know much about the bass guitar as an instrument. Although
the way it's played in the chorus is interesting. The drums goes along with the piano but the bass is a
rebel here and is played in an arpeggio-like way. I imagine that's some sort of technique? I don't know.
Otherwise, yeah. This song explores trying to make a happy sounding song with tragic vocals.
Matt sings as if he really is the protagonist. Especially near the end. Quite a despair-filled song and thus,
follows the theme of Mercy and redemption.
Personal View: Reminds me of Starlight and the pop-sounding stuff they do. I don't have anything
against Starlight or this song but it's not my favorite songs. Nonetheless, singing along with this and
understanding the mood of the song is really enticing. It's quite nice.
And that's the first couple of songs!
I'll continue my review on the next part.
If you liked those songs then check out their other stuff that sound similar to this:
Dead Inside-like:
Madness
Undisclosed Desires
Psycho-like:
Stockholm Syndrome
Hysteria
Mercy
Starlight
Neutron Star Collision
Stay tuned for Part 2! 