Album of the Week #20.

 

Muse- Exogenesis.

Sorry I've not done an Album of the Week post in forever- I was just so busy with my exams and didn't get back on it soon enough! OK, so this isn't even technically an album or even an EP. What it is is a beautiful piece of music on the end of a majorly disappointing album (The Resistance). Muse are my favourite band and have been since the moment I first heard 'New Born' (off album Origin of Symmetry) when I was 9years old; 11years on and I'm clearly in it for the long haul. I could have chosen to review my favourite Muse albums Origin of Symmetry and/or Black Holes and Revelations but I didn't- I chose to talk about this three part piece; and I'll tell you for why. I had a dream upon anticipation of this album (The Resistance) and it was that I saw Muse in concert and they played an album-length piece of music with an orchestra and it was the greatest most magical thing that I've ever heard. So imagine my initial dismay and fury when I started listening to The Resistance- a Queen inspired crap fest. But then, oh then, the last three tracks blew my mind. This was it- the moment I had literally been dreaming of!

'Exogenesis: Symphony' is a twelve minute long, three part piece essentially about man's destruction of the world and the remaining humans going to live on another planet. I'm a bit of a space dweeb and personally love the concept of this piece- I think it's really haunting and thought-provoking. 'Exogenesis Part One: Overture'  builds up with stunning strings and an almost heartbeat-like rhythm. Front man Matt Bellamy's voice glides in like some kind of angel towards the end of the track. 'Exogenesis Part Two: Cross-Pollination' focuses on humanity's last hope of populating another planet- opening with a typical Matt Bellamy crazy piano piece that floats into cinematic swells. The majority of this song is quite sombre but Matt's vocals take centre stage here with a greater guitar presence. I love how this part ends but I think my favourite of the three sections is 'Exogenesis Part Three: Redemption'; the piano opens in a way that you can only think of taking those first tentative steps on a new planet with the hope and fears of the world resting on you. I know I'm being all romantic and imagery-based but isn't that what concept music is all about? The musical genius that is Matt Bellamy composed this whole piece, including the orchestral sections. This is prog-rock and classical music combined at its best, I'm just devastated that it's attached to the rest of that album! My main MASSIVE criticism of this symphony is that it's only 12minutes long- I want an album length orchestral spacey prog-rock piece Muse. So deffo check out Muse- they're not all classical symphonies and space you know- but for sure give the majority of The Resistance a miss guys, it's not worth wasting your time on.