Black Holes and Revelations

Muse have always struck me as the kind of band who dye their pubes in place of a personality. I've just dyed my pubes red and it looks like I've murdered an octopus in the bath. The music sounds like one of the non-Chris Martin ones in Coldplay had a wild weekend listening to Radiohead and tried to pass it off as an original idea. The result is terminal ear cancer.

I've never liked Muse. Too polished for me. It's okay, but it's rock for an IT consultant with a tribal tattoo under his shirt. Not remotely cool.

When Radiohead stopped making proper guitar albums after OK Computer, other bands moved into the space that had been abandoned. Coldplay took the softer end, and built a stadium sized career out of it, and Muse ditto with the louder end. It is no surprise that the bombastic end of Radiohead crossed with a healthy dose of Queen also turned out to be a stadium-filling beast. With magpie like references to other moments of bombastic excess (Soundgarden, Ennio Morricone, ELO), this is cleverly composed, schmickly produced, and expertly played, but really, at the end of the day, this is sound and fury, signifying nothing.

fairly unbearable this. its just so synthetic and soulless and those singles have been played to fucking death. 16 year old me copied origin of symetry onto a minidisc and loved listening to it on the bus to school so much that he went to see muse at the apollo. he put blue hair gel in because he was wacky and totally different. that sums up what muse is for. wacky 16 year olds with blue hair gel.

Muse was my first ever rock show. Muse was the first band I discovered on my own, and I recommended it to all my friends. I remember when I first heard "Darkshines" and went bizarre playing it, on repeat, showing it to everyone around. I still wonder why the metalhead girl who all the guys were into, for some reason, did not like its fuzz-driven riff... Well, whatever. The point is – Muse is a super important band to me that has largely introduced me to heavier music, and it's sad that 10+ years after I heard this album for the first time, I don't like it as much as I used to. Is it because this album foreshadowed what Muse was to become in a decade? Probably, and that's key to my relationship with the band: Muse music (sorry for the awful wordplay) appeals to teenage angst and frustration and high hopes I experienced on par with all the other 14-year olds who did not get the lyrics, but in retrospect, the songs appear... Pretty stupid? Naive? Overly pompous? Well, probably everything together, and I don't want to listen to it anymore. Sorry, Muse. Don't get me wrong, I'm still super grateful to Muse. I enjoy (my memories of) the cyber-machinegun fuzz-n-whammy guitar riffs, distorted basslines, insanely produced vocals, guitar-keyboard lines... You name it. Unfortunately, for me, this is the last great Muse album, and that's what makes it more bitter than sweet.

Muse’s BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS is an epic space rock album that plays like a soundtrack for encountering of the wonders of the deep space. The songs are unapologetically grandiose - like audio versions of Hubble Space Telescope images. It feels like It was created in some cosmic forge involving Radiohead, Yes, U2, Queen and Nine Inch Nails. The music is wildly and perfectly overblown. The vocals are off the hook soaring effortlessly through the maelstrom. A phenomenal album!

Big sounds on this one. I particularly enjoy sexy vamp baseball.

This album has been removed from the latest editions of the book. Enjoyed it a lot still. I used to not care about Muse much, feels quite strange I’m about to rate it 5*! 4.5/5

Deranged man records album at bottom of well

Apparently this was removed from the most recent edition of the list - good call that.

A very important album in my history. I think Supermassive Black Hole was a turning point in music for me. I realized that sexy pop songs are cool.

Give me Matt Belemey desperate vocals and I'm just gone. It is _possible_ the lyrics aren't quite as deep as 14 year old me thought they were, but sonically just so dramatic and in tune with the lyrical styling, and so much fun. Sure muse have a formula, but it's the formula for me.

Five stars for how much I used to slay Knights of Cydonia on Guitar Hero

One of the biggest sounding albums ever

"The Bends" but 10 years later. Shame, I'd never heard this and was hoping for something weirder, actual proggy and/or dramatic; just got dull indie slop with histrionic vocals.

The last truly amazing Muse album. Knights of Cydonia is a GOAT stadium anthem. Starlight hasn't aged very well for me but apart from that this still holds up extremely well. Map of the Problematique is a severely underrated Muse track.

Spectacular! A flawless album of otherworldly themes, it eschews all the heavy-handed snide emo bullshit that was prevalent at the time. It was a massive breath of fresh air then and it still is now. You can hear and feel the rock stardom yet to come for Bellamy. I love this wholeheartedly.

Definitely a top played album on my iPod back in the day. Still holds up, a fantastic album

This album already sounds super dated. Not a fan of the discount Thom Yorke vocals or the poppy electro rock instrumentals. These guys are just kinda cheesy. Maybe their other records are better? So far, the critics who put this list together seem kinda sus.

This sounds like Radiohead decided they cared about what the music sounds like and made a space rock album that isn't actually about space. Weird in all the right ways. Best track: City of Delusion

uhm…supermassive black hole has that edgy corporate hard rock sound sorry.. the rest of the album is fine musically. soldier’s poem is great except the lyric is bad. can be said for a lot of songs. knights of cydonia was cool. a lot of these songs are just trying too hard to be deep. would be more enjoyable if i didn’t know english.

Epic as fuck, but forgettable

Pretentious and derivative. Not the worst album ever, but nothing I'll ever voluntarily listen to again. 2/5

Muse are a guilty pleasure band for me, I know they aren't great (especially now), but I still have a soft spot for them since they were the first band me and my wife saw live together. I was a little surprised to see Muse on this list, and even more surprised that they picked this album over Absolution or Origin of Symmetry. That being said I think that this is a very good album and I enjoy every song on it. I wouldn't say this album is great though. This was the turning point for Muse where they started to become more campy and cheesy. 4.5

I loved it. I was sucked in from the first song. It was like a good movie, I couldn’t wait to hear what came next.

Confession: I was a huge Muse fan in high school, and that obsession started with this album. Nostalgia definitely plays a role here, but listening back today I'm still floored by how well this album mixes the ostentatious, proggish rock the band was already known for with a heavy dose of electronics + a little Western pastiche to make a Space-Cowboy rock opera that somehow doesn't crumble to bits under the weight of all its ideas. Is it a little corny in parts? Yeah. Do all of Bellamy's conspiratorial, lizard government ideas make for great song material? LOL. Is 'Demonocracy' perhaps the most high-school edgelord lyric of all time? Most certainly. But despite the obligatory trappings of being a Muse album, Black Holes is so much more than the sum of its odd and contradictory parts. The instrumentals here still wow to this day and represent perhaps the most experienced and tasteful performances of the band's career – I've been trying to mimic the simple-but-speedy drum fill in 'Assassin' for years now and still need some practice. Every bass line, guitar solo, and drum fill steals the show without detracting from the holistic impact of each track, and though somewhat indulgent at times the album manages to pull off a cohesive feel without sacrificing each song's wildly individual feel. Muse hadn't jumped the shark yet, but they were definitely on the ramp at this point. Bellamy's introduction to synths on this album may have cratered the band's already divisive career from then on out, but damn if it didn't perfectly gel together into one LP that had a huge impact on high-school me. While I've grown out of my outright fandom for the band, I will never forget or forsake the album that contains all the tracks that made me pay attention to instrumentation for the first time. 'Knights of Cydonia' rocks so damn hard it made me start playing the guitar, a musical touchstone in its own right that put me on the path to being the indiehead I am today. Cheesy, stupid, and over-the-top it may be, but I'll be damned if I don't say that I love this LP.

I don't like everything Muse has done, but I really like this album. There's such a cool mix of fun theatric songs mixed with more "serious" rock songs, often going back and forth in the same track. Just about every song has many nuanced layers; it's a real listener's album as Gina Gleason likes to say.

Supermassive black hole will forever conjure the twilight baseball scene to my mind. But starlight and knights of Cydonia are also amazing. Enjoyed more than I thought. Had never really listened to muse before. But maybe I will again?

The black hole is Radiohead, and this record has passed the event horizon. On the other side sits God and Stephen Hawking. God’s hand stretches forth, rummages, and pulls out a latte. He hands it to Hawking. I wanted an espresso, not this beige shit, says Hawking.

How to be a successful British rock band in the early 2000’s: Step 1: Sound like Radiohead Step 2: Add Distorted Guitars and Arpeggiated Synths Step 3: Profit

Radiohead for theatre kids

All Muse songs are mayonnaise sandwiches

Rubbish. Couldn’t give it 0

No mamen no voy a oír esta mierda.

Black Holes and Revelations - это энциклопедия хитов высшего качества. Первые три трека с альбома прямо доказывают, почему вы должны его услышать хоть раз в своей жизни. Supermassive Black Hole - один из лучших саундтреков к фильмам в истории, каждой строчкой и касанием медиатора струн перегруженной гитары говорящий о яркости и крутости сцены игры в бейсбол в первых «Сумерках». Великолепная Starlight одна из моих любимых треков Muse, одновременно драйвовая и в то же время спокойная и ласковая, способная успокоить и заставить почувствовать красоту момента. Такой особый шарм создает каждая песня с альбома, недаром хитовость играет на руку их индивидуальности. К слову, абсолютно каждая песня спокойно воспринимается вне альбома и может стать самобытной частичкой разных по жанру и настроению плейлистов, но магия, присутствующая на Black Holes and Revelations непередаваема, будто кусочки пазлов наконец начинают сходиться в одну большую красочную картину арт-рока. Ни слова больше! Космические 5/5.

Любимки

I was obsessed with this album as a teenager. Still slaps. Still remember the lyrics haha

Holy 4 on the floor batman. I've tried to get into muse a couple times before and I just can't do it. There are a few fantastic tracks on this album and it is all expertly produced. Howevever I found myself skipping songs and getting bored with their popier songs.

Time splitters ass music

Mid-90s Radiohead called, seeking royalties.

Promising first track leads into edgecore underwhelmed hipster pop, sprinkled with tech forward synth and basic chord progressions. Don’t forget “soaring vocals” that really cherry top this flourless cake. Probably a victim of my collegiate years being peppered by an inundation of pedestrian level indie inspired hodgepodge with few redeeming qualities. As if Bono was born into a vacuum knowing only Good Charlotte and 30 seconds to Mars. I wouldn’t choose to listen to this, but as an album, for people who like it, I could see this being likable. They’re not entirely talentless but I wonder if this could exist without other references to create the touchstone. And we can’t forget the emotion that really makes me feel like I’m listening to Thom Yorke on a too-high dosage of Paxil. 1/5 Least favorite album on this list so far.

Automatic 1 star for the ultimate wanker band - by wankers for wankers. He's a classical musician playing at being Radiohead, and his acolytes go on about his skills rather than the quality of his song writing

Aburridísimo. Mejor me voy a escuchar Radiohead

Duff stadium-rock in love with the smell of its own farts

should not be on this list

Probably the group’s masterwork. Insanely tight and polished, this one feels like a super slick blend of Queen-style operatic rock, Spaghetti Western, Classical, Techno and occasional toxically yummy Britney Spears-inspired pop with the likes of Supermassive Black Hole. There are lots of stellar moments peppered throughout but its main is skill is building gradually up to its core-kickass and climaxing phase with the ridiculously rollicking Knights Of Cydonia. It’s such a shame they combusted immediately after this album and a fake Muse group took their place churning out markedly inferior stuff.

Last of the great Arena Rock™ bands. More Muse please. They pull from everywhere: Queen, Joe Meek, krautrock, even The Beach Boys (listen to "Soldier's Poem"). Muse masterfully navigate through a magnificent variety of tempo, sound, dynamic range. Also not the typical themes - I love the apocalyptic dystopian outlook, outside of themselves rather than the self-centered whininess of their contemporaries. Heavy, well constructed compositions. LOVE!

Brilliant. Being a massive Queen fan, I obviously saw their influence on this band. I was lucky enough to see Muse live, and their show adds even more dimensions to their work. However, this is a review if an album....and I love this one!

Maybe I’m blinded by nostalgia, but this whole album absolutely rocks. The energy, the riffs, the over-the-top drama, it all just works. Every track feels massive, and even after all these years, it still hits hard. Whether it’s nostalgia or not, Black Holes and Revelations is a killer album from start to finish.

Excellent album, love the rock opera vibes, surprised by all the different instruments and influences used here, what a fantastic listen

Not the best Muse album but still a 9/10

All killer no filler

Arguably their best album with OOS. certified bangers, multiple hits and not a miss on the album. IMO their best mix of music and lyrics. 5/5

This album is a masterpiece. Thanks for including it this week.

One of my favorite albums, every piece is so technically sound. Massive bass, amazing vocal range, solid drums without being too flashy, and incredible guitar and keys. Such a great band.

Very enjoyable, not sure what genre I would put them in. Great first album.

Ik ben nooit een grote fan geweest van Muse. Maar als je je eenmaal niet meer stoort aan de ademstoten van Matthew Bellamy, kun je gewoon genieten van de bombastische gitaarpartijen en elektronica. Een van de weinige platen waarop alleen maar goede nummers staan. Moderne Queen. Ik moet het toch weer vaker opzetten. 5 sterren zeker waard

it was better than i expected!!!!! almost perfect album fr. favs from the album: map of the problematique(real), city of delusion (SOSOSOSOOOO GOOD), hoodoo(also real), starlight, sbh

actual bueno

It's like fake grass. SILVER fake grass, just like the grass in planet K-69420. It feels artificial. But it's undeniably fun to play on once in a while.

8.5/10 Another one I know well and like. Would have loved to give it 5 but it’s not quite there. Poppy hard rock with proggy edges. It is undoubtedly silly, and the Muse conspiracy theory stuff is weird, but at least it is self-aware. That makes the sillier stuff fun. They definitely like Queen and Radiohead, but the inspirations are very wide. It starts off sounding like Glass! Best: Map of the Problematique

Gargantuan tunes from the band that is the Queen of the 2000's Era. The first song. "Take a Bow," is eerily on target for the times we are living in. A very enjoyable album that, while completely overwrought and over the top, still hits.

Solid Muse album and entry on this 1001 list, yet it still isn't as good as their previous release - "Absolution." I've always viewed Muse through the lens of "What if Radiohead and Queen had a baby?" Maybe that's a little too broad, but I still think it fits their sound and their first 3-4 albums. Once they shifted towards more electronica in the 2010s, I wasn't as interested. But this one is a solid 4 for me.

I didn't like this almost 20 years ago when it came out, it just didn't click with me but I still liked "Supermassive Black Hole" but re-stumbling upon it about 15 years ago made me like it, I could put it on and there would be no skips. But then I stopped again and now it's nice to come back to but it might be the zenith of Muse, pretentious lyrics and guitar wankery goes hard here... That said, "Exo-Politics" rocks, even with the conspiracy shit...

Their fourth album, but the first of theirs that I ever heard. And probably my favorite of their albums. Having said that, the horns near the tail end of City of Delusion feels very random when they come up. It reminded me of Led Zeppelins Fool in the Rain with the samba break in the middle of it. But then once you get Knights of Cydonia it seems like they were starting to go for a spaghetti western theme, but only for the last quarter of the album? Not entirely sure. Still a solid album.

I liked it! At least it wasn’t a rock album from the 70s finally

A big dumb bombastic space western of an album. And it's great. Peak Muse with the perfect amount of silliness. Also, the drums on Starlight spell out 'TITS' in morse code. It's a lot of fun. Rating: 4.5/5 Playlist track: Starlight Date listened: 11/02/23

I can hear the disco influence alongside the usual Queen, classical and synth styles. A good listen. Unmistakably Muse.

Muse claramente tem influências de Bach, isso ninguém pode negar ! Hahah

Sonically, these guys work with a pretty limited palate, and I don't really like the vocal tone of the lead singer. That said, they have an ear for the majestic chord sequence, and had an odd hit with Knights of Cydonia, largely due to exposure from Guitar Hero III, of all things.

Honestly only gave this a half ass listen. From what I did hear, it sounded really good. Would definitely listen again, but can unfortunately only give a 3. I feel like if I really sat down and listened it might push a 4. I really like their sound overall. Knights of Cydonia is hard af on guitar hero. I really liked the riff on assassin.

Я ніколи не був великим фанатом Muse. Для мене вони завжди були якоюсь «недо-версією» Radiohead, але з більш шумними distorted гітарами. І коли я послухав Black Holes and Revelations зараз, моя думка не дуже то і змінилась. Так, це все ще доволі гарний «космічний» #alternativerock , який став для гурту «магнум опусом» у час свого виходу. Тут Muse перейшли до більш еклектичного звучання, інкорпоруючи просто безліч елементів різних жанрів електронної музики минулого - від диско до синтіпопу. Композиції через це стали більш прогресивними, та атмосферними. Але чим альбом відділяється найбільше, так це потужними вокальними гармоніями, які прийнято порівнювати із Queen. І в цілому, я згоден із цим порівнянням, адже діапазон який тут видає Matt Bellamy, і справді вражає. У своїй основі, Black Holes and Revelations це доволі простий та зрозумілий «поп альбом»з чипляючими приспівами, що як і попередні альбоми Muse, в значній мірі, покладається на #spacerock минулого. Проте, той самий, Origin of Symmetry (2001) хоча і був не такий «амбітний» - відчувався значно більш драйвовим та автентичним ніж цей реліз. І нехай Black Holes and Revelations, хоч і вважається, багатьма фанатами Muse їх найкращим, найбільш прогресивним та «артовим» альбомом. Саме він, за іронією долі, визначив напрямок майбутніх альбомів гурту, які були, щонайменше, посередніми, а часом навіть - «до смерті нудотними».

6/10

not sure actually

I can’t fully take Muse seriously because of how inextricably linked they are in my mind to the Twilight movie. Big stadium sound, almost a rock opera. Giving rock music for theatre kids.

When the opening track began, I was all “Cool, this kind of sounds like Radiohead!”, but after awhile it all sounded pretty generic and highly formulaic. Supermassive Black Hole still rocks because of the baseball scene from Twilight— sorry not sorry.

This was a band my students adored and who I could never really get into. It’s not bad, but it’s not great. Sort of a not-quite-Radiohead meets not-quite-Queen. It’s fine.

My first impression is if Queen grew up listening to Radiohead.

At first I was going to rate this 4, but after thinking about it there isn’t a single notable song. I think it’s merely tolerable which gives the impression of it being good, but in reality it’s just Fine.

My oldest friend is the biggest contrarian I know. He insists that Muse are not ripping off Radiohead but improving upon Radiohead. Hmmm. Knights of Cydonia has been a guilty pleasure. But when 1001 suggested an entire Muse album it was a lot to ask. If I'm going to be listening to a West Country weirdo my choice is Robyn Hitchcock singing about creatures, not these dudes trafficking in Russell Brand type stuff and laying the groundwork for Imagine Dragons. Love sci-fi but in 2025 I would rather hear Thom Yorke talking about something truthful. Romeo and Juliet. Having your dreams crushed. Not secret monuments on Mars... The opening track was kind of cool although derivative. Track 2 was making me wish I was listening to the Pixies instead. As we got into track 3 I began to wonder why so much 21st century British rock music makes me feel like I am watching an ad for Argos. A corny vocal effect was unfortunately strike three for me. If I want authentic West Country weird I will be putting on "Jewels For Sophia" and not this...

Slog to get through.

Day 65 - Forgot when this album was generated lmao Supermassive shit hole. 2/5 (Only because I liked Supermassive Black Hole and Knights of Cydonia)

From the moment I saw the douchey cover art of the album, I had a feeling this wasn’t going to be for me. This album reminded me of the Coldplay album with the way it had too much of a clean mainstream feel with its production, mixed with them really trying to capture Radiohead vibes with the music. Album felt like it was going through the motions and never stood out. It’s not a bad album, just not good either.

Some hits, but can handle only 2 muse songs at a time

I quite liked Absolution when it came out, but that was the only Muse album that I'd listened to. In hindsight Absolution has the same issue Black Holes and Revelations does - it's fun enough, but at the end of the day (much like Coldplay) it's just Radiohead with more radio-friendly polish and less depth and talent.

All these songs sound the same. And they sound the same as the songs on their first album (the only other one I've heard), which is to say they sound like throwaway Radiohead songs. And that one that sounds like it wants to be a Queens of the Stone Age song.

Mid

The songs vary from somewhat interesting sounds to really generic arena rock type shit. Thom Yorke and Bono only pull off the whiny vocals because the songwriting's not so vapid. There are a couple solid tracks, starlight and supermassive black hole, but overall really mediocre.

Bored. Ambitious without substance

I think that Supermassive Black Hole being used so prominently in the first Twilight movie has tainted that song for me... and Knights of Cydonia was mega hard on Guitar Hero 3! Overall, I'd prefer to listen to one of Muse's other albums. 2.5

This review is biased. I was listening to Muse's new single when I revealed this album. Years ago when I bought my first guitar, the first song I learned was Supermassive Black Hole. This was, is, and always will be a 5 star album for me.

Not a single bad song in this album. Strong from start to finish.

love

LOVED!

I forgot how good this band was when they weren’t constantly being pushed on me by the radio. Ridiculously over the top in the best way. Some of the conspiracy themed lyrics are showing their age.

One of my favourite albums and bands!

Knights of Cydonia (live at Rome Olympic Stadium) is my all time favourite muse song! Super massive black hole is just perfect too.

this album brings back such amazing memories for me. back in the high school days, I used to play World of Warcraft with a ton of my hometown friends. that said, i was also pretty extroverted and out and about quite often. i used to have plans, come home, and then play WoW until like 2-3 in the morning or something on the weekends. it was so fun, and a really good time to remember. this album, I used to throw on and just listen to on repeat as I was grinding out quests or just dicking around for XP. when all the homies went to sleep, I had Black Holes and Revelations to keep me company. I listened to this album constantly, and I welcomed this album back with open arms on Friday. I remember air drumming to the great drum pattern on Starlight. I remembered the sick solo on 'Knights of Cydonia' (shout out Guitar Hero as well for this track). The beautiful melody of 'Soldier's Poem' is just so smooth and beautiful. this album, holds a very special memory in my heart, and reminds me of just being a kid, having friends and getting together to play videos games on the weekend. the innocence of youth mixed with my love of music. Black Holes and Revelations is a fantastic album.

I thought I didn’t really know Muse, but I recognised all of the first 3 songs, which are absolute bangers. I love the singer’s voice, the way he slides into and out of notes while maintaining a pure sound. Very impressive and beautiful. And I really like the overall style. No complaints here.

I remember liking some of the popular Muse songs back in the day but I did not know how hard they went. That opening fuckin jams. Just a cacophony of sound that perfectly rides the line of being artistic vs unlistenable. There is such a wide variety of styles and sounds going on here: techno, punk, rock, black keys type catchy guitar riffs, queen esque harmonies on that soldier song as well as lead singers distinct use of vibrato. All of it blending to a sound that is so unique that you can easily and quickly identify it as a Muse song when u hear it, which is a difficult feat. Was absolutely jamming to this. Easy 5 stars