By the time "Black Holes and Revelations" was released, Muse had reached the commercial peak of their career. By that point, however, I had largely lost interest in the band. A musician friend recommended their debut album, "Showbiz", to me in 1999, and it remains my favourite of their albums to this day. This is contrary to my usual listening habits, as subsequent albums were significantly more progressive, complex and experimental than the debut, but also smoother, more bombastic and more calculated. When I listened to "Black Holes and Revelations" again today, some 20 years on, I was surprised at how much I liked it — at least a few tracks. Perhaps that’s what bothers me: Muse produce either little strokes of genius ("Take a Bow", "Supermassive Black Hole", "Assassin") or complete lead ballons ("Invincible", "Glorious"). They are a good band, but their albums are overrated and lack a clear musical direction, at least on this album. At least not if you consider exuberant vocals, fast tempi and massive intensity with extreme dynamics to be stylistic elements rather than a coherent concept.