Origin of Symmetry

There's just no bad song on this album! This was also one of the contenders for my own submission in this list. The 'rawness' of the song is amazing. The guitarwork is heavenly. Awesome basslines. Everything is perfect.

Still got the CD!

It’s hard to believe given the mountain of shit they’ve produced recently, but Muse used to be an amazing band. This LP soars well clear of the sophomore slump, building on ‘Showbiz’ dark, insular themes while turning the instrumental maximalism to 11. It’s an album that lays the framework for the rest of the band’s career, the characteristic synth arpeggios and Bellamy’s conspiratorially-themed lyrics making their first appearances atop the layered, maximalist rock that defined their early output. Even though the LP could be balanced a bit better given the saggy back half, it still hits hard as a complete artistic product – from the album art to the track names to every one of Bellamy’s squealing falsettos, every element builds toward a complete, cohesive experience which is something that’s become incredibly rare nowadays. I miss the old Muse, but at least their early work has aged well and still stands as a solid listen – somebody’s just gotta add Absolution and we’ll have all the classics on the list!

Great record from a band I don't think gets a lot of live from us music snobs.

Origin of Symmetry is certainly not my favorite Muse album. "Plug In Baby" is an absolute fantastic song, "Hyper Music" and "Bliss" are worth listening, but the other songs are a bit meh. As "Black Holes and Revelations" is on the original list, I would have preferred "Showbiz" and "Absolution".

Yes! One of my favourite albums, by the band who mean the most to me. For a second album, it sounds so polished and mature, but still with the madness and energy of their early years. Not the Muse album I would have picked (I'll always love Showbiz a wee bit more, and probably listen to Drones most at the moment) but a solid choice which I would fully support for a place in the list.

I started off less than enthused about this album. It had some of the Muse that I loved in Black Holes and Revelations but felt a bit less polished? As this progressed I appreciated it more and more. This was a bit towards some common Muse/Radiohead ancestral sound… but Muse took some alternative roads. Really surprised at the cover of Feeling Good - fabulous highlight. Plug In Baby and Screenager stood out on the first listen. It may not have claimed my favorite Muse album spot… but it shows plenty of the things I love about this group.

I don’t listen to Muse anywhere near as much as I used to but this is still probably my favourite of theirs by quite some way. It’s the logical progression of their sound from the rough yet fragile Showbiz, and is so much more confident and ambitious. New Born, Space Dementia, Citizen Erased, Screenager - just so many fantastic songs on here

I do love early muse, and one of those bands you need to see live. I actually prefer this album over black holes even though I do like both. So might have to give this full marks.

My missus commented just the other day "where are all the Muse albums instead of this sh*t"? I'd forgotten how good they are - spiralling vocals, incessant bass and driving drumbeat. Amazing

Fun! four stars. Not really re-listenable, but I liked what I heard.

I liked this a little less than the other Muse album I got. It just gets a little tiring with all the guitar work. I love good guitar work, but too much of a good thing isn't great. I think the other album was the right choice. My personal rating: 4/5 My rating relative to the list: 4/5 Should this have been included on the original list? No.

Not an unknown album. One of the biggest records of its era. This is Muse’s second album, and the one where they properly find their own voice after a debut still wearing its Radiohead influences on its sleeve. It’s bombastic, over-the-top, and built for stadiums, which is usually not my thing at all. But this album rocks. Hard. The first six tracks are relentless: “New Born,” “Bliss,” “Space Dementia,” “Hyper Music,” “Plug In Baby,” “Citizen Erased.” One after another, no let-up. The sheer energy is what makes it work. Chris Wolstenholme’s bass is the backbone of the entire record, massive and melodic, holding everything together while the riffs and drama explode around it. There’s real power here, not just volume. It does lose momentum after those opening six songs, but they’re strong enough to carry the album regardless. Later Muse would lose me. The bombast got bigger, but the energy drained away: more strings, more synths, more stadium ambition, less raw rock power. Origins of Symmetry still has that fire. 4.5 stars. Not quite top-tier all-time, but absolutely a banger.

Rating: 8/10 Best songs: New born, Bliss, Hyper music, Plug in baby, Darkshines

Yeah this is a good one, and probably should've been the one on the list from Muse over Black Holes and Revelations. A bit too guitar-driven for my taste but I can't deny that it's good. 8/10

Not something I want to be caught listening to But it's all right 3

Muse to me is a band that is purely alternative music. They have a sound that is a bit stronger than other English rock bands while not sacrificing actual enjoyability. Muse may have more popular albums than this one but this is still a pretty solid album with electronic and other alternative influences. Would revisit this one as it’s not as poppy as some of their other albums. 7.1/10

Dismissing the Radiohead (as Wikipedia sugggests many have done) comparisons seems pretty disingenuous: there's really no disputing the influence. It does stretch well beyond that though and the findamental vibe lands elsewhere. I liked this and would ve up to hear more of this band, though occasionally the upper ranges of high-end noise brushes up against aural assault.

Alternative rock, progressive rock, space rock, hard rock. Ni fu ni fa.

Never quite takes off. Starts pretty good and then stays in first gear throughout

Identifying Muse : Yep it’s Muse!

Not very amusing

Muse har gjort mycket bra musik. Tyvärr når inte detta album dem höjderna.

I remember buying this album because I wanted to like it and to like Muse. But I didn’t then and I don’t think I do now. The cover of Feeling Good felt weird - it is so Nina Simone’s song that it felt like cultural appropriation, but a quick google shows that may be misguided and the song in fact comes from a musical! Every day’s a school day.