Album review: Origin of Symmetry by Muse
Last week I bought "Origin of Symmetry" by Muse (for only 6,50 pounds!).The album came out in 2001 (quite a long time ago).
First of all, I really like the album artwork. There are a lot of beautiful paintings in the booklet, and I think the CD itself is beautifully designed. It looks quite minimalistic, and that's exactly what the music sounds like;
sober, minimalistic and mysterious.
I really like the first track, New Born. The beginning of the song almost sounds like minimal music (Philip Glass could have composed the first part, which really sounds like a Glass composition), but the rest of the track sounds like a very rough version of Bach, I think :)
Another very mysterious track is Bliss, number two on the tracklist.
I starts very quiet, but then the astonishing guitar-part starts. Really, this part is superb.
I really like the roughness of the guitars combined with Bellamy's high, fragile voice.
Track three, Space Dementia.
Well, the first time I heard the song, I thought this was classical music. It turned out to be classical MUSE-ic...
The rest of the song sounds quite, well, space-y.
Hyper Music, track four, is not one of my favourites. My ears hurt after listening to it. The name is well chosen, this is exactly what you call "hyper music".
Plug in Baby, the fifth one, is a perfect example of a real Muse song. It sounds very mysterious, although it's totally not the most quiet song on the album. I really like the guitar riff in the beginning.
This is the type of song that you keep listening to, but never gets boring.
Citizen Erased, track six, sounds a bit like Radiohead. Not very original, even though the song is one of the best known songs Muse has ever made. But still, the song is pretty good, and very, very dark!
The next song, Micro Cuts, is a bit too experimental for me. It's a weird mix of classical music (sounds a bit like a vague Stabat Mater) and rock. But I must say; Bellamy's voice is both suitable for classical as well as for rock music, so the voice really matches the genre.
Screenager, track eight, is also not one of my favourites. This is a mix of some Spanish music and mysterious vocals. It's much too quiet and boring for me.
Track nine, Darkshines. I think the song is not really good enough to be on the album. It doesn't add anything; if the track wasn't on the album, I wouldn't have missed it.
Feeling Good, is a much better song in my opinion. It's got beautiful lyrics, and I really like the ethos. The song has that particular sad sound; the song can make you smile while you're feeling sad. I think this is one of the best songs on the album. The song is quiet, but not boring. I really like the microphone effect they have used for the second verse, which makes it sound old-fashioned.
And the last one; Megalomania.
The track could be a sequel of New Born. Also very mysterious, and very, very beautiful. I like the organ-part in the end; such a dark and overwhelming sound.
So;
I really recommend the album. It's a real must-buy, and because Muse just released their new album, the older albums are much cheaper!
Rating: 7/10
