Hey party people! I thought I’d take a detour from my normal blog posts here and take a second to talk about some of my personal favorite records of all time. I love listening to a diverse set of artists, so I’ll take about tons of different genres that I think everyone should take a chance on.
Muse – Origin of Symmetry
One of the first bands I ever got into as a kid was Muse. I absolutely adored the theatricality present in the music, and nothing could beat Matt Bellamy’s brooding and soaring vocals. I was a hardcore Muse-r. I seriously have enjoyed most of their albums, but one stuck out to me as their best. There aren’t many down moments on the album. I remember finding Muse as a kid and being almost scared of my obsession because I had never had a favorite band before. I got so obsessed I almost stopped listening to them because I was getting in too deep, but little did I realize I was part of a much larger Muse fan community.
The first song I heard off this record was definitely the hit single Plug In Baby. I remember this song had a lot of YouTube views for the music video, and when I watched it – I just loved the catchy rock guitar riffs combined with the mellow verses and loud choruses.
Shortly after listening to this song, I started clicking around on other YouTube videos to get a feel for the band and came across another track called Bliss. This song is insane. It might be one of my favorite songs of all time. Crazy prog rock sounds with such controlled belt from Matthew Bellamy. I remember saving up my $1.29 to give my mom to buy this song on Itunes because I just had to download it.
After being enticed by the first two tracks, I had to take a listen to the rest of the album! There are so many other good songs on here. The opening song Newborn has beautiful and mysterious piano followed by distorted guitar that’s on Guitar Hero favorites everywhere. There’s also classical inspired tunes like Space Dementia that are nearly impossible for piano players to get down due to Matt Bellamy’s erratic playing style.
Some of the darker tracks of the album are some of my favorite deep cuts. The long song Citizen Erased is very interesting, played on a seven-string guitar for more depth. Dark Shines is a dark horse in my opinion and should be one of Muse’s best songs ever created. So many themes and genres are mixed on this album and it’s crazy.
One of the more creative moments on Origin of Symmetry is the cover of the classic song Feeling Good. Bellamy lures you in with his voice and just commands you to stay.
There are a few down moments on this album. I never really cared much for the tracks Megalomania or Screenager, and Micro Cuts is a bit dark for me.
This record is definitely highly acclaimed by many though, especially anyone who enjoys theatrical progressive rock. This record definitely started the infamous comparison of Muse to Radiohead. I think these comparisons are unnecessary. Sure, these bands sound similar, but so do a ton of other bands that had the same influences. Both Muse and Radiohead are talented groups, and I don’t think fans need to fight over who is better. Both have had their up and down moments, but this album was during that infamous time of comparison.
I ultimately will always love this record. It’s dark, moody, theatrical, and full of musical talent. If you like strange vocals, insane guitar and piano work, and catchy rock songs, you should definitely take a listen to Muse’s Origin of Symmetry.