Will Of The People
by Muse

If Simulation Theory was Muse trying too hard to be Muse, Will Of The People is Muse trying too hard to do something different but ending up sounding like Muse anyways. And I don't mean it as a compliment.

In my opinion, from Drones on, Muse have started to drop in quality both lyrically (same old stuff about playing the part of the oppressed and not being controlled) and musically (the only way to find new inspiration is to sound weird and spooky).

Quite ironically my favorite tracks from the last two albums are respectively Propaganda and You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween, two of the least Muse-sounding tracks. This is because the other songs feel just like Old Muse ripoffs in one way or another: Will Of The People shares the same main features (rhythm, lyrics) as Uprising; Liberation is basically United States Of Eurasia 2 (Freddie Mercury is around the corner); Won't Stand Down and Kill Or Be Killed are a blunt throwback to that metal sound of their early 00s;, Euphoria, with its cheesy lyrics and fast tempo, is Revolt 3 (just like Get Up And Fight was Revolt 2). And I could go on.

I think it's just automatic that, at some point, a band runs out of juice. I remember listening to The 2nd Law and thinking "this band has not released one single song that sounds the same as another". But this album is the definite proof, after a good portion of Drones and almost the entirety of Simulation Theory that Muse haven't got much left to say.

From Brad1770 TOP 100 COMMENTER 12/20/2022 08:19 | #292083 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Following Muse in recent times has been like reflecting upon a soured relationship - is it them? Or is it me? And if I’m truly being honest like a relationship its a bit of both

Case in point ‘Will Of The People’. Here we have a concept album with a narrative around an oppressive fascist big brother type villain and the people’s fight back to “stick it to the man”. Sound familiar? Well it should because its the exact same premise for ‘The Resistance’ (2009), ‘Drones’ (2015) and to some degree ‘Simulation Theory’ (2018) and ‘2nd Law’ (2012) with each album offering diminishing returns with each one worse than the previous release starting with ‘The 2nd Law’ and landing here with what can only be described as a bit of a stinker. Heck, if Muse have ever released a more uninspired join the dots track than “You Make Me Feel Like Its Halloween” I’m yet to hear it

Unfortunately Mat and the boys have painted themselves into a corner creatively and where they go from here is anyone’s guess. For me, I haven’t given up on Muse YET but if there is a next album and if it blows they’ll be joining my ‘Green Day / Weezer Never Again Club’ (Edited)

Muse has always been over the top. However, they used to be in a good way. Now, they're just over the top for the sake of being over the top. "you make me feel like its halloween" rivals "get up and fight" for worst muse song.

From Strangel TOP 100 COMMENTER 09/02/2022 05:04 | #289209 | TOP COMMENT Vote up your preferred comments and the comments with the most votes will be flagged.

Muse might just rate as my most disappointing band at this point. Upon each new release since Black Holes I am almost willing myself to enjoy it but am inevitably let down by the inadvertent self parody and lack of creative innovation. As musicians (I include vocalist here), they are hugely talented, and this is why I am still drawn to each new release in the hope of a renaissance. The songs aren’t bad, they just don’t really inspire. The pick of them so far call upon their heavy early stuff (Won’t Stand Down and Kill or Be Killed) a mellow deviation (Ghosts) and a curious closer (We are Fucking Fucked).

One of those albums where I think when you dig into it more you really notice how lacking it is in originality and substance. I found it tolerable the first time I heard it (as was on in the background really) but after a couple more listens it just became unintentionally funny most of the time. Some of the tracks are just blatant rip offs and the lack of self-awareness in what it is might make this one of the worst releases of the year (Edited)