Album Review: Muse - Drones

After 2012’s The 2nd Law left most Muse fans somewhat disappointed, the excitement surrounding Drones was understandably colossal. The trio were promising a return to the likes of earlier works, most notably their second and third albums, Origin of Symmetry and Absolution.

Those are my two favourite albums from the band, and easily in my favourite fifteen albums in existence, alongside the likes of Like Clockwork, Definitely Maybe and even Royal Blood’s self-titled debut. Muse were the band to transition me from my early teenage chart music taste to the diverse offerings of rock tunes, a musical awakening of sorts. So as a disclaimer, my responsibility of remaining unbiased could have faltered at moments during this review.

However, this was surely countered by my high expectations of this album. Seriously, I’m expecting a mash-up of two of the band’s heaviest records, a glorious combination of originality and proper rock, none of this new experimental business which Muse have recently seem so fond of.

So, as I listened to Drones from start to finish, I was instantly hit with a flood of worry and disappointment.

See ‘Dead Inside’, the prime reason for me previously stating that this album was the “emo phase” of Matt Bellamy. The song is catchy, and it makes sense given the narrative context of the album. It isn’t a bad song, but it certainly does not create a good first impression for dedicated fans. Bellamy’s guitar is all too infrequent until the outro, giving me immediate flashbacks to The 2nd Law’s ‘Madness’. That being said, ‘Dead Inside’ oozes a catchy rhythm which carries an array of funky synth layers and will probably have you attempting Bellamy’s vocals by the end of the week. So just gloss over how the final line, “on the outside I’m the greatest guy, now I’m dead inside” seems to strike a chord with what has happened with Bellamy and his now good friend Kate Hudson, and you’ll have a catchy pop song which you can rub in the face of chart listeners.

The album then takes an optimistic step forward with ‘Psycho’. The riff will be familiar to dedicated fans and frequent Muse gig-goers, as the band have been playing the tune between live songs for around ten years now. Matt has previously proclaimed the simplicity of the riff as its greatest strength, and he seems to be spot on with this remark; when played live, the Mancunian crowd sang along with the melody, a feat which is normally reserved for incredibly enthusiastic South American crowds. Yes, the lyrics aren’t particularly deep, and the images associated with the song aren’t very inspiring, but it’s probably the best fit for such a riff. Can you imagine how quickly the song would go downhill if more complex sections were stitched in, or if more than three different riffs were used? It’s an appropriately simple track, and it gets the job done.

Apart from imagining how French crowds will take to the song, track 4, ‘Mercy’, left me regrettably uninspired. Of course, when the chorus kicks into full swing, it’s a joy to immerse yourself in. When I had this on in the car, the difference between the verse and chorus is astonishingly massive, which really helps you get into the track, and really shows off one of the band’s strengths; transforming a forgettable segment of a song into a thunderous and bombastic Queen-esque romp, not taking itself too seriously and being all the better for it.

However, this is where I began to unravel one of my quarrels with this album, the issue being that it seems to be underutilising its potential. Several of the tracks on the album seem to be harking back to 80s and 90s rock ballads which inspired 2009’s The Resistance, making them seem like B-Sides rather than new original material. I’m not saying that the likes of ‘Mercy’, ‘Revolt’ and even potentially ‘Aftermath’ should’ve been put alongside the singles for ‘Uprising’ and ‘Undisclosed Desires’ from six years ago, but I wouldn’t look twice if they were.

That being said, this album isn’t lacking material which feels truly new and unique, a feat that few bands, Muse included, can seem to pull off. Look at ‘Reapers’. Ignore its less-than-subtle influences and the outro which draws a potent parallel to Rage Against the Machine’s ‘Freedom’, and you can witness one of the band’s best efforts in recent memory. ‘Reapers’ has just enough of Bellamy’s CIA conspiracies in the lyrics, just enough keys and synth, and plenty of heavily distorted guitars when it comes to the chorus. For me, it’s the best track on the album, closely followed by ‘The Handler’, and it’s been on repeat since I first heard it; the face-melting intro riff and plentiful guitar solo show that Muse do still certainly have rock within them, although they now express their craft in a much more refined and thoughtful manner than they did around fifteen years ago.

‘The Handler’ keeps the heavy nature of Drones going, with arguably the catchiest main riff in the collection. Paired with a refreshingly slow drum beat, and a fantastic solo before the outro, I can imagine this being another tune which may result in Chris needing more neck surgery. This song, alongside ‘Psycho’ seems to be the best examples of the band trying to recreate music from their older albums. If you’re after a refreshed example of older works from Hullabaloo Soundtrack, or even some of Absolution, this will be your safest bet, although the fragmented sections of the following track ‘Defector’ seem to be equally nostalgic.

The riff for ‘Defector’ retro Muse, plain and simple, although I can’t help but think that the synchronised cries of a stuttered “inciting” and a prolonged “society” bring us back into the reality of Muse, and reveal a harsh truth which many fans have yet to overcome; as much as they try, their earlier albums simply cannot be recreated. The raw trio of instruments which the band was formed around will now always be given an additional experimental touch.

It’s hardly a bad thing; Muse seem to have become to adept with their own style of well-constructed rock that harking back and playing riffs akin to the likes of Nirvana, Rage Against the Machine and Queens of the Stone Age should probably be left for the likes of newer bands, see chiefly Royal Blood.

It’s almost as if the band are now too big to create raw and harsh rock tunes, having to submit to some degree of production and procedure in order to create the immense live experiences that are expected of their music. I remember a bunch of fan-made pro-shot videos circulating the stadium tour for The 2nd Law, and how ecstatic fans were at a B-Side being played, 2002’s ‘Yes Please’. It was great for the fans, but as I attempted to listen in a detached manner, the song seemed to be missing something; the colossal stage seemed empty and Bellamy’s vocals seemed to expressing the song’s novelty rather than its original meaning, it just seemed out of place in a tour which was surrounded by Muse’s new works which oozed their own original brand of cheesy stadium rock, not their older post-grunge phases.

Speaking of cheesy rock, track nine, ‘Revolt’ would fit right in with The Resistance, as I previously mentioned, and the song is filled with its own array of quirks which make it lovable in an example of heavier, arguably better, tunes. There’s the way the drums fit perfectly with an introductive police siren, and the way the chorus doubles the pace. As I glanced over in the previous paragraph, it’s Muse doing what they do best, so it’s hard for them to mess up. ‘Revolt’ may stick out like a thorn, but it does what needs to be done, in changing the mood and pace of the story which Drones is attempting to tell. The same can also be said for ‘Aftermath’ and the concluding ‘Drones’, which are good in their own rights, but likely not to the tastes of your typical rock fan; although they do their part nonetheless.

The album seems to devolve into effects and multiple layers as it goes on, departing from the proper rock concept which fans were promised. The song I was highly anticipating was the ten minute sequel to a fan favourite, the penultimate track named ‘The Globalist’, and it did little to initially bolster my hopes. The extensive intro will remind you of ‘Invincible’ and their live intro to the epic ‘Knights of Cydonia’; but it drags on past its welcome. The following guitar riff is gratifyingly heavy and dark, emitting a tone only rivalled by the likes of Queens of the Stone Age. But again, it’s far too short, and the countdown from “ten” to “fire” only culminates in some more aggressive drumming from Dom Howard, with no change in the guitars until the forced solo sequence. Afterwards, you’re greeted with another extensive quiet piano section. It does certainly seem that in attempting to create another ‘Citizen Erased’, the band have accidentally stifled the potential of ‘The Globalist’.

Drones is an odd album for me. I do like it, as a simple judgement of the tracks within it, but as a fan, I’m not so sure.

I do like the catchiness of ‘Dead Inside’ and ‘Revolt’, even though I shouldn’t. They’re a proper guilty pleasure, which is countered by the likes of some astounding tracks, mostly ‘Reapers’, ‘The Handler’ and ‘Defector’, but unfortunately the rest seems to be joy-inducing filler. Clearly that’s not the band’s intention, and I’m sure the story of Drones is appropriately paced and aptly harrowing, I mean, Bellamy’s obsession with autonomous killing machines is understandably fascinating, and makes for a good theme for the album, but I find it hard to share his enthusiasm on the subject matter.

The other unfortunate occurrence with this album is that there are no hidden surprises. Due to a series of lyric videos posted before the album’s release, fans already knew what the meat of the album sounded like. There was no lovely revelation, no ‘Animals’ from their last album, and no ‘Unnatural Selection’ from the one before that. That being said, nothing on the album is critically bad, just out of my comfort zone, and that of other fans.

Is it better than the last album? Yes, although the track-listing could’ve done with some re-thinking. Is it the return to form that fans hoped for? Not quite, but it’s the best the band could do. We need to appreciate that a band this big is in far too deep to recreate its earlier tunes. However, their attempt shows the vast talent of the trio, and that they will seem to continue onwards in the same bombastic manner as before, only with a bit more distortion on the guitars. And I can live with that.