Muse “Will Of The People” Album Review

Will Of The People

Muse

• • Genre: Alternative
  • Date: 26 Aug, 2022
  • Content: explicit
  • Region: UK
  • Track(s): 10

• Under exclusive licence to Warner Music UK Limited, ℗ 2022 Muse

“Will Of The People” is the band’s newly thought out piece of work, which truthfully isn’t all plain sailing and immaculate. And some of these songs do work, and then some fall by the wayside. As they are an extremely skilled and intelligent group of musicians, this isn’t a direct attack on them; instead, it’s a study of how their latest album sounds incomplete and hollow.

Front-man, Matt Bellamy, may no longer possess the lyrical zeal that over the years has made him such a talented poet. Or perhaps the band experimented with this one a little too much. Nevertheless, this band has a history of producing recordings with songs of unmatched songwriting, immaculate lyrics that effortlessly ingrain themselves in the minds of listeners, and superb chord development from Bellamy.

It’s unfortunate that Muse has it in them to produce the fantastic once again, but “Will Of The People” doesn’t have the same vibe or WOW effect. Although “Will of the People” isn’t Muse’s best album, some excellent moments can be found. It’s not entirely broken, but it’s also not entirely memorable.

Muse have always dug into the expansive possibilities of progressive rock and metal while remaining true to their most pop-forward impulses, and “Will of the People” certainly shows Muse take their sound to the furthest extent of both the metal and pop genres.

Album Cover Art

We find three different giant heads from different giant statues crashed onto the floor as people walk around and beside the statue heads. And drawing meaning from the album title, it would only suggest that the Will Of The People prevailed just by banding together to pull down the statues that may have been a source of worry of some sort to the community for a while.

Tracks and Features

Beginning the album is “Will Of The People.” There are catchy parts even though the track isn’t particularly concentrated. Bellamy, however, performs songs that have been overdone. An understated intro precedes the singing of more subdued notes in the opening of “Liberation.” The acoustics are pleasing enough, and the addition of the piano changes the atmosphere.

Another charmingly crafted song that develops beautifully is “Ghosts (How Can I Move On).” Here, Bellamy demonstrates his writing skills, and this is what we want—lyrics with meaning. Another song that sounds extremely familiar, has been done before, and feels repetitious is “Kill Or Be Killed.” Those riffs appear to be recycled. Despite the tension, there is a bright spot since the solo makes the song better.

Then there’s the swerving EDM synth of “Compliance,” which brings to mind 2009’s sonic scope-widening “The Resistance.” The oddball “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween” is a little too reminiscent of the lightweight retro-froth of ‘Simulation Theory’; while there’s some fun in its campy arrangements, it’s a jarring swerve.

Later on in Will of the People comes the fraught synth rock ballad “Verona,” where the band specifically addresses the pandemic: “Can we kiss/ with poison on our lips?” asks Bellamy in the song’s opening lines, before requesting “take off your clothes/ and take off your mask.”

On the album, Muse truly do away with any semblance of sonic cohesion. The peak of this comes with the album’s worst track, “You Make It Feel Like It’s Halloween,” which fashions a toxic relationship as an ’80s horror film.

Tracklist

NO	TITLE	TIME
1	Will Of The People	3:18
2	Compliance	4:10
3	Liberation	3:06
4	Won’t Stand Down	3:29
5	Ghosts (How Can I Move On)	3:37
6	You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween	3:00
7	Kill Or Be Killed	4:59
8	Verona	4:57
9	Euphoria	3:23
10	We Are Fucking Fucked	3:36

Album Theme

“Will of the People” is full-on Muse: big, overblown and rafters shaking in its sound. Its narrative aims even huger, paranoid thoughts giving way to rebellious acts and a mass unplugging from technological chains.

Production Credits

Aleks von Korff & Muse took care of production.

Stream