Muse - Black Holes and Revelations

Black Holes and Revelations' is, on the first listen, a massive departure from anything Muse have done before. A few listens in however and the exodus seems a little less radical, and the predominant themes are inescapable. The theatrical temperament continues from 'Absolution', only on a grander scale. Operatic in nature, and very much tied in with the band's preoccupation with sci-fi, in parts it sounds like the soundtrack to a B-movie. One part Daft Punk (Take a Bow), one part Queen (Knights of Cydonia) and one part spaghetti western (Hoodoo). An album of epic proportions, it shares as much with the Flash Gordon theme tune than it does with Plug In Baby or anything they have recorded before. Muse unveil the evolution that has occurred over the last decade of making music. Not content with becoming static veterans, they've used the album as a pedestal from which to announce their progression in sound. [Finbarr Bermingham]