New Music: The Resistance by Muse- Soundtrack to '1984'

In writing this review, I will try to be as nonobjective as possible. It is no secret that the music of Muse is highly regarded in our home. It is also no secret that one of my all-time favorite books EVER is George Orwell's '1984'. So it is no surprise that a combination of Muse + Orwell is going to cause a lot of excitement around here. The correlation cannot be anymore clear or obvious when there is a song entitled 'United States of Eurasia' on the album.

Matt Bellamy, the singer and guitarist of the group, lets all of his interests and influences hang out on this album. Being a classically trained musician, he shows off his genius on the last three tracks with a three part prog-rock symphony. Pretentious? Yes. He and the rest of the band deserve to be. Their musical talent is extraordinary as can be attested by watching their HAARP dvd. Other obvious influences leak out such as Queen and of course Bellamy's penchant for conspiracy theories, political drama, and the supernatural.

So why would I call this a soundtrack to '1984'? Listen to what they're trying to say. The song 'United States of Eurasia' is obvious when referring to the fictional oppressive nation where Orwell's book took place. However, listen also to first three tracks of the album and you can imagine the love affair of Winston and Julia playing out. One difference I see between Muse's and Orwell's approach is that Orwell's book was a prediction of what could happen, whereas Muse's approach is of what they perceive already is.

Being as biased as possible, every rock-loving individual should own a copy of this album. Not many albums come along where I feel the need to listen to it over and over and over. I even like the hip-hop infused 'Undisclosed Desires' (you know those 'Twilight' film people are salivating to get that song on their soundtrack). So, go ahead buy it. It is best listened to with the volume turned up to 12.