Following the marvelous album, The 2nd Law, Muse is back with their seventh studio album, Drones. Muse goes back to their original, futuristic rock with an awesome cutthroat rock opera. The central themes of Drones revolve around a futuristic dystopian society where the protagonist is trapped with conforming to the government. Drones captivates rock fans worldwide with its immediate hit singles and space-like sound. Muse once again has hit it out of the ballpark with Drones.
“Dead Inside” is the perfect opening song to the album. It has the same futuristic rock feel that Muse is so famous for. In an interview with the BBC, Matt Bellamy (lead singer) claims, “[It] is a pretty jaded song where the person loses hope and therefore becomes kind of vulnerable to darker forces”. “On the outside, you’re ablaze and alive, but you’re dead inside”, talks about his lover’s two-faced emotions. She is gentle and kind in public, but behind the scenes, she is a cold-hearted monster.
Drones delivers another power rock number in their leading single, “Psycho”. Prepare to have this track on repeat all day. Throughout the song there are skits of a drill sergeant yelling at what we now know is the protagonist. Although that sounds a bit out of the ordinary, Muse pulls it off exceptionally by tying in an amazing upbeat tune accompanied by Matt Bellamy’s luring voice.
The intro to the 4th track on Drones, “Mercy”, is similar to the powerful piano introduction used in Muse’s famous song, “Starlight”. Here we can assume that the protagonist of the story is regretting his decision to turn into a drone, “Help me, I’ve fallen on the inside”. Despite the dark portrayal of lyrics, the song is beautifully composed and doesn’t bring listeners down.
In the mood for a crazy opening guitar solo? Muse has you covered in their 5th track on Drones, “Reapers”. “Reapers” is a song that I would love to hear live. The guitar solos are insane with a powerful bass and drum backup. Muse keeps their fans satisfied with their continuing space rock numbers. “Reapers” portrays the protagonist’s scared emotions of going into the war. He knows that he is a weapon and his only purpose is to kill which is unsettling, “I’m just a pawn, and we’re all expendable”.
“The Handler” follows “Reapers” with a slower but still power striking voice. The heavy guitar helps express the protagonist’s feelings of anger and hate towards ‘the handler’ or controller of the drones, “Leave me alone, I must disassociate from you”. “Defector” is the result of the protagonist leaving behind the drones and becoming his own person, “Free, Yeah, I’m free. From your inciting, you can’t brainwash me, you’ve got a problem”.
Drones’ 9th track, “Revolt” is a wonderfully inspiring anthem. The song has a misleading intro of police sirens leading you to believe another hard rock round was going to begin. Instead, a refreshing number filled with a positive message of never letting yourself become oppressed, “You’ve got strength, you’ve got soul, you’ve felt pain, you’ve felt love, you can grow, you can grow, you can make this world what you want”.|
“Aftermath” is an alluring piece that represents the draining feelings of the protagonist fighting off the drones hunting him. It begins with a beautiful Spanish inspired acoustic guitar solo, them accompanied with graceful and soft drums. This is one of my favorites on the album. It wanders away from Muse’s usual future sounding beats and brings it back to the basics, creating a wonderful ballad.
Muse fans, get ready, the sequel to fan- favorite, “Citizen Erased” is here. The 11th track on Drones, “The Globalist” is what Matt Bellamy refers to as a ten minute “prog nightmare” in an interview with Gigwise. “A lot of fans keep tweeting, asking what song is the sequel to ‘Citizen Erased’ — it’s a song called ‘The Globalist’ which is basically a narrative within itself about the rise and fall of a dictator, the end of the world, World War Three and all the good stuff I like”. “The Globalist” starts out with a tune from an old western movie and then strikes down with a haunting choral verse. The guitar in this track is very similar to Muse’s Guitar Hero famous, “Knights of Cydonia”.
Muse knows how to end an emotional rock album perfectly with somber tune, “Drones”. Matt Bellamy shows off his beautiful vocal talent with overlapping notes of choral-like singing. Overall, this album is a must buy. Muse keeps delivering the fun hard rock that fans worldwide are craving. If you are looking for a great summer rock album, Drones is your go to.
