Muse - Absolution (CD 2003)

Probably the most pompous, overblown, operatic rock album of 2003. It charts an impossibly wide range of emotions - the screaming piano track "Apocalypse Please" is followed by the delightfully slinky "Time Is Running Out", with it's effects-laden bass and thundering guitar riffs. Then there's one of the finest guitar tracks ever, "Stockholm Syndrome" then my favourite song, "Hysteria". Juggernaut bass riffs and guitar solos make this a joyously sexy song. Then there's the simply gorgeous "Blackout" - I once heard this described as "the song people will be waltzing to in Covent Garden in 50 years" and I suspect it will. Butterflies and Hurricanes must surely be Muse's finest track to date. Quoting the superb Sergei Rachmaninov, and yet keeping their rock identity is a feat Muse pull off with great aplomb. The last four tracks on the album are, in my opinion, not quite up to par on the rest of the album, but the first ten tracks more than make up for it. I can't recommend this album enough to anyone who likes music - you can't help but admire the musicianship that is obviously present in Absolution.