Muse are, overall, pretty terrific. They're one of my favorite bands. Having said that... dear god, I can hardly stand them.

From age fourteen to sixteen (roughly), my favorite genre of music was symphonic metal. I didn't understand that fully until years later, when I first began to enjoy the works of Queens of the Stone Age (...Like Clockwork and onward), swamp_child, and, well, Muse. I'm a sucker for music that has a quality of "grandeur equally conveyable through both a $20 pair of earbuds and Audeze LCD4's".

Origin of Symmetry is one of my favorite albums, presumably of all time, partially thanks to its gorgeous fusion of classical elements with early '00s hard rock; the constituent details are highlighted particularly well in the XX Anniversary RemiXX rerelease. Apart from Origin of Symmetry, I also love Showbiz, Absolution, and Black Holes and Revelations. In March 2026, we (featuring Liam) did a cover of "Supermassive Black Hole" that you'll likely never be able to hear (thanks, Those Responsible!); it's one of my favorite songs by any band, ever.

Everything Muse have released after Black Holes and Revelations, though? Eh. It's quite the toss-up. On a single hand, I can count the number of songs I truly enjoy from Muse's last five albums: "United States of Eurasia", "Panic Station", "Aftermath", "Pressure", and "We Are Fucking Fucked". While I'm often one for a politically-driven song (see "2 + 2 = 5"), I'm no longer one for a politically-driven song when a) its lyricism is barely skin-deep and b) said lyricism is stretched thiiiiiiiiiin over 5.5 albums, with one of those albums being titled "Drones" and one of the songs from those albums being titled "Exo-Politics".

To Muse's credit, they've continuously shifted their style and focuses. They don't sit atop the same perch for very long. No matter the genre, however, it's disappointing hearing a track that's calling for revolution and trying to sympathize with me on a cutaneous level when the band who recorded the track is a very, very wealthy, multi-platinum selling trio. "For one moment, I wish [they'd] hold their stage, with no feelings at all"... or something.