Muse recently announced their upcoming album, “Will of the People,” will be released on August 26. Musically the singles released thus far are a mixed bag, with “Won’t Stand Down” being by far the best. Parts of it are some of the best hard rock the band has ever made – even approaching metal at points. “Compliance” has more of the electronic edge the band has dabbled with in the past, especially on Simulation Theory. The title track has a typical Muse power ballad groove, but there are elements that sound like they were ripped straight from Marilyn Manson’s “Beautiful People.” 

With all that said, I’m cautiously excited about the record. The anti-establishment anti-tyranny concept for the album is right up my alley. The band has long been known for such themes, and now is certainly the time for more music in that vein while it’s still legal in the west. Matt Bellamy comments, 

‘Will of the People’ is fictional story set in a fictional metaverse on a fictional planet ruled by a fictional authoritarian state run by a fictional algorithm manifested by a fictional data centre running a fictional bank printing a fictional currency controlling a fictional population occupying a fictional city containing a fictional apartment where a fictional man woke up one day and thought ‘f*** this.’