Albums to watch

The Resistance

Muse

The Resistance

British prog rockers with their much-anticipated fifth album, three years after Black Holes and Revelations

ADM rating[?]

6.4

Label
Warner Bros.
UK Release date
15/09/2009
  1. 8.0 |   Q

    Print edition only

  2. 8.0 |   Uncut

    Far from being Radiohead for thickos – or Coldplay fronted by David Icke – on Resistance, Muse prove that they could be the last in a line of great British rock eccentrics, a trio of mad professors who should be cherished
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  3. 8.0 |   Mojo

    Print edition only

  4. 8.0 |   The Guardian

    ...there's something unrepentant in The Resistance's insane ambitiousness that demands respect rather than mockery. The day Muse topple irrevocably into self-parody will surely come. But, apparently, not yet
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  5. 8.0 |   The Scotsman

    For years Bellamy has been working on this three-part rock symphony – about no less than the origins of mankind on this planet. The result is more restrained than you might think, but irreverent enough to cannibalise the likes of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata
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  6. 8.0 |   Clash

    Equal parts nonsense and skin pricklingly thrilling, ‘The Resistance’ recalls many of rock's most extravagant greats
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  7. 8.0 |   The List

    For most bands this would be a towering masterpiece, but Muse have set themselves impossibly high standards.
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  8. 7.0 |   Drowned In Sound

    After initial misgivings, this record begins to settle as a thoroughly enjoyable listen. Muse’s talent is in bringing classic rock clichés, ‘Telstar’ synth work and bounding bass lines together into a salubrious, and slightly silly, faux-political anthem.
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  9. 7.0 |   Independent on Sunday

    This time it's political. Matt Bellamy has enough of the fence-sitting Bono about him to preclude naming names, but The Resistance is the album which sees Muse moving away from sci-fi fantasy and taking on the realities of the post-9/11 world order
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  10. 7.0 |   Spin

    Ambition isn’t the word. Gall isn’t either. The vocabulary probably hasn’t been invented to describe the yearn and churn of Britain’s most shameless band’s fifth album
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  11. 6.0 |   NME

    ...while not their best, it’s decent enough to ensure there’ll be more – even though the truly off-the-wall moments are either rare or misguided, meaning the record feels slightly anonymous
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  12. 6.0 |   The Observer

    The Resistance isn't nearly as much fun as its predecessor, droning on a bit, especially when Bellamy's tongue slips from his cheek, as it does on three-part mini-symphony ""Exogenesis""
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  13. 6.0 |   Evening Standard

    The thought occurred frequently that these are essentially show tunes, aching for a theatrical context. What price Muse — The Musical? It would blow away We Will Rock You
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  14. 6.0 |   The Independent

    It's hard not to harbour a grudging admiration for Muse's Matt Bellamy, even if the band's stadium-rock stylings aren't to your taste
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  15. 6.0 |   The Irish Times

    It's big, bold and occasionally brazenly overstated - everything you'd expect from a Muse album, in other words
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  16. 6.0 |   musicOMH

    You'd be well advised to beg, borrow or download a handful of tracks from The Resistance; but if you're planning to sit through the whole ponderous enterprise, you'll likely need a blister pack of paracetamol and a hell of a lot of patience.
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  17. 6.0 |   Daily Telegraph

    Muse’s dalliance in classical is anything but classic.
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  18. 6.0 |   Rolling Stone

    A patchwork of expert clichés that leaves a listener wondering just what the point of Muse is.
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  19. 5.9 |   Pitchfork

    It's high-test pop-prog hokum, better suited to mashing buttons to kill wizards or gorging on a stack of four-color batshittery than working on your thesis or darning your socks.
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  20. 5.0 |   The Quietus

    They are unique among their contemporaries, so in a mainstream world of vanilla rock their prog invasion is to be applauded. But honestly, take the blinkers off and listen to it properly, away from the hype. It's just nonsense isn't it?
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  21. 4.0 |   PopMatters

    All in all, The Resistance lacks the kickass histrionics and monumental spectacle of previous efforts that kept imitators away with a 10-foot obelisk. It has neither the graphic intensity of Absolution nor the graphic momentum of Blackholes
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  22. 3.0 |   No Ripcord

    They are capable of making albums that are big, over the top and fun. The Resistance is over the top, but comes off as boisterous and overblown.
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Muse: The Resistance

  • Download full album for just £7.49
  • 1. Uprising £0.99
  • 2. Resistance £0.99
  • 3. Undisclosed Desires £0.99
  • 4. United States Of Eurasia [+Collateral Damage] £0.99
  • 5. Guiding Light £0.99
  • 6. Unnatural Selection £0.99
  • 7. MK Ultra £0.99
  • 8. I Belong To You [+Mon Coeur S'Ouvre A Ta Voix] £0.99
  • 9. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 [Overture] £0.99
  • 10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 [Cross-pollination] £0.99
  • 11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 [Redemption] £0.99
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