"Madness" by Muse

Muse (from left to right): Bass Guitarist Chris Wolstenholme, Vocalist and Guitarist Matt Bellamy, and Drummer Dom Howard

Hey guys, Lia here for your Thursday review...and its another English rock band!

Sorry, not sorry because MUSE IS MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BAND (and yes, the all caps was necessary). They're the band I listen to when I need to shut the world out and just jam, when everyone and everything seems so tedious and annoying. Basically, I listen to them to get right.

They've been around since 1994, which means this year marks their 20th year as a band! Pretty good for a group once categorized as a Radiohead cover band. Together, they have six studio albums, two live albums, and many other credits. Their musical inspirations range from Queen and Tom Waits, to classical musicians like Liszt and Tchaikovsky (see: the Exogenesis Symphony and any other song from The Resistance album). Their newest album, The 2nd Law, contains so many great, chart-topping songs. If you kept up with a thing called the 2012 Olympics, I'm sure you heard their song "Survival," which was the official song of the event. Muse's song "Panic Station" was also a pretty popular song on the radio that's from this album.

But it's "Madness" that takes the cake. Muse's song "Madness," also from The 2nd Law, was number one on Billboard's top Alternative charts for 19 weeks straight, beating Foo Fighters' "The Pretender" for the longest reign as number one in Billboard history. It was also a contender for Best Rock Song at the 2013 Grammy Awards. This song is so catchy and smooth, full of soul with just a tasteful dash of dubstep. Matt Bellamy's voice in this song transports me to another world because its so unique, almost alien, but in a soulful, crooning way. He also hits those high notes like nobody's business. Seriously, the man can sing. Bellamy wrote "Madness" after he had a fight with his (super attractive American actress) girlfriend Kate Hudson as a way to process his feelings. I'm guessing that argument was resolved because in the song, Matt totally concedes (Now I have finally seen the light/And I have finally realized/What you need). Also: they have a super adorable baby boy together!

But enough about Matt: "Madness" is a great song. It's not my favorite from the album (see: Explorers and The 2nd Law: Unsustainable/Isolated System) just because it's a slower build than what I usually like, but it's definitely the smoothest. If you want to check out Muse even more, I suggest their Absolution album (it's golden).

Watch this music video: that Misa Kitara is siiiiiickkk. And this video is so post-apocalyptic, I love it.

LIVE AT ROME OLYMPIC STADIUM. Seriously, I'm jealous of everybody there. And that Misa Kitara for Chris's bass is so cool.

Rating: 5 Records (This isn't even their best song and I still give it 5 records because Muse deserves all the records. ALL OF IT.)

Photo: gigwise.com 
Information: Wikipedia