"Will Of The People" : Expecting Muse's 9th studio album (𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘦 26/8/2022)

Matt Bellamy and co edge towards the strange on album nine

Will Of The People is a gang vocal-driven, swaggering stadium rock song; Liberation the amalgamation of Bellamy’s love for Tchaikovksy and Queen’s eccentricities while Compliance is a fist-pumping, albeit safe, rebellion anthem. As the album, and indeed the story, progresses however, Muse get increasingly weirder and more daring and that’s where Will Of The People's magic heartily lies.

While the live show-tailored lead single Won't Stand Down was billed as ‘metal Muse’, it pales in comparison to the proto-prog metal of Kill Or Be Killed, which unites Rage Against The Machine riffage with sky-scraping, oos-era Dream Theater. It’s executed with a real freedom, contradicting much of the record’s more radio-friendly first half. 

That trend continues on the romantic, Marillion-esque Verona, which is all bubbling synth lines and lustful lyrics. Yet as it builds, it’s overlaid with Stranger Things-style keyboards and glistening U2-esque lead guitars that add extra colours and flavours, the song unfurling like a proper prog song should. Euphoria adds hope to the narrative on a track, which sounds like an Absolution B-side.

Perhaps, as the closing The-Cramps-meets-Queens Of The Stone Age We Are Fucking Fucked proves, it’s a little scattergun stylistically. Still, there’s a sense of safety that stands out on the record to appease those looking for pop, prog or metal from its contents, and that balancing act is no mean feat.