Kerrang 1999-09 – MUSE at TJ's Newport - September 4 1999

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This transcription may be inaccurate as we have not seen an original copy.

Kerrang - MUSE at TJ's Newport - September 4 1999

Rancous trio who show there's more to Devon than rice pudding and custard

To say that Muse's forthcoming 'Showbiz' album bears more than a passing resemblance to Radiohead is like saying that grass is a bit green, but a live environment you can gleefully toss such easy comparisons out of the window. Sure they play songs of great weight and intelligence, but they also make one hell of a racket while thery're at it. Drummer Dominic Howard and bassist Chris Wolstenholme lay down the most solid of grooves, allowing frontman Matthew Bellamy to draw squalling waves of feedback from his guitar while screaming and howling with the anguish of an entire genaration. Is it loud? Christ Yes.

Being noisey is all well and good, but it's nothing if you haven't the songs to back it up-and Muse have buckets-loads of the bastards. Former singles 'Muscle Museum' and 'Uno' are hook-filled masterpieces of emotions, and the wildscreen vista of 'Sunburn' stillsounds great without keyboards that augment the recorded version. For sheer, hairfailing glory you can't beat 'Filip' or current single'Cave' and set highlight 'Showbiz' is simply stunning.

They may occasionally steal the Radiohead blueprints, but then they tear them to shreds with huge, serrated guitars and a pounding rhythm section. In the live show, there's just as much of Nirvana or Therapy? as there is of Oxford's most depressing. The bottom line is, Muse rock like a dinosaur's knob and are quite likely to be enormous

Mark Griffiths

See also


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