MusicRadar

6. Unnatural Selection

An organ straight out of Phantom Of The Opera has us thinking one thing, and then a doozy of a guitar riff - I mean, one heck of a riff! - has us thinking something else altogether. Bellamy's pulling out all the stops here, and after a dramatic middle eight in which things slow down, we're at full-tilt rock again. But wait... it changes. Now the mood is dreamy, and Bellamy digs into a bottom-string solo that overwhelms - and it's over before you know it. But he lays into his axe again at the end, this time on the top strings. His guitar weeps, wails and screams.

7. MK Ultra

A guitar lover's paradise. Fuzzed-out lines introduce a frenzied rocker. Bellamy's staccato, hugely distorted parts pummel this song into submission. Before you think he can do no more, the guitarist takes us by the hand and leads us into the Hall of the Riff Kings. Transcribers of the world, take note.

8. I Belong To You (+Mon Coeur S'Ouvre A Ta Voix)

Probably the closest that Muse has ever come to R&B, it begins with a deep piano groove, yet the vocal melody has no discernable hook. The number seques into a Brecht-Weillian interlude that explodes into Queen-esque opera. This is the soundtrack for a movie not yet made, full of yearning and passion. Bellamy demands that you hurt, that you experience his ache. During one section he sings in French, and even if you can't speak the language, it doesn't matter - you can't help but share in his emotions.

9. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)

Sweeping keyboards yield to a wall of David Gilmour-like guitar soloing, a monster work of echo that soon fades into...

10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)

Grand piano and gently malleted cymbals - again very Gershwin. Suddenly, this languid passage roars into a deafening fusillade of sound. Pounding keyboards and maximum impact, and then...

11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)

The calm after the storm. A lilting piano melody is soon accompanied by soothing bass and drums that are then overtaken by a fog of musical soundscapes. Enormously thrilling, rousing... and it all ends rather peacefully. Once it's over, you feel as though you've just awoken from a dream... and one you can't wait to return to.

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