Muse describes their music as “Christian gangsta rap jazz odyssey with some ambient rebellious dubstep and face-melting metal flamenco cowboy psychedelia.” That about covers it. But most critics see them as alternative rock, often on the side of harder metal. “The 2nd Law” is their sixth album and the title refers to the Second Law of Thermodynamics, also known as entropy, or the state of disorder, which is probably why it appeals to hard rockers. Previous albums featured titles like “Origin of Symmetry” put out in 2001 and “Black Holes and Revelations” in 2006.
Much of their music has the hard edge of metal that I liken to science; take “Liquid State” as an example. But some tracks feature the softer piano chords of religion, such as “Explorers.”
Free me, free me, free me from this world
I don't belong here; it was a mistake imprisoning my soul
Can you free me, free me from this world
Metal guitars and soft keyboards co-exist in “Animals,” blending together as if they are the same genus and species. I see this as science and religion working together; science providing the harder rational knowledge and religion giving life to the rhythm with purpose, direction, and meaning. It’s encouraging to see science and religion mixed together under the same cover. If there were more bands like Muse, perhaps there would be less fighting and more music.
“Much of their music has the hard edge of metal that I liken to science; take ‘Liquid State’ as an example. But some tracks feature the softer piano chords of religion, such as ‘Explorers.’ … science [provides] the harder rational knowledge and religion [gives] life to the rhythm with purpose, direction, and meaning.”
For what it’s worth:
This statement contains a lot of truth, but it can’t (for lots of reasons) contain the whole truth. Much science exists in service to technology, which in turn provides comfort, ease and convenience, such as the comfort provided by heating and air conditioning, or pain relievers, or a steady supply of food. And there is a certain comfort in being able to see a rational picture of the universe around us, the kind of comfort provided by a completed jigsaw puzzle: a puzzle in which not all the pieces fit together can be disturbing.
Religion can be anything but comforting at times, and shouldn’t always provide comfort. There is little overt comfort in the command to “take up your cross … ” (Mark 8). The comfort and solace, and meaning, provided by religious belief (as many people well know) is often hidden in bad luck and suffering. And we often have to learn to live with puzzles in which not all the pieces fit, as maybe Job learned to do.
Very true! Thanks for your insights Glen.