Tears of the hero 💔

That **** cut scene!! Look, BoTW had already broke me...HARD. But Tears of the Kingdom ripped my heart out and crushed their cigarette on it after taking a puff.

At that exact moment, Link becomes a sleep-deprived mad man on a quest for revenge, fueled by his rage and despair.

Needless to say I went John Wick on Ganondorf's @$$ . Gloom hands? I eat them for breakfast.

"Origin Of Symmetry" by Muse Review

Rock was fading out of the mainstream by 2001. The biggest “rock” act was Linkin Park for God’s sake. Dark times… (it’s fine if you like them, I just don’t personally) It was a year in which music was dominated by the likes of Eminem, Jay-Z, and Britney Spears. “Origin Of Symmetry,” an album by a relatively small time English alternative band called Muse, is released in Europe. The trio had put out their debut, “Showbiz,” two years earlier. While that was a great showcase of the young band’s potential, critics felt it was a little reminiscent of their fellow British band, Radiohead. Their sophomore album didn’t make much of a splash outside of Europe due to the band conflicting with their North American label, causing them to leave it. Because of this, the album didn’t reach North American shelves until 2005. However, “Origin Of Symmetry” stands out as a big leap forward for Muse, expanding on their then unestablished sound. It’s an exhilarating collection of complex yet chaotic songs that remind you that rock isn’t going anywhere.

The album opens with a bit of deception with “New Born’s” soothing piano intro.“ Matthew Bellamy’s falsetto lulls you to sleep until about about a minute and twenty seconds in, when the piano begins to retreat like beachfront water before a massive tsunami. Then the dirty, distorted guitar jars the listener out of the false sense of calm. Screaming “Destroy the spineless! Show me it’s real!” in the chorus, the song sets the tone for most of the album, that tone being dark, chaotic complexity. “Bliss” follows up with a dreamy string section before they lead into (are interrupted by) a bouncing guitar and bass combo. It’s an often overlooked gem, without any real reason for the lack of attention. A great riff, lyrics about envy, and wanting to trade places, it’s a beautiful Muse classic. “Bliss” is followed by the Rachmaninoff-inspired “Space Dementia,” a piano driven piece that manages to balanced its classical influences with a decidedly sci-fi theme. “Hyper Music” is the rebellious, chaotic, and straight-up angry break-up jam. “I don’t love you, and I never did! I don’t want you, and I never will!” Bellamy wails over garage-rock sounding guitar riff. The song leads into the fan favorite “Plug In Baby,” which starts with high pitched distortion noises before breaking into one of the greatest guitar riffs of the 21st century before the bass and drums kick in. The hard-not-to-sing-along-to chorus explodes at the same time as the guitar at the one minute mark. With rather vague lyrics, it’s fun to figure out what it means. I personally see it as being about anything you use to escape reality, you “plug in.” Whether it’s Matt’s guitar, or music in general, it’s still a fantastic song that is both accessible and a fan-favorite. It’s followed by another of the band’s masterpieces: the seven-minute “Citizen Erased.” Also starting with a memorable guitar riff before breaking into equally tight drumming and bass-playing, the track also takes cues from other songs of similar length like Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” or Radiohead’s “Paranoid Android” by having a few distinct parts. It’s the first of Muse’s epics (“Butterflies And Hurricanes,” “Knights If Cydonia,” “The Globalist”). Next up is “Micro Cuts,” which I still believe was made just so Matt could prove how high he could sing. He keeps with a consistently high-pitched falsetto before screaming like some kind of banshee in the chorus. It’s surprising that the poor guy didn’t do some kind of damage to his vocal chords. Oh and he’s able to do it live while playing guitar. The track ends with a monstrous, loud, and heavy explosion of guitar, bass, and drums. The album finally lets you breathe with the acoustic “Screenager.” That’s not to say the track is boring, or that it’s not out there. Llama toes were used as instruments, of course it’s going to be weird. The song keeps an eerily relaxing, somewhat unsettling vibe throughout. “Dark Shines” starts slowly before exploding around the chorus as the piano swells. An odd inclusion on the album is the band’s rock take on “Feeling Good,” a song made legendary by soul singer Nina Simone. Not to say I’m complaining, as it’s an incredibly interesting and different take on the classic. The album closes with the slow-building and melancholy “Megalomania.” Slow-building until an actual organ is played over the chorus. It’s an appropriately menacing and dark sounding close to the album.

Overall, though Muse’s sophomore effort may not have been a game-changer for the world of music at the time, it was a landmark in their career. With themes of chaos, envy, escapism, and loss of innocence, it’s a dark work of space rock, and where a great band came into their own.

10 - Masterpiece

The English trio’s fan-favorite second record is chaotically brilliant, filled with songs that seem both simple and complex at the same time, some of the best guitar riffs of the 2000s, and the kind of flirtation with classical symphonic arrangements that we’ve come to expect of Muse.

Best Tracks: New Born, Bliss, Space Dementia, Plug In Baby, Citizen Erased, Micro Cuts, Screenager

I probably won’t post as often as I have today. Just eager to get some content out. Repost if you like, if not that’s fine… Have a good day/night.