I’ll just get this little bit out of the way first. Yes, this album is very technically impressive and yes, just as every other reviewer on the planet has pointed out; it does indeed include numerous musical and lyrical references to classical music and opera.

Beyond that, it’s the same old Muse from Black Holes and Revelations but with an orchestra. They’re still sounding big and loud, and seeing how it’s their fifth studio album, the guitar riffs are starting to sound semi-recycled too.

Muse’s lyrics and general musical aesthetics on The Resistance sound like entries for a sci-fi b-movie soundtrack, as do every single last one of their other songs. Every time I hear a Muse song, I close my eyes and I swear I can see Kate Beckinsale somersaulting over a pit of aliens in something directed by Paul W. Anderson. Take any one of their music videos for example; if it doesn’t have Matt Bellamy in a space ship, it’s probably not a Muse video. Same for the music; if you can’t picture Matt Bellamy fling a space ship while listening to it…

Anyway, my point is that Muse don’t seem to be able to do anything else other than their stupidly earnest wanky science-fiction inspired glam rock. If you’re happy buying the same album for the fifth time then you are obviously a fan of Muse and are probably going to kill me right after you figure out why you have no friends. Otherwise, read on.

"Rise up and take the power back,
It's time that the fat cats had a heart attack,"

Hmmm. Stealing money off these “fat cats” while they go into cardiac arrest sounds like a novel idea. I think I’ll go after the first rock band that come to mind who have had numerous sold out shows in Wembley Stadium. Watch out, here comes the chorus!

"They will not force us,
They will stop degrading us,
They will not control us,
And we will be victorious!"

Yeah, radical man! Smash the system by purchasing a Muse CD at your local multinational shit-dispenser! Seriously though, throughout The Resistance, phrases such as “fight the power” and “bring on the revolution” are sprinkled around without the least bit of irony. The rhyming is also straight from the land of nursery rhymes, as you can see by the cunning choice to rhyme us with us, a staggering three times.

It all comes to a horrifying crescendo on the track United States of Eurasia (subtle) as it effortlessly and shamelessly mimics every Queen song ever while Bellamy does his operatic voice thing, spurting out a non-cryptic commentary about the current world climate. Last I checked, in order to pull off that overly camp Queen style, you had to have a sense of humour about yourself, and you had to be Freddie Mercury.

- Stephen Tuohy