The singles ‘Won’t Stand Down’ and ‘Kill Or Be Killed’ are some of the heaviest pieces of music Muse has released in a long while and people were losing themselves when they were unveiled with some absolutely majestic and artistic music videos to go along with. And honestly, while I really appreciate the calmer songs, heavy is how I like my Muse the best. ‘Won’t Stand Down’ is a belter of a track that really takes me back to the ‘Origin of Symmetry’ era with its shrieking guitars, pounding riffs and catchy chorus, while the screaming that suddenly pops up closer to the end absolutely destroys. ‘Kill Or Be Killed’ does much of the same with very driving rhythms and bits where the heavy guitar grooves pick up, turning on the headbangability of the track.

However, besides those already really exciting tracks, there were a couple of really great surprises to be discovered on ‘Will of the People’. Album opener and title track ‘Will of the People’ is a statement of a catchy track that immediately sucks you into the album and sets you up for almost 40 minutes of excellent music. And take, for instance, ‘Liberation’: a track that really took me aback with a very Queen-esque sound through its vocal harmonies and epic bits. And Matt’s vocals are getting really close to Freddy Mercury at times, which, as a huge Queen fan, I immediately fell in love with. I also absolutely adore the ebb and flow of the rather calmer song that has some more forward piano bits and sudden explosions of soaring epicness.

And that piano comes back in a very pretty way in the track ‘Ghosts (How Can I Move On)’, a ballad-like track that is mostly centered around that instrument and Matt’s voice. Which is followed by one of my personal highlights and, in my opinion, THE Halloween track of 2022: ‘You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween’. The synth-laden track is pure and unadulterated fun and gets me bobbing around every single time. And that guitar solo! A sonic delicatesse at every turn that will feature in my playlists for a long time.

Wrapping up the album with a track like ‘We Are Fucking Fucked’ is pure genius to me, which sounds what I would have imagined a punk version of Muse would sound like. The crunchy riffs are damn tasty, and I can already imagine the crowd live shouting along at full volume with the line “We Are Fucking Fucked”. This will be totally a crowd pleaser, and it only gets better the closer you get to the end, with the speed and groove picking up more and more. It’s also the kind of track that easily gives you the urge to hit that repeat button to go through the album again because you don’t want the fun to end here.

‘Will of the People’ is probably the most exciting piece of music that Muse has released in the last decade with something for fans of all the different sounds they’ve had in their 28 years of existence. The flow of the album is fantastic with heavy and rockin’ tracks given room to do their thing and stick out with the calmer tracks giving us a bit of breathing room and a moment to digest what just happened. A great album that I can see ending up in the end of the year lists of many people and zines.

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