Surf Black Metallers Must Die!

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[4.56]

Iain Mew: The Olympics is bigger than James Bond. James Bond was in the Olympics! So it’s only fitting that Muse’s pseudo Bond theme doesn’t live up to their actual Olympic one. “Supremacy” is fun and does meld their lighters-aloft festival ballad mode with their science fiction funk mode in a new way, but there’s too little of the latter to avoid getting flattened by the string section.
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Alfred Soto: They didn’t really think the nightmare of a chorus guaranteed them an Olympics anthem, no? Three more minutes to go! 
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Brad Shoup: They’re screaming to be considered comedy rock. Let’s accommodate them.
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Patrick St. Michel: Absurdly ambitious and absurdly full of itself all at once. Maybe if they were letting us in on some some small joke I would like this a little more, but Muse play this way too seriously.
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Ian Mathers: All of the thinkpieces in the world about how these guys are so unfairly picked on (guys, massively popular bands don’t need contrarion hagiographies – Led Zeppelin did/are doing just fine, despite all those nasty widdle reviews in the day) are going to make you, know know, actually like them. Sorry, but “Kashmir” didn’t work for the reasons “Supremacy” seems to think it worked, Thom Yorke’s yowling was not the best thing about early Radiohead, and classic-libertarian-era Neil Peart is not a lyricist worth emulating.
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Jer Fairall: Like the theme for a Bond film directed by Leni Riefenstahl, only boring.
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Scott Mildenhall: What might be important to note here is that the first single from Muse’s current album campaign, “Survival,” only really made sense in its intended environment, blaring out of speakers at earsplitting volume as 80,000 people entered the Olympic Stadium in London. That was very exciting, even before 10 in the morning. The reason it might be pertinent is that “Supremacy,” as many have noticed, sounds a bit like a Bond theme. Whether or not it was intended to be one – and though the jury’s out, it does feature elements of the original theme, almost a prerequisite for all those that have attempted to follow it – it would definitely be enhanced by footage of 007 rolling around and parachuting onto the Millennium Dome (or whatever it is he does these days). Therein lies the problem: it isn’t actually a Bond theme.
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Daniel Montesinos-Donaghy: Kanye yelled “I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW” on the wrong damn song. He should have waited. The obvious John Barryisms and sly sufi guitar-score references require something as catch-all huge as “I NEED YOU RIGHT NOW,” not whatever Matt Bellamy’s squeeeaaaayyyowling about. The comparative subtlety of lyrics is not what Muse need to be pondering at this point in their career. They need statements in pulsating Gaspar Noe neon. They need short sentences so massiveand oxygen-rupturing that THX need to make special pads of looseleaf for them to write the damn words down. They may also need to write a song strong enough to sustain this type of gonzo musical money shot, but that can wait. First, just… short, sweet, powerful, ridiculous chants. Muse owe it to us.
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Edward Okulicz: “Supremacy” touches sonically and melodically on a batch of songs from Absolution — specifically “Ruled By Secrecy” and “Endlessly” — only with Matt Bellamy’s pained screeching turned up to levels of ridiculousness I didn’t think it was possible to attain. Sure, there’s a James Bond motif in there, but movie soundtrack stuff is not a surprise, more a well-established part of their schtick by now. The fact that it takes me back to 2003 when Muse pissed off purists and critics so much remind me that they always had that to offer — being against dullards was always more fun when there were satisfying, thumping riffs and a bit of drama to grow your hair long to.Where “Supremacy” falls short of their best in that the songs and the words don’t quite have the overblown stentorian quality that drove them to being so successful.
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