One minute, on the opening title-track, things stomp along in stadium-ready Muse mode, all lit up and flamboyant. On Compliance, it's a slower burning, electronic-voiced groove and keyboard motif reminiscent of the machinations of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, as it ponders the mentality of the mob, the sort that would try to uproot the democracy of a superpower by storming its main operating house.
Elsewhere, Kill Or Be Killed and the defiant Won't Stand Down are some of the heaviest things the band have ever done, echoing the granite vibes of their Drones album. You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween, Verona and Euphoria, meanwhile, all grandly show off the temperatures at which Muse can operate while staying in Muse-world. We Are Fucking Fucked, meanwhile, is a relatively straightforward, stripped back riffer, in which Matt sings the title with an irony and sarcasm that's almost delight.
As much as the context and subject matter, what's grand here is that Muse remain masters of what they are doing. Nine records in it is inevitable that anything they do will have a particular sheen, but creatively, in performance, and in energy they continue to operate on a plane all of their own. And in a world of uncertainty, that's a very welcome thing.
Verdict: 4/5
For fans of: 30 Seconds To Mars, Killing Joke, Linkin Park
Will Of The People is out August 26 via Warner