Drones (album)
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| Studio album by Muse | |||||||||||||
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Publication |
5th June 2015 |
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| Label (s) | Helium-3 , Warner | ||||||||||||
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Alternative rock |
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running time |
52:40 |
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Muse, Robert John "Mutt" Lange |
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Drones is the seventh studio album by the British band Muse . It went on sale on June 5, 2015 as a CD and download . With this concept album , the musicians oriented themselves towards their musical beginnings: away from the very electronic New Prog back to alternative rock .
background
The head of the trio Matthew Bellamy developed the pieces conceptually around a near future, in which people hand over large parts of their responsibility to machines and combat drones, allow themselves to be absorbed by them and at the same time humanize them. This is already reflected on the drawn cover: an anonymous hand in a suit sleeve controls a humanized joystick - or a joystick depending on your point of view - who in turn controls people with a joystick who he only sees on a screen. The album was produced by Mutt Lange, who has already been in the studio with bands such as AC / DC , Def Leppard and The Cars . The tour of the same name, with Marmozets in the opening act, lasted from May 2015 to August 2016. Recordings were made of the performances in Amsterdam, Milan and Berlin and will be released in the cinemas in July 2020 as a concert film. Bellamy himself commented on the content of the album in the run-up to the release of the film of the world tour as follows:
“The symbiosis between people and technology has always interested me. Drones seem like a very interesting modern metaphor for this. You want to encourage people to ask themselves what role technology plays in our lives and whether it's a good thing or a bad thing. "
Most of the recordings were made in the warehouse studio in Vancouver , Canada . Additional recordings by orchestral musicians and strings were made in Milan . Matt Mahurin, who had also worked for Disturbed , was the art director .
reception
The album received a very divided response from the critics. Jenni Zylka praised the entire work:
“Muse made a concept album with“ Drones ”. A crazy, unabashed, kitschy, seriously meant, great hard rock work that is reminiscent of Pink Floyd, of Queen. The album celebrates the hero's journey from drone to rebellion. Everyone should have a heart for pathos "
Oliver Götz is quite different, who judged the entire album - music, text and cover - to be very flat, naive and in no way appropriate to the topic and sums up the concept as follows:
“The soul-dead (“ Dead Inside ”) protagonist is called“ Drill Sergeant ”- on the side of the“ Psycho ”/ dark men in the coat eat up the soul (“ Mercy ”, grins Matt) / the remote-controlled“ Reapers ”only further radicalize the shot / the revived Drone operator tries to break away from “The Handler” / Ratatazong appearance of the “Defector” / there is a “revolt”, accompanied by enlightening impulses: “our freedom is just a loan” / and an “aftermath” with fraternization scenes that do nothing suggest that “The Globalist” in the pre-revolutionary world had enough power to bomb it into nuclear catastrophe (because he lacked love) / ejector recapitulation: “Drones”, as more Gregorian Canon, the final chord word is: "Amen" (instead of "Aua"). "
The critics unanimously praised the musical qualities of the album and the return to the musical roots in alternative rock. Most reviewers, however, agreed that the conceptual implementation in the texts was not very successful. The sampling of a JF Kennedy quote is often mentioned as an example of the overly striking approach . The very mixed criticism did not detract from the commercial success. The album was well received by the fans and climbed high in the charts. The concerts as part of the Drones World Tour were also commercially successful.
Charts and chart placements
| Charts | Top ranking | Weeks |
|---|---|---|
| Chart placements | ||
 Germany (GfK)
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3 (12 weeks) | 12 |
 Austria (Ö3)
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2 (14 weeks) | 14th |
 Switzerland (IFPI)
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1 (51 weeks) | 51 |
 United Kingdom (OCC)
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1 (35 weeks) | 35 |
 United States (Billboard)
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1 (18 weeks) | 18th |
Awards for music sales
| Country / Region | Award | Sales |
|---|---|---|
| Awards for music sales (country / region, Award, Sales) |
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 Australia (ARIA)
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 gold
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35,000 |
 France (SNEP)
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 2 × platinum
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200,000 |
 Italy (FIMI)
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platinum
|
50,000 |
 Canada (MC)
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platinum
|
80,000 |
 Mexico (AMPROFON)
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gold
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30,000 |
 Netherlands (NVPI)
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gold
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20,000 |
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Austria (IFPI)
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gold
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7,500 |
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Switzerland (IFPI)
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platinum
|
20,000 |
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United Kingdom (BPI)
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gold
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100,000 |
| All in all |
5 × gold 5 × platinum |
542,500 |
Main article: Muse (band) / Awards for music sales
Track list
| No. | title | length |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dead Inside | 4:23 |
| 2 | Drill Sergeant | 0:21 |
| 3 | Psycho | 5:16 |
| 4th | Mercy | 3:51 |
| 5 | Reaper | 5:59 |
| 6th | The handler | 4:33 |
| 7th | JFK | 0:54 |
| 8th | Defector | 4:33 |
| 9 | Revolt | 4:05 |
| 10 | Aftermath | 5:47 |
| 11 | The globalist | 10:07 |
| 12 | Drones | 2:49 |
swell
- Album "Drones" on laut.de, accessed on May 4, 2020
- Album Drones on allmusic.com, accessed May 4, 2020
- Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US
- Album "Drones" from discogs.com, accessed May 4, 2020
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Anja Perkuhn: "Yikes, does that sound like rock?" In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. June 5, 2015, accessed April 30, 2020 .
- ↑ Muse: Drones World Tour. In: ZDF Mediathek. March 30, 2020, accessed May 4, 2020 .
- ↑ Jenni Zylka: "Muse Drones". In: Rolling Stone. June 23, 2015, accessed May 4, 2020 .
- ↑ Oliver Götz: "Muse Drones". In: Musikexpress. June 5, 2015, accessed April 30, 2020 .
- ↑ Frank Thießies: "Muse Drones". In: Metal Hammer. June 26, 2015, accessed May 4, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d e Chart sources: DE AT CH UK US