The Definitive Guide to Living in the Capital , Cairo , Egypt

Despite doing a fine job on the vocals, the two songs are a clear reminder of how defining Bellamy’s high pitched voice is in Muse’s sound – with Wolstenholme taking centre stage, it almost sounds like a different band. ‘Liquid State’ is clearly reminiscent of the Foo Fighters, with rolling drums, energetic punk riffs and vocals that are slightly drenched in reverb.

‘The 2nd Law:Unsustainable’ and ‘The 2nd Law: Isolated System’ are built around spoken word samples and, surprisingly, are clearly inspired by dubstep-crown prince Skrillex, with lots of glitches and clipping throughout the compositions. As the titles suggest, these two songs form a separate entity as a closing theme to the album.

After a few spins, however, they come across as gimmicky and diminish the overall enjoyableness of the album. Due to the lack of clear, unaffected vocals and the use of the same sample in both songs, they get repetitive fairly quickly and become tedious. They make an otherwise great album end on a low note.