Music / The 2nd Law

UNSUSTAINABLE.

Free me
Free me
Free me from this world
I don't belong here
It was a mistake imprisoning my soul
Can you free me
Free me from this world

— Explorers

The 2nd Law is the sixth studio album by the English Alternative Rock band Muse, released in 28 September 2012. It contains the singles, "Madness", "Supremacy", "Panic Station" and "Follow Me". The former became a huge hit for the band (as well as their third-ever entry on the Billboard Hot 100 after "Uprising" and "Neutron Star Collision") and is the most recognizable song from the album.

The album takes a Genre Roulette approach, taking influences from electronica, dubstep, symphonic rock, art rock and arena rock. Thematically it tackles lyrical themes about the apocalypse, totalitarianism and global warming.

Tracklist:

1. "Supremacy" (4:55)
2. "Madness" (4:39)
3. "Panic Station" (3:03)
4. "Prelude" (0:57)
5. "Survival" (4:17)
6. "Follow Me" (3:51)
7. "Animals" (4:23)
8. "Explorers" (5:48)
9. "Big Freeze" (4:41)
10. "Save Me" (5:09)
11. "Liquid State" (3:03)
12. "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" (3:47)
13. "The 2nd Law: Isolated System" (4:59)

Doubts will try to break you, unleash your heart and tropes.

• The Alcoholic: The two songs sung by Chris, "Save Me" and "Liquid State" tackle his experiences with addiction with alcohol prior to his recovery.
• An Aesop: The main theme of the album is that the rich, greedy and short-sighted elite are dooming the species to self-destruction. A comparison with the second law of thermodynamics is made, where Earth is an isolated system and the entropy of that system is only increasing because of humanity's self-indulgent apathy. It's similar to the message of "Exogenesis" from the previous album, but far more cynical in its presentation.
• Animated Music Video: The video for "Animals", which was fan-made for a competition held by the band in late 2012.
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Matt wrote "Madness" about the struggles in his relationship with his then-fiancée.
• Bizarre Instrument: The bass Chris uses to play "Madness" live is a double-necked hybrid between a standard Status bass and the touchscreen-operated bass Kitara from the music video.
• Dramatic Choir Number:
  • "Survival", and how.
  • "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable"
• Eat the Rich: "Animals" is possibly the purest expression of this in the band's entire discography.
• Electronic Speech Impediment: The voices that read off the Second Law of Thermodynamics in "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" stutter and glitch a lot.
• Epic Rocking: The closing two-parter Title Track, whose two halves total 8:48.
• Fight Fur Your Right to Party: While not furry per se, the "Panic Station" video includes an eerily realistic velociraptor and a guy in a cartoony squid suit.
• Flaming Sword: The "Supremacy" video features one of the corpse surfers holding one while on a bike.
• Genre Roulette: From a James Bond type Hard Rock song to R&B-inspired Synth-Pop, to Funk Rock, to a Queen-influenced Progressive Rock song, to a Dubstep ballad, to an Uncommon Time art rock song. And this is just the first seven tracks.
• Heartbeat Soundtrack: "Follow Me" samples the in utero heartbeats of Matt's firstborn child.
• I Just Want to Be Free: "Explorers".
• Lyrical Dissonance: "Explorers", a mellow and sweet track lamenting the destruction of nature.
• Lyric Video: The 2nd Law marks the first time the band would release official lyric videos to accompany the album's singles.
• Miniscule Rocking: "Prelude".
• Non-Appearing Title: "Explorers" and "Liquid State".
• Obsession Song: "Madness" certainly sounds like one, even turning the title into a Madness Mantra by making it the bass line.
• One-Word Title: "Supremacy", "Survival", "Animals" and "Explorers".
• Out-of-Genre Experience: Even for a Genre-Busting band like Muse, "Save Me" feels like an oddity in the discography to some, veering very close to Post-Rock and Dream Pop due to it being a Lighter and Softer song with a very lush atmosphere and Chris' restrained vocals in the lead. "Liquid State" is also lead by Chris but it's pretty much in the same vein of Muse's rockier songs.
• Papa Wolf: "Follow Me", a Declaration of Protection penned by Matt for his then-newborn son.
• Perishing Alt-Rock Voice: Chris on the two tracks he takes the lead vocals.
• Rummage Sale Reject: Invoked in the music video for "Panic Station".
• Step Up to the Microphone: Chris is the writer of and lead vocalist on two of the tracks from The 2nd Law, "Save Me" and "Liquid State".
• Surprisingly Gentle Song: "Explorers" and "Save Me".
• Surreal Music Video: The "Panic Station" music video is wacky even by Muse standards.
• Take That!: "Animals" is aimed at the Corrupt Corporate Executives who contributed to the 2008 economic crisis.
• Title Track: "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" and "The 2nd Law: Isolated System".
• Truck Driver's Gear Change: "Survival" during the second half of the song, and "Explorers" by the final chorus.
• Uncommon Time: "Animals" is mostly in 5/4.
• Unnaturally Blue Lighting: Used liberally in the music video for "Madness".
• World of Weirdness: The "Panic Station" music video makes Tokyo this.

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In an isolated system, entropy can only increase