On June 27th 2012 it was announced that Muse’s new single Survival + Prelude would be the official song of the London Olympics 2012. After the release of their sixth album trailer named The 2nd Law, fans had much to speculate on, such as, if the band really were going to compose a song for the London Olympics and if Muse had gone completely mad and ridiculous by experimenting with the dubstep genre on their new material. I mean, could you imagine Matt Bellamy setting up some decks and getting a haircut like Skrillex? He’s known to be barmy but not that mad. So would Survival be a horribly contrived song that would constantly mention winning lots of gold medals?

Survival + Prelude begins with a romantic piano and string section which inevitably makes this already feel like a love song. But right from the introduction it just oozes Bellamy’s operatic and classical influences such as Frédéric Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninoff. If anything music enthusiasts should be praying to Muse like Gods because of the way they’ve developed even more from the three movement Exogenesis Symphony that they presented on 2009’s The Resistance by making the choir sections much more prominent. Muse’s craftsmanship is mind-blowing. Just when you thought that The Resistance was barmy enough, they go and top with something even more extraordinary. Incredible.

After the Romantic section there are vocals and a piano which play together providing a monophonic texture. It has a very upbeat and jazz-like feel to it. In the verse Bellamy sings lyrics “Race/Life’s a race/But I’m gonna win/Yes, I’m gonna win/And I’ll light the fuse” which shows that there is a determination and pure conviction behind Survival and Bellamy’s voice. The lovely aspect to the verses is that Bellamy has brought more back-up singers to sing deep vocals which closely resembles classical music. In the verse, Bellamy plays a guitar riff which leaves goosebumps on your skin. The riff resembles that which appears on the United States of Eurasia track. Survival ends theatrically with the operatic vocals and intense string sections.

Only one word can be used to describe Muse’s comeback; WOW. Even though Survival + Prelude ties in nicely with the London Olympics, the pure conviction that Bellamy puts across makes the listener feel as if they can take on the world. For Muse to add brass sections and choirs in even more shows how much more ambitious they have become since The Resistance. If anything Muse couldn’t have set up The 2nd Law better for themselves as Survival + Prelude gives an inside glimpse AS to what fans can expect. All there is left to say is that The 2nd Law is where we will surely see Muse release the kraken once again.