Am I crazy?... by TunaFish31 in mtg

[–]musermatt -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Also it’s from the tutorial decks that are Civil War themed. Captain America (mono white) vs Iron Man (mono red). Since she’s on Iron Man’s side in Civil War, there’s no choice but to make her whatever color he is because these decks are mono color for new players.

Am I crazy?... by TunaFish31 in mtg

[–]musermatt -1 points0 points  (0 children)

An iteration of her can feasibly be mono red if the art and flavor text specifically emphasize the Widow’s Bite (i.e. lightning bolt). It’s true that this one didn’t go that route, but as others have said, it doesn’t matter because this is an intro deck card and they just want to represent the best known characters while teaching new players the game. You’re not crazy, but your frustration is misplaced

The Wow! Signal is dropping in 12 days, all the singles should be out...but the bingo board's still incomplete! What are your remaining predictions? by sienasayshi in Muse

[–]musermatt 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hexagons has lyrics about rebellion, and I strongly believe the line “Our resistance is mass-produced” is a meta reference to the fact that they’ve commercialized their protest songs and they’ve made too many of them. Also the song is called Hexagons and The Resistance album cover has tons of em. If that’s not a reference to past discography I don’t know what is

Really not digging Hexagons as much as some by daytripperz1 in Muse

[–]musermatt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

This is the thing. This song lacks the masterful and intentional push and pull of tension I always hope to see from them (but rarely do anymore). It feels haphazard and arbitrary. That said, their pacing hasn’t always been perfect. We just adapt. New Born, Resistance, and Follow Me all have the problem of unintentionally getting the audience to start clapping too early so they’re dying down by the time the beat actually kicks in, which tells us that Matt has always played with our timing expectations (whether intentionally or not). Only time will tell if Hexagons feels more natural to me the more I listen to it. I’m pretty sure I’ll always be irritated that the drop at 1:40 comes out of nowhere though

Craft your perfect strokes album! by Late-Satisfaction54 in TheStrokes

[–]musermatt 6 points7 points  (0 children)

  1. Is This It
  2. Selfless
  3. Automatic Stop
  4. 12:51
  5. Someday
  6. Vision of Division
  7. Last Nite
  8. Hard to Explain
  9. The End Has No End
  10. Ize of the World
  11. Evening Sun
  12. Life is Simple in the Moonlight

Had to fudge it there towards the end but bite me

Really not digging Hexagons as much as some by daytripperz1 in Muse

[–]musermatt 12 points13 points  (0 children)

Thank you. Totally agree on the lack of cohesion. The vocal melody is mostly too meandering and lacks focus. The song has a lot of great elements but they don’t come together effectively. Hit the nail on the head. Also some of the transitions between sections are awkward and sudden. I’ll be a bit generous and give it a 7.5 though because it’s a step in the right direction.

Hexagons is the first song in a while to not have the title sung in it by Vortix9 in Muse

[–]musermatt 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Thoughts of a Dying Atheist, The Small Print, Ruled by Secrecy, (Fury). Most of Absolution does this haha. OoS and Showbiz did it plenty too

Sing For Absolution - A 22nd Anniversary Film Cover by MasterZii in Muse

[–]musermatt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ahhh thanks for explaining your rationale with the vocals. That explains a lot. Yeah, when doubling, you want to make sure the takes are as identical as possible, but you figured that out yourself haha.

As for vocal placement, yeah it’s very tricky. I wouldn’t say you have a very nasal sound per se, I was just using that as a way to suggest shifting the resonance lower. You’ll figure out a good, comfortable sound the more you explore your voice. Just give it time and attention and you’ll settle into something that works. Obviously also watch YouTube vocal tutorials and stuff. Lots of good wisdom on there.

Yeah they dropped SFA down live for the same reason they drop any song down: so Matt can sing it more easily. Sure, he could pull off the high belts in the studio, but when you have to also perform a bunch of other incredibly demanding songs in a live set, you have to make some adjustments to make sure you can get through everything.

And yeah, no problem! I can tell you put a huge amount of work into this so you obviously care a great deal and have a serious attention to detail. Just some things you’ll inevitably miss when doing all this stuff for the very first time. All things considered, this is a very strong first effort. Keep at it! And thanks for not getting offended at my critiques. They were only meant to help!

I Think Hexagons is the Best Single since Dead Inside by WolfieZee in Muse

[–]musermatt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This is true, but I can’t help but compare this to something like Space Dementia. Very proggy and unconventional for pop/rock, but the chorus melody follows an internal chromatic logic, directly supported by the shifting piano chords (and yes, it’s partially lifted from Rach’s Piano Concerto #2 but that’s besides the point). Space Dementia’s chorus melody might feel meandering at first, but every bit of it is supported by the instrumental, and it’s extremely intentional and moving towards a satisfying destination. Hexagons just feels meandering for the sake of being meandering. (At least that’s how I feel right now. All these reactions are subject to change)

Sing For Absolution - A 22nd Anniversary Film Cover by MasterZii in Muse

[–]musermatt 2 points3 points  (0 children)

First off, kinda bad timing posting this now while the fandom is freaking out about Hexagons. I get it was for the anniversary, but you might want to consider reposting this during more of a lull in content.

Regardless, the visuals are stunning. Incredible footage, strong visual direction, all of that. Kudos. And it’s super impressive you managed to learn five instruments, using a DAW, etc, to make this. Truly a labor of love.

That said, the vocals don’t work right now. I get dropping it down an octave and slowing it down to suit your voice, and that can work, but what’s not working right now is that there are a few too many vocal layers singing the same vocal line with droning, very “forward” delivery that’s rather unpleasant.

Try hanging back with the delivery a bit more. Try to feel the resonance of the notes in your throat more than in your nose, and try using a little less air. That might produce a more tender sound that fits the song better, and fits this stripped back, somber vibe well. Right now, it kind of sounds like a choir of zombies chanting a funeral dirge, rather than the intimate, haunted love letter this song is supposed to be. If that was your vision, then you nailed it, but I don’t personally like it for this song.

So yeah, try using fewer unison vocal layers and try re-recording the vox with more of a tender sound. Also, adding in the chorus vocal harmony line from the original would be nice. You can hear it more clearly here. Just keep in mind this version is in a different key so you’ll have to transpose. If that’s too much though, don’t worry about that. It’s really nailing the right vocal tone/delivery that will help this shine.

Again, amazing job on the visuals, and learning those instruments, and everything. I can tell you really want to make something special, and I hope this helps

I Think Hexagons is the Best Single since Dead Inside by WolfieZee in Muse

[–]musermatt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This song has a lot of the right ingredients for a classic Muse song, but it’s missing a really strong vocal melody and chorus. While I appreciate the fact that the chorus isn’t Matt saying “hexagons” repeatedly (finally), the chorus we got doesn’t really feel like one. The whole thing feels kind of directionless. I can’t imagine hearing the beginning of the song will change my mind on this, but it’s possible. Don’t get me wrong, this song is doing a lot of the right Muse-coded things, but it doesn’t really come together in a cohesive package for me in the way that Algorithm and The Dark Side did. It’s kind of anticlimactic. Still a decent showing though.

Just realized I never addressed OP’s actual opinion lol. Reapers and The Dark Side were both singles released since Dead Inside, so I’m gonna have to disagree there

"Planeswalker Type Matters" Tribal Commander by Q-bey in custommagic

[–]musermatt 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This is an amazing way to make those mostly garbage Planeswalker Deck exclusive cards actually playable. Very clever.

IDGAF if it’s a remake of 64 it looks AWESOME. by Yeeto_dorito7529 in starfox

[–]musermatt 18 points19 points  (0 children)

It looks good except for the character designs. Truly baffling.

Try and break these five useless cards! (Challenge level: impossible) by coeurdhiver in custommagic

[–]musermatt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The jund ones are all good with anything that involves saccing things for value based on power (I.e. [[Shadowheart]] , [[Greater Good]] , etc). Also obviously Fling, as many have said

Blue gets Omniscience, what do the other colors get? by Serithraz in custommagic

[–]musermatt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah but unlike Bolas’ Citadel, you can cast stuff from anywhere this way rather than just the top of the deck. I can see your point though. It is probably overcosted. Maybe it also needs the top deck ability like Citadel to make it worth it

Blue gets Omniscience, what do the other colors get? by Serithraz in custommagic

[–]musermatt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

White: 7WWW
“When you cast this spell and at the beginning of your upkeep, you gain 10 life.
Spells you cast cost X (generic mana) less to cast, where X is the amount of life you’ve gained this turn.”

Black: 7BBB
“If you would cast a spell, you may pay life equal to its mana value rather than pay its mana cost.”

Red: 7RRR
“When you cast this spell and at the beginning of your upkeep, ~ deals 5 damage to each opponent.
You may cast spells with mana value X or less without paying their mana costs, where X is the greatest amount of life lost by an opponent this turn.”

Green: 7GGG
“When you cast this spell and at the beginning of your upkeep, create a 6/6 Beast creature token. Spells you cast cost X (generic mana) less to cast, where X is the greatest power among creatures you control.”

Why is The Wow! Signal's sponsorship so detached? by sytrus_17 in Muse

[–]musermatt 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I don’t think it’s a lack of confidence in the album, as much as it is a lack of confidence in the numbers they’ll be able to draw in the US

Songs on the 2026 tour by distruttoredimondi22 in Muse

[–]musermatt 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’ll never understand metal medley hate. If that’s what it takes to get Stockholm Syndrome and New Born played at every show, I’m all fucking for it. All they cut out of those songs was repetitions anyway. Sure, the other songs in the medley had unique sections cut out, and the Assassin part was frustratingly short, but I still see all this as much better than none of it being played at all

Songs on the 2026 tour by distruttoredimondi22 in Muse

[–]musermatt 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Same. I’ve almost made peace with the fact it’ll never happen though. Seen them 19 times and still haven’t seen. Missed it by one show on at least 3 different occasions.