Muse - The 2nd Law (Limited Edition) (2012)

The 2nd Law is the sixth studio album by English rock band Muse. It was released on 1 October 2012 in the United Kingdom and elsewhere on 28 September, 2 and 3 October under Warner Bros. Records and the band's own Helium-3 imprint. The title of the album refers to the second law of thermodynamics and the album's cover art features a map of the human brain's pathways, which was taken from the Human Connectome Project. Recording of the album took place in four different studios, began in October 2011, and ended in August 2012. Mainly self-produced by the band, with the exception of the song "Follow Me" which was co-produced by English electronic music trio Nero, The 2nd Law features multiple styles of music and was influenced by acts such as Queen, David Bowie, and Skrillex.

Upon release, the album received generally favourable reviews from music critics, holding a 70/100 score on review aggregator site Metacritic, and had a very positive commercial performance. It was a top ten-charting album in thirty-one countries and a number one album in thirteen countries. The album has been certified platinum by the BPI in England, the FIMI in Italy, the IFPI in Switzerland, and the MC in Canada. It has also been certified triple-platinum by the SNEP in France. At the 55th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Rock Album and the album's second track "Madness" was nominated for Best Rock Song. The album's third track "Panic Station" was also nominated for Best Rock Song at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards the following year.

A total of five official singles were released from the album. "Survival", released on 27 June, and "Madness", released on 20 August, preceded the album's release. "Survival" was notable for being chosen as the official song for the 2012 Summer Olympics, while "Madness" was notable for its positive commercial performance, as well for topping the Billboard Alternative Songs chart for a record nineteen weeks, beating out the previous record set by "The Pretender" by Foo Fighters. Three singles were released after the release of the album: "Follow Me", released on 7 December, "Supremacy", released on 20 February 2013, and, "Panic Station", released on 31 May.

The 2nd Law received generally positive reviews upon release. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 70 based on 30 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." BBC music critic Ian Winwood also gave the album a positive review, highlighting "Supremacy", "Liquid State" and "The 2nd Law: Isolated System", saying that Muse "present themselves in any guise they please". The Telegraph's Helen Brown rated the album four out of five stars, noting the album's eclectic influences and reserving praise for "Madness" in particular. The Observer's Kitty Empire also alluded to Muse's bombastic tendencies, saying "Bellamy is not blind to the contradictions of his band's attempts continually to ramp the ludicrousness up to 11; endless growth is, of course, unsustainable. But for now they remain pretty comfortable with the idea of obscene over-inflation. So should we."

AllMusic rated the album three out of five stars, noting "their excursions into dubstep and dance music on tracks like "Madness" and "Follow Me" feel more like remixes than original songs. Songs like these definitely have the spine of Muse tracks, but the production that's built up around them feels almost alien." Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a grade of C+, claiming that "the band goes overboard with Queen-isms" and expressing disappointment at the lack of electronic music elements compared to the band's expectations that the album would be a departure from previous releases. The Guardian's Alexis Petridis rated the album four out of five stars, complimenting the band's ambition but finding fault with the album's bombastic tendencies which were also present on their previous albums, stating "no one goes to see a blockbuster for its profundity and deep characterisation. They go for the stunts and the special effects, both of which The 2nd Law delivers."

The album was a nominee for Best Rock Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards. The song "Madness" was also nominated for Best Rock Song.

The album was listed at number 46 on Rolling Stone's list of the top 50 albums of 2012, saying "In an era of diminished expectations, Muse make stadium-crushing songs that mix the legacies of Queen, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin and Radiohead while making almost every other current band seem tiny."

Track List:
01. Supremacy (04:55)
02. Madness (04:39)
03. Panic Station (03:04)
04. Prelude (00:57)
05. Survival (04:17)
06. Follow Me (03:50)
07. Animals (04:22)
08. Explorers (05:46)
09. Big Freeze (04:39)
10. Save Me (05:08)
11. Liquid State (03:03)
12. The 2nd Law: Unsustainable (03:48)
13. The 2nd Law: Isolated System (05:00)