Throughout the winter season, a song that caught my attention is Neutron Star Collision [Love is Forever] by Muse. This Single was released on May 17th, 2010, and was not immediately popular when it was first announced, and later released. However, it did gain a resurgence of popularity in 2013.

This song stands out to me due to its piano usage at the beginning of the song in the first verse. The piano is accompanied by the vocalist, Matt Bellamy. Bellamy’s usually strong, bold, dramatic vocals begin with a more gentle, slower, approach than usual. Bellamy then picks up speed and adds more projection in his voice during the pre-chorus, then slows back down in the last line, “With no trace of fear that.”

Picking up from the last line in the pre-chorus, the Chorus continues with, “Our love would be forever. And if we die, we die together.” The vocals become increasingly stronger and more emotional, further portraying the anguish Bellamy possibly felt while reflecting on his recent breakup of the time. Finally, at the end of the Chorus, the instrumentals are completed with an added electric guitar which is essentially motif of the band during this era.

This section of the song focuses on the build-up of tension and the expression of intense feelings. Emphasis is added to phrases and words to get the message across to the listeners. My favorite component of the song is the guitar usage that conveys and maintains emotion alongside the vocals. The fluctuations in speed also make the song all the more appealing.

In the 2nd verse, the tempo is increased from the Chorus preceding it, holding a steady yet quick pace. This adds contrast and variety to the verses. Following, the pre-chorus brings back build-up by dragging out words and slowing back down again in the last line, similar to the previous pre-chorus.

This section ends with the Chorus being extremely similar to the last, nevertheless, there are small yet impactful differences in phrasing. The first Chorus refers to “Our love would be forever. And if we die, we die together. Lie, I said never. ‘Cause our love would be forever.” However, in the second chorus, Bellamy changes to “Love is forever. And we’ll die, we’ll die together. Lie, I said never. ‘Cause our love could be forever.” This single has been incredibly interesting to analyze since there are so many shifts in both mood and details. These changes stand out to me significantly, especially when looking at the lyrics carefully.

Ending the song is a guitar solo followed by the pre-chorus, chorus, and outro. The solo mimics the second verse. The sound of the guitar is high-pitch with echos and a very electric sound. Muse’s music is very appealing to me because of this aspect. My favorite part of their songs are always their guitar solos because of how they find ways to vary the sounds while still fitting the mood of the song.

After the solo is the final pre-chorus. This final pre-chorus references the first, copying it almost exactly but has now changed the message. The singer goes from using diction that details a desperate feeling, saying “I had nothing left to lose.” to “Now I’ve got nothing left to lose.” which further represents the changes that have undergone in the relationship. It also does a great job at subtly showing passage of time, going from past tense to present. We can also conclude that there is a new sense of independence and confidence when comparing lines from the first pre-chorus “Then we told each other. With no trace of fear that…” to the last pre-chorus “I can tell you now. Without a trace of fear…”

Last, the chorus is very similar to the previous choruses, making some slight changes to represent the passage of time and changed feelings. These small changes make a very large impact on the deeper meaning and truly show how people gradually move apart and fall out of love. The subtle changes may also represent how changes in a partner may not be noticeable due to being used to being around them so often, making differences in feelings and character difficult to pick up on.

Closing, The outro of the song shares characteristics with the beginning of the song. This can be seen even in the music video, where in the intro Bellamy is seen playing alone on a piano with slow, gentle vocals. The intro and outro being similar in style ties together the song even with all the variety within it. Overall, this song is one of my favorites and I never get tired of hearing it come up on my playlist.