Muse album described by Alexis Petridis as “epic” extraterrestrial-themed work, featuring a Latin chanting choir

London-based critic Alexis Petridis, writing for The Guardian, reviewed Muse’s most recent album as an outsized, scene-heavy project shaped around extraterrestrial life. In the review, Petridis frames the record as both exuberant and carefully arranged, despite what he describes as its preposterous, theatrical elements.

Petridis says the album moves quickly into its distinctive atmosphere, with a choir appearing in the first minutes. He describes the choir not as conventional singing but as chanting in Latin, with the lyric “Sanctus!” presented as a recurring impression in the sound world the album creates.

The review also points to overtly gothic and cinematic influences. Petridis writes about “Count Dracula organ” sounds, placing the music in a horror-adjacent aesthetic rather than a standard rock template, and he ties those choices to the album’s broader storyline about life beyond Earth.

While describing Muse as scenery “chewingly” theatrical, Petridis also emphasizes that the album’s songwriting includes nuance, characterizing the work as more than just spectacle. He describes the combination of choral passages, Latin liturgical phrasing, and high-drama orchestration as part of an “epic” approach to the extraterrestrial theme.

Petridis’s column positions the record within the mainstream music review cycle by focusing on arrangement and texture, rather than external controversy. He uses the language of grandeur to describe the production, including choir-led moments, and he situates the album’s surreal elements in a carefully stylized sonic environment.

In practical terms for listeners, the review indicates what to expect from the Warner release: large-scale vocal writing, dramatic tone shifts, and a recurring church-like vocal presence. The Guardian piece highlights that the album’s most distinctive feature is not subtlety, but a deliberate, early use of choir chanting and dark organ timbres.

No additional release logistics, track list details, or charting information are provided in the material available for this write-up, and the factual summary here is limited to what the published review describes about the album’s opening impressions and sonic motifs.