The 2nd Law marked a rethink for the UK’s most maximalist rock group. Their previous record, 2009’s The Resistance, blew Muse’s sound wide open, darting from towering rock grooves to R&B experimentation and symphonic serenity. It became their best-selling album but it felt a little like Muse’s bigger, bigger, bigger approach had reached critical mass, the divergence of styles across its 11 tracks suggesting a band gearing up to do something different. For a group who’d always made their moves with an impression of showy drama, though, The 2nd Law was a subtle transformation in the British trio’s sound, one that cross-pollinated their varying sonic explorations. On previous records, Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme, and Dom Howard oscillated from one sound to the next but here, their classic rock crunch, pulsing electronic beats, and classical compositions harmoniously intertwined. Of course, this was subtlety by Muse standards, which means it wasn’t that subtle at all. This was still a record pockmarked with moments of fanciful ridiculousness, such as on the operatic rock epic “Survival,” performed by the group at the London Olympics closing ceremony in 2012, the slap bass-fueled future funk of “Panic Station,” and the James Bond-goes-metal march of opener “Supremacy.” The difference was that everything sounded torn from the same page. Once again self-produced and recorded in studios in London and LA, The 2nd Law also showed off some new tricks. “The 2nd Law: Unsustainable” mixed orchestral urgency with Skrillex-inspired dubstep drops, “The 2nd Law: Isolated System” was all string-drenched techno ambience, and “Madness” was a minimalist (Muse do minimalist!) synth-pop anthem. There was also a Muse first in two Wolstenholme-sung songs—the shimmering “Save Me” and fierce rocker “Liquid State,” written about the bassist’s battle with alcoholism. While their sense of the spectacular remained intact, it’s the more stripped-down and restrained moments that gave The 2nd Law its fascinating dynamism. It was the sound of Muse retooling their formula, a band determined not to rest on their laurels.