Yes, really. Maybe it's a first impressions thing? I first heard it and saw it in my living room in HD on my 55" screen with the sound system effectively pumped. Perhaps it wouldn't have been as effective on me without the visual image of the angry red robot suddenly filling the screen? As an audio/visual presentation I think it's great and hope they do something with it at the live shows. It was just easy to keep perspective on it as just an interlude. Unsustainable was used to herald the album's coming. It wasn't the first single... just the first promotion of the album.

Madness has been a slow burn for me since I was thrown by it as a first choice for a single.. but with each listen I find myself beginning to love it. Supremacy would have had more immediate impact on me, but I'm sure we'll get plenty of that one. It's likely going to be the new opening song for the tour.

One pleasant surprise that has accompanied listening to the entire album repeatedly since I got a hold of it on Tuesday is I'm really loving Survival now. Initially I thought it was fine.. a bit cliche', Muse-style. The Olympics performance didn't help since that choir they had behind them only put the cheese-factor over the top. Now that it stands within the context of the album away from the "official song of the 2012 Summer Olympics" title it's shining brighter. The "Prelude" that now leads into it lends some distinction as an album track. Purely psychological stuff, of course. I doubt I'm the only one though who was initially resistant to it and is now surrendering. The guitars are just so satisfying!

This is the type of album that takes repeated listens before it really begins to take hold. I wasn't immediately floored by it, but there is something addictive about it that keeps me playing it over and over. The only track that I find not working for me is "Explorers." That chorus is way too repetitive.