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Muse (band)
Encyclopedia
Muse are an English alternative rock
band from Teignmouth
, Devon
, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy
(lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, keytar), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass, backing vocals, keyboards, guitars, harmonica) and Dominic Howard
(drums, percussion, synthesisers, sampling, harmtar). After the release of their 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations
, keyboardist and percussionist Morgan Nicholls
has performed live with the band. Muse are known for their energetic and extravagant live performances and their fusion of many music genre
s, including space rock
, progressive rock
, alternative rock
, heavy metal
, classical music and electronica
.
Muse have released five studio albums: Showbiz (1999), Origin of Symmetry
(2001), Absolution (2003), Black Holes and Revelations
(2006), and The Resistance
(2009). The band have also issued three live albums, Hullabaloo Soundtrack
(2002), which is also a compilation of B-sides, Absolution Tour
(2005), and HAARP (2008).
Black Holes and Revelations earned the band a Mercury Prize
nomination and a third place finish in the NME
Albums of the Year list for 2006.
Muse have also won numerous other music awards throughout their history, including five MTV Europe Music Awards
, five Q Awards
, eight NME Awards
, two BRIT Awards
, an MTV Video Music Award, four Kerrang! Awards and an American Music Award. They were also nominated for three Grammy Award
s, of which they won Best Rock Album
, for their fifth studio album The Resistance
.
in the early 1990s, but the formation of Muse began when Bellamy successfully auditioned for the part of guitarist in Dominic Howard's band. They asked Chris Wolstenholme – who played the drums at the time – to learn to play bass guitar for the band, Wolstenholme agreed and took up lessons, while Bellamy had to become singer and songwriter for the band. The other original members of Gothic Plague left after Bellamy suggested that they write their own songs rather than doing covers.
Bellamy and Howard's first band name was Gothic Plague. After Gothic Plague came Fixed Penalty, and after that, Rocket Baby Dolls. In 1994 the band used the name Rocket Baby Dolls with a goth/glam image to compete in a local battle of the bands
. The band won the contest, smashing their equipment in the process. "It was supposed to be a protest, a statement," Bellamy said, "so, when we actually won, it was a real shock, a massive shock. After that, we started taking ourselves seriously." Shortly after the contest, the three decided to forget university, quit their jobs, change the band name to Muse (1994–1995), and move away from Teignmouth.
The name "Muse" was inspired by Matthew Bellamy's art teacher. The art teacher Samuel Theoun mentioned the word "Muses". Bellamy then looked it up in the dictionary and decided to shorten it to "Muse." It was also used because it was short and the members felt it looked good on a poster.
. The band had a significant meeting with Dennis Smith, the owner of Sawmills Studio
, situated in a converted water mill in Cornwall
. He had seen the three boys grow up as he knew their parents and had a production company together with their manager to be Safta Jaffery
.
This meeting led to their first proper recordings and the release of the Muse EP
on Sawmills' in-house Dangerous label. Their second EP, the Muscle Museum EP, reached number 3 in the indie singles chart and attracted the attention of British radio broadcaster Steve Lamacq
as well as the weekly British music publication NME. Dennis Smith introduced the band to Safta Jaffery
with whom he had recently started the record label Taste Media
. Muse signed with Smith and Jaffery and recorded their first three albums, Showbiz, Origin of Symmetry
, and Absolution, with Taste Media
.
Despite the success of their second EP, British record companies were reluctant to sign Muse. It was after a trip to New York's CMJ Festival that an American record label flew them to Los Angeles to showcase. Nanci Walker, then Sr. Director of A&R at Columbia Records, flew Muse to the U.S. to showcase for Columbia Records' then-Senior Vice President of A&R, Tim Devine, as well as for American Recording's Rick Rubin. It was during this trip, on 24 December 1998, that Muse signed a deal with Maverick Records.
Upon their return from America, Taste Media arranged deals for Muse with various record labels in Europe and Australia, allowing them to maintain control over their career in individual countries.
John Leckie
was brought in to produce the band's first record, Showbiz. The album effectively showcased Muse’s aggressive yet melancholic musical style. Lyrics in the songs referenced human relationships and difficulties they had encountered while trying to establish themselves in their hometown.
, the band experimented with instrumentation such as a church organ, Mellotron
, and an expanded drum kit. There were more of Bellamy's high-pitched vocal lines, arpeggiated
guitar, and piano playing. Bellamy cites guitar influences such as Jimi Hendrix
and Tom Morello
(of Rage Against the Machine
and Audioslave
), the latter evident in the more riff
-based songs in Origin of Symmetry and in Bellamy's extensive use of pitch-shifting effects in his solos. The album also features a reworking of Anthony Newley
and Leslie Bricusse
's "Feeling Good
".
In 2002, Muse threatened Celine Dion
with legal action when she planned to name her Las Vegas
show "Muse", despite the band owning the worldwide performing rights to the name. Dion offered Muse $50,000 for the rights, but they turned it down. Bellamy later stated that "We don't want to turn up there with people thinking we're Celine Dion's backing band." Eventually Dion was forced to back down.
Origin of Symmetry was well-received by critics; NME gave the album 9/10 with Roger Morton writing, "It's amazing for such a young band to load up with a heritage that includes the darker visions of Cobain
and Kafka, Mahler and The Tiger Lillies, Cronenberg
and Schoenberg
, and make a sexy, populist album. But Muse have carried it off."
Maverick had reservations about Bellamy's vocal style on this album (considering it not to be "radio-friendly") and asked Muse to change some of their songs prior to U.S. release. The band refused and left Maverick, resulting in Maverick's decision not to release Origin of Symmetry in the United States. The album was finally released in the U.S. in September 2005, after Muse signed to Warner Bros.
Muse released a live DVD, Hullabaloo, featuring live footage recorded during Muse's two gigs on consecutive nights at Le Zenith in Paris in 2001 and a documentary film of the band on tour. A double album, Hullabaloo Soundtrack
was released at the same time, containing a compilation of B-sides and a disc of recordings of songs from the Le Zenith performances. A double-A side single was also released featuring new songs "In Your World" and "Dead Star
".
Absolution (produced by Rich Costey
) was released in 2003 and debuted at number one in the UK. The album yielded their first top ten hit with "Time Is Running Out" and later three top-twenty hits: "Hysteria", "Sing for Absolution
" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes
". Muse subsequently undertook an international tour in support of the album. It continued for about a year and saw Muse visiting Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and France. Meanwhile, the band released six singles (one being for charity) ("Time Is Running Out", "Hysteria", "Sing for Absolution", "Stockholm Syndrome
", "Butterflies and Hurricanes" and "Apocalypse Please
"). The US leg of the 2004 tour began ominously as Bellamy injured himself on stage during the opening show in Atlanta. The tour resumed after several stitches and a couple of days.
The band also played at the Glastonbury Festival
in June 2004. After the festival, the band described the concert as "the best gig of our lives". However, drummer Dominic Howard's father, William Howard, who was at the festival to watch the band, died from a heart attack very shortly after the performance. "It was the biggest feeling of achievement we've ever had after coming offstage", Bellamy said. "It was almost surreal that an hour later his dad died. It was almost not believable. We spent about a week sort of just with Howard trying to support him. I think he was happy that at least his dad got to see him at probably what was the finest moment so far of the band's life". Muse then continued their tour. They won two MTV Europe awards, including "Best Alternative Act" and a Q Award for "Best Live Act". Muse also received an award for "Best Live Act" at the 2005 BRIT Awards. Muse lost out twice to The Libertines
for the NME
award Best British Band, in 2004 and 2005. In July 2005, Muse participated in the Live 8
concert in Paris
.
2003 saw the band sue Nestlé
, who used their cover of Nina Simone
's "Feeling Good" on an advert for Nescafé without the band's permission. They donated the compensation money to Oxfam
.The main reason behind the legal action was the bassist, Christopher Wolstenholme, who at the time had his third child, and was against the company that had a dubious reputation when it came to the promotion of powdered milk to new mothers in the third world.
An unofficial and unauthorised DVD biography containing no Muse music called Manic Depression was released in April 2005; the band was not involved with the project and did not endorse the release. Another DVD, this time official, was released by the band on 12 December 2005, called Absolution Tour
. The official release contained re-edited and re-mastered highlights from the Glastonbury Festival 2004 and previously unseen footage from London Earls Court, Wembley Arena, and the Wiltern Theatre
in Los Angeles. Two songs, "Endlessly" and "Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist", are hidden tracks on the DVD taken from Wembley Arena. The only song from Absolution not to appear on the live DVD is "Falling Away With You", which has never been performed live to date. Absolution eventually went Gold
in the US.
In 2006, Muse released their fourth album, Black Holes and Revelations
, co-produced by Muse and Rich Costey. The album's title and themes are the result of the band's fascination with science fiction and political outrage. The album charted at No. 1 in the UK, much of Europe, and Australia. It was also a success in the United States, reaching number nine on the Billboard 200
album chart. Prior to the release of the new album, the band resumed making live performances, which had halted while recording, making a number of promotional TV appearances starting on 13 May 2006 at BBC
Radio 1's Big Weekend. The Black Holes and Revelations Tour
started just before the release of their album and initially consisted mostly of festival appearances, most notably a headline slot at the Reading and Leeds Festivals
in August 2006. The band's main touring itinerary started with a tour of North America from late July to early August 2006. After the last of the summer festivals, a tour of Europe began, including a large arena tour of the UK. Black Holes and Revelations was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize, but lost to Arctic Monkeys
. The album did, however, earn a Platinum Europe Award after selling one million copies in the continent. In August 2006, Muse recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios
for Live from Abbey Road
.
The first single from the album, "Supermassive Black Hole", was released as a download in May 2006. It was later followed by general releases as a single the next month, all ahead of the main album release. The second single, "Starlight", was released in September 2006. "Knights of Cydonia
" was released in the US as a radio-only single in June 2006 and in the UK in November 2006. "Knights of Cydonia" was voted number 1 in the world's largest music poll Australian Radio's Triple J Hottest 100
for 2007 and 18th in Triple J's Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009. The fourth single from the album, "Invincible
", was then released in April 2007. Another single, "Map of the Problematique
", was released for digital download only in June 2007, following the band's performance at Wembley Stadium.
The band spent November and much of December 2006 touring Europe with British band Noisettes
as the supporting act. The tour continued in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia in early 2007 before returning to England for the summer. Possibly their biggest performances to date were two gigs at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium
on 16 and 17 June 2007, which they opened using the piece "Montagues and Capulets". Both Wembley concerts were recorded for a DVD/CD titled HAARP, which was released on 17 March 2008 in the UK and 1 April 2008 in the USA. The touring continued across Europe in July 2007 before heading back to the US in August where they played to a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden
, New York. They earned a headline spot on the second night of the Austin City Limits Music Festival
on 15 September 2007, after The White Stripes
cancelled their performance. Not long after, they also performed at the October 2007 Vegoose
in Las Vegas alongside bands like Rage Against the Machine
, Daft Punk
, and Queens of the Stone Age
. Muse continued touring in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Scandinavia before moving on to Australia and New Zealand. Muse played their final show of the Black Holes and Revelations tour as headliner of the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas after playing to sell-out crowds throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand.
A number of individual live appearances also occurred in 2008. In March, they played concerts in Dubai
, Johannesburg
, and Cape Town
. On 12 April they played a one-off concert at the Royal Albert Hall
in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust
.
Muse were present at Rock in Rio
Lisboa on 6 June, along other bands such as Kaiser Chiefs
, The Offspring
and Linkin Park
.
The band also performed at a new gig in Marlay Park
, Dublin on 13 August and were set to play at a gig in Belfast
on 14 August. However, the Belfast date was dismissed according to The Belfast Telegraph
. Kasabian and Glasvegas
supported Muse on their Irish date.
A few days later, they were the headline act at V Festival
2008, playing in Chelmsford on Saturday 16 August and Staffordshire on Sunday 17 August.
They also hinted at the possibility of a future stadium tour or concerts in South America.
On 25 September 2008, Bellamy, Howard and Wolstenholme all received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Plymouth
for their contributions to music.
was released in September 2009. It is the first Muse album to have been produced by the band itself. The album was engineered by Adrian Bushby and mixed by Mark Stent
. On its release, it topped the album charts in 19 countries, became the band's third number one album in the UK, and reached number 3 on the Billboard 200
. Critics were mostly positive about the album, with much of the praise directed towards its ambition, classical music influences and the thirteen-minute, three-part "Exogenesis: Symphony
". It also beat its predecessor Black Holes and Revelations in relative album sales in its debut week in the UK with approximately 148,000 copies sold. The first single, "Uprising
", was released seven days earlier.
The Resistance Tour
started with a Seaside Rendezvous in Teignmouth
, Devon in September 2009 and included headlining Coachella Festival in April 2010. It also included two gigs at Wembley Stadium in September 2010. The band also supported U2
for their U2 360° Tour
. In the "Breakfast with Muse Concert" KROQ-FM
held, Muse was asked how long they would be on tour. They commented saying in a paraphrase, "We will probably be touring until the end of next year. We will be doing this U2 and European tour and ship off to Australia and Asia and return for an extensive US tour. It will actually be our longest US tour to date. Starting at about the end of February or March."
In January 2010, Muse headlined the Big Day Out
festival at its various venues in Australia and New Zealand starting with Auckland
and eventually ending with Perth
. Muse headlined Coachella on Saturday 17 April. Muse also headlined the Glastonbury Festival 2010
along with Gorillaz
and Stevie Wonder
as well as the Oxegen
festival in 2010 alongside Arcade Fire and Eminem
. The group were also headline on the 2010 Hovefestivalen, as well as T in the Park 2010
and among other festivals, including the Austin City Limits Music Festival
. On 20 April 2010, the band announced fourteen dates for a North American tour, which were to be held between September and November 2010. In addition to this, the band had added further four dates to their forthcoming North American tour, on 28 April 2010. On 7 May 2010, it was announced that Muse would provide a pre-written song to be the lead single for the third film of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. The soundtrack
's lead single "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)
" was released on 17 May.
Muse played at Glastonbury in June 2010 and were joined onstage by The Edge
from U2
to play "Where the Streets Have No Name
", after U2 pulled out of their headlining slot due to lead singer Bono
's back injury.
Muse's fearsome live reputation helped secure them the O2 Silver Clef Award
in London on 2 July 2010. The award was presented by Roger Taylor and Brian May
of Queen
. Taylor described the Warner-signed trio as "probably the greatest live act in the world today," while May said that "this is a magnificent, incredible group."
On 12 July 2010, bassist Chris Wolstenholme informed NME
magazine that the band would be taking a break following the conclusion of their world tour supporting The Resistance
. He also stated that the band would definitely begin recording material for a new album in 2011. Also, on 8 September, frontman Matthew Bellamy claimed in an interview with NME that the music for the band's next studio album would be more "personal" and more fitting for smaller scale performances as opposed to their current stadium tour.
In 2010, Muse topped a poll by popular music magazine NME for their cover of Nina Simone
's song "Feeling Good" as the greatest cover song of all time. Over 15,000 people voted.
On 12 September 2010, Muse won an MTV Video Music Award in the category of Best Special Effects, for the promo for "Uprising
". On 21 November, Muse took home an American Music Award for Favorite Artist in the Alternative Rock Music Category, in a ceremony at the Nokia Theater
, Los Angeles. On 2 December, it was announced that Muse had been nominated for three awards for the 53rd Grammy Awards
: Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals – ("Resistance
"); Best Rock Song – ("Resistance
"), and Best Rock Album: (The Resistance
). Based on having the largest airplay and sales in the U.S, Muse were named the Billboard Alternative and Rock
artist for 2010 with "Uprising
", "Resistance
" and "Undisclosed Desires
" achieving 1st, 6th and 49th on the year end Alternative Song chart respectively. At the 53rd Grammy Awards on 13 February 2011, Muse won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album
for The Resistance.
Muse have won an Ivor Novello Award (celebration and recognition of British music writing talent). The band were presented with the award for International Achievement at the ceremony in London, on Thursday 19 May.
On 30 July, Muse supported Rage Against the Machine
at their only 2011 gig at the L.A. Rising festival. Muse were chosen by Rage Against the Machine
themselves along with Rise Against
, Lauryn Hill
, Immortal Technique
and El Gran Silencio
. On 13 August, Muse headlined the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
in San Francisco.
Muse headlined the Reading and Leeds Festivals
in August 2011. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of their second studio album Origin of Symmetry, the band performed all eleven tracks from top to bottom during their set. Muse also headlined Lollapalooza
in Chicago's
Grant Park
in August 2011.
on 18 October 2011, the band's manager Anthony Addis revealed that Muse have already begun recording their sixth album in London and that he expected it to be released by October 2012.
band, and are often associated with space rock
and progressive rock
. Their music currently mixes sounds from genres such as electronic music
, hard rock
, classical music and rock opera
. The band was described as a "trashy three-piece" by Matthew Bellamy on the BBC during 2002.
On the band's association with progressive rock, Dominic Howard has said: "I associate it with 10-minute guitar solos, but I guess we kind of come into the category. A lot of bands are quite ambitious with their music, mixing lots of different styles – and when I see that I think it's great. I've noticed that kind of thing becoming a bit more mainstream."
(Nirvana
and The Smashing Pumpkins
), alternative metal
(Rage Against the Machine
and Deftones
), as well as an early appreciation of more diverse musical genres like progressive rock
(Rush
), classical music (Frédéric Chopin
and Sergei Rachmaninov) and Latin music.
In their second release (the Origin of Symmetry
album), the band wanted to enhance their sound into a more progressive, confident and aggressive sound. Muse experimented with uncommon instruments such a pipe organ
, improved drum kits and more prominent electronic arrangements as well as more ambitious lyrical themes.
Their third release, Absolution, followed its predecessor's tendency, increasing the band's heaviness and intensity alongside its ambitious thematics. The album also features songs with prominent string arrangements and starts to draw influences from artists such as Queen
, while the album's cover art was designed by Pink Floyd
's album art guru Storm Thorgerrson.
Their fourth album, Black Holes and Revelations
is a more electronica
- and space rock
-oriented album, though some tracks keep the heaviness of the band's previous work, while others show a more melodic style, akin to the musical style of their Showbiz album. Black Holes and Revelations was influenced by artists like Depeche Mode
and Lightning Bolt, as well by various styles of European and Asian music, known as Naples music
; additionally, the band listened to radio stations from the Middle East during the album's recording sessions.
Muse's fifth album, The Resistance
is centered on the symphonic rock
and progressive rock genres. Although it is sonically softer than its predecessors, it still contains the heavy compositions for which Muse has become known. The album is heavily influenced by classical music as well as rock acts such as Queen and U2
. Queen's guitarist Brian May
has praised Muse's work, calling the band "extraordinary musicians" who "let their madness show through, always a good thing in an artist."
Critics have made comparisons between Muse's early work with that of English alternative rock band Radiohead
, with criticism directed towards Bellamy's vocal style. Regarding the topic, Howard has shown to liking Radiohead's music. Additionally, in a 1999 issue of the French magazine Rock Sound, Matt named The Bends by Radiohead & Nirvana's Nevermind as the most important albums of the decade. However since then the band have retracted these statements various times and have stated that what they meant to say was that Nirvana and Radiohead were the most successful alternative rock bands in the 90's, and were influential to many bands, but that does not necessarily mean that Radiohead was an influence for them. On the other hand Muse acknowledges the band Nirvana as a major influence. Singer and composer Matthew Bellamy
has stated at various times that Radiohead "really don't do much for me" and attributes the similarities to the fact that both bands are notably influenced by the alternative rock musician Jeff Buckley
.
and vibrato
, influenced primarily by Jeff Buckley
. As pianist, Matt Bellamy often utilises the broken chords technique (arpeggio
) on several piano-based songs. Some influences in Bellamy's playing include classical
and Romantic era
composers such as Sergei Rachmaninov, Ludwig Van Beethoven
, Franz Liszt
, and Frédéric Chopin
among others. He also draws influence from more contemporary composers, namely Philip Glass
.
In many Muse songs the bass line is used as the central motif, often with the guitar providing an extra layer to the song, adding embellishment to the bass. The bass usually has distortion and other effects applied to it, to achieve a greater weight and depth, allowing the guitar to serve as counterfoil to the main chord progression, often playing higher notes, or electronic sounds. Both bass and guitar also play unison parts on occasion, adding emphasis to specific melodies and riffs (see 'Hysteria' post-second chorus; 'Dead Star' main riff). As a guitarist, Bellamy often utilises arpeggiator and Pitch-shift effects to create a more "electric" sound, citing Jimi Hendrix
and Tom Morello
as influences for this method.
and difficulties they had encountered while trying to establish themselves in their hometown. However, with the band's progress, their song concepts have become more ambitious, addressing issues such as the fear of the evolution of technology, in their Origin of Symmetry
album. They deal with the apocalypse
and catastrophic conflicts, in Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations
respectively, and with a worldwide revolution in The Resistance
, as well as themes of a new world order throughout these albums.
Books that have influenced Muse lyrical thematics include: Nineteen Eighty-Four
by George Orwell
, Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control
by Kathleen Taylor
, Hyperspace
by Michio Kaku
, and The 12th Planet by Zecharia Sitchin
. The band has also been influenced by 19th century
political theorist Henry George
.
Live members
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band from Teignmouth
Teignmouth
Teignmouth is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon, situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign about 14 miles south of Exeter. It has a population of 14,413. In 1690, it was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power...
, Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
, formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy
Matthew Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist, and main songwriter of the alternative rock band Muse.-Early life:...
(lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, keytar), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass, backing vocals, keyboards, guitars, harmonica) and Dominic Howard
Dominic Howard
Dominic James "Dom" Howard , is the drummer for the English rock band Muse.-Early life:Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with his family to Teignmouth, a small town in Devon. He began playing drums at about the age of 12, when he...
(drums, percussion, synthesisers, sampling, harmtar). After the release of their 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production...
, keyboardist and percussionist Morgan Nicholls
Morgan Nicholls
Morgan Nicholls is an English musician, member of Senseless Things and best known for performing with Gorillaz, The Streets, Muse and most recently Lily Allen. He released one solo album under the name Morgan.-Career:...
has performed live with the band. Muse are known for their energetic and extravagant live performances and their fusion of many music genre
Music genre
A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other types of music...
s, including space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
, progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
, alternative rock
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
, heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, classical music and electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
.
Muse have released five studio albums: Showbiz (1999), Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 July 2001 by Taste Records. In the UK it reached #3 and was certified platinum. The title for the album comes from a concept put forward by Michio Kaku in his book Hyperspace.On Origin of Symmetry,...
(2001), Absolution (2003), Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production...
(2006), and The Resistance
The Resistance (album)
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
(2009). The band have also issued three live albums, Hullabaloo Soundtrack
Hullabaloo Soundtrack
Notes*A sample of Tom Waits's "What's He Building?" can be heard in disc two's pregap *The Intro of Rachmaninov's 'Prelude in C Sharp Minor "The Bells of Moscow"' is played at the beginning of Track 7 Disc 2.-Japanese release track listing:...
(2002), which is also a compilation of B-sides, Absolution Tour
Absolution Tour
Absolution Tour is a live video album by English alternative rock band Muse. Released on 12 December 2005, the DVD release documents the band's performance at the 2004 Glastonbury Festival...
(2005), and HAARP (2008).
Black Holes and Revelations earned the band a Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
nomination and a third place finish in the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
Albums of the Year list for 2006.
Muse have also won numerous other music awards throughout their history, including five MTV Europe Music Awards
MTV Europe Music Awards
The MTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Networks Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Originally beginning as an alternative to the American MTV Video Music Awards, the MTV Europe Music Awards is today a popular celebration of what MTV viewers consider...
, five Q Awards
Q Awards
The Q Awards are the UK's annual music awards run by the music magazine Q. Since they began in 1990, the Q Awards have become one of Britain's biggest and best publicised music awards, helped in no small part by the often boisterous behavior of the celebrities who attend the event...
, eight NME Awards
NME Awards
The NME Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine, NME .The first awards show was held in 1953 as the NME Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding of the magazine....
, two BRIT Awards
Brit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
, an MTV Video Music Award, four Kerrang! Awards and an American Music Award. They were also nominated for three Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
s, of which they won Best Rock Album
Grammy Award for Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre...
, for their fifth studio album The Resistance
The Resistance (album)
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
.
1992–1998: Formation and early years
The members of Muse played in separate school bands during their stay at Teignmouth Community CollegeTeignmouth Community College
Teignmouth Community School is a Community Academy in Teignmouth, Devon, England for pupils aged 3 - 19, and as of 2010 has approximately 1,555 on roll of which around 170 are in the Sixth Form. It is the only non fee secondary school in the town, with other secondary education in Teignmouth being...
in the early 1990s, but the formation of Muse began when Bellamy successfully auditioned for the part of guitarist in Dominic Howard's band. They asked Chris Wolstenholme – who played the drums at the time – to learn to play bass guitar for the band, Wolstenholme agreed and took up lessons, while Bellamy had to become singer and songwriter for the band. The other original members of Gothic Plague left after Bellamy suggested that they write their own songs rather than doing covers.
Bellamy and Howard's first band name was Gothic Plague. After Gothic Plague came Fixed Penalty, and after that, Rocket Baby Dolls. In 1994 the band used the name Rocket Baby Dolls with a goth/glam image to compete in a local battle of the bands
Battle of the Bands
Battle of Bands is a contest in which two or more bands compete for the title of "best band". The winner is determined by a panel of judges, the general response of the audience, or a combination. The winning band usually receives a prize in addition to bragging rights. Traditionally, battles of...
. The band won the contest, smashing their equipment in the process. "It was supposed to be a protest, a statement," Bellamy said, "so, when we actually won, it was a real shock, a massive shock. After that, we started taking ourselves seriously." Shortly after the contest, the three decided to forget university, quit their jobs, change the band name to Muse (1994–1995), and move away from Teignmouth.
The name "Muse" was inspired by Matthew Bellamy's art teacher. The art teacher Samuel Theoun mentioned the word "Muses". Bellamy then looked it up in the dictionary and decided to shorten it to "Muse." It was also used because it was short and the members felt it looked good on a poster.
1998–2000: First EPs and Showbiz
After a few years building a fan base, Muse played their first gigs in London and ManchesterManchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. The band had a significant meeting with Dennis Smith, the owner of Sawmills Studio
Sawmills Studio
Sawmills Studios, created in 1974 near Golant on the banks of the River Fowey in Cornwall, England is best known as the recording studio used by musicians such as Robert Plant, Oasis, The Coronas, The Verve, Supergrass, Muse, The Holloways, Razorlight, The Stone Roses, The Dukes of Stratosphear ...
, situated in a converted water mill in Cornwall
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
. He had seen the three boys grow up as he knew their parents and had a production company together with their manager to be Safta Jaffery
Safta Jaffery
Safta Jaffery is the founder/owner of one of the first producer management companies in the UK, . The producers in his company have produced albums for artists such as Radiohead, The Stone Roses, Roger Waters, Rolling Stones, Razorlight, Supergrass, Coldplay and The Cure, among others...
.
This meeting led to their first proper recordings and the release of the Muse EP
Muse (EP)
-Personnel:Muse*Matthew Bellamy – lead vocals, guitar, piano, production*Christopher Wolstenholme – bass, backing vocals, production*Dominic Howard – drums, percussion, artwork, productionAdditional personnel...
on Sawmills' in-house Dangerous label. Their second EP, the Muscle Museum EP, reached number 3 in the indie singles chart and attracted the attention of British radio broadcaster Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq
Steve Lamacq , sometimes known by his nicknames Lammo or "The Cat" is an English disc jockey, currently working with the BBC radio stations BBC 6 Music and BBC Radio 2.-Early career:He was born in Basingstoke, Hampshire...
as well as the weekly British music publication NME. Dennis Smith introduced the band to Safta Jaffery
Safta Jaffery
Safta Jaffery is the founder/owner of one of the first producer management companies in the UK, . The producers in his company have produced albums for artists such as Radiohead, The Stone Roses, Roger Waters, Rolling Stones, Razorlight, Supergrass, Coldplay and The Cure, among others...
with whom he had recently started the record label Taste Media
Taste Media
Taste Media is a record label and production company that has released records for bands such as Muse and Shed Seven. The company was formed by Safta Jaffery and Dennis Smith, who owned the Sawmills recording studio in Cornwall.-History:Taste Media recorded three of Muse's albums, Showbiz, Origin...
. Muse signed with Smith and Jaffery and recorded their first three albums, Showbiz, Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 July 2001 by Taste Records. In the UK it reached #3 and was certified platinum. The title for the album comes from a concept put forward by Michio Kaku in his book Hyperspace.On Origin of Symmetry,...
, and Absolution, with Taste Media
Taste Media
Taste Media is a record label and production company that has released records for bands such as Muse and Shed Seven. The company was formed by Safta Jaffery and Dennis Smith, who owned the Sawmills recording studio in Cornwall.-History:Taste Media recorded three of Muse's albums, Showbiz, Origin...
.
Despite the success of their second EP, British record companies were reluctant to sign Muse. It was after a trip to New York's CMJ Festival that an American record label flew them to Los Angeles to showcase. Nanci Walker, then Sr. Director of A&R at Columbia Records, flew Muse to the U.S. to showcase for Columbia Records' then-Senior Vice President of A&R, Tim Devine, as well as for American Recording's Rick Rubin. It was during this trip, on 24 December 1998, that Muse signed a deal with Maverick Records.
Upon their return from America, Taste Media arranged deals for Muse with various record labels in Europe and Australia, allowing them to maintain control over their career in individual countries.
John Leckie
John Leckie
John Leckie is a British music producer, notable for producing many high-profile albums such as The Stone Roses's debut and Radiohead's The Bends...
was brought in to produce the band's first record, Showbiz. The album effectively showcased Muse’s aggressive yet melancholic musical style. Lyrics in the songs referenced human relationships and difficulties they had encountered while trying to establish themselves in their hometown.
2001–02: Origin of Symmetry
During production of the band's second album, Origin of SymmetryOrigin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 July 2001 by Taste Records. In the UK it reached #3 and was certified platinum. The title for the album comes from a concept put forward by Michio Kaku in his book Hyperspace.On Origin of Symmetry,...
, the band experimented with instrumentation such as a church organ, Mellotron
Mellotron
The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, and an expanded drum kit. There were more of Bellamy's high-pitched vocal lines, arpeggiated
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
guitar, and piano playing. Bellamy cites guitar influences such as Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and Tom Morello
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...
(of Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
and Audioslave
Audioslave
Audioslave was an American rock supergroup that formed in Los Angeles, California in 2001. It consisted of former Soundgarden lead singer/rhythm guitarist Chris Cornell and the former instrumentalists of Rage Against the Machine: Tom Morello , Tim Commerford and Brad Wilk...
), the latter evident in the more riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
-based songs in Origin of Symmetry and in Bellamy's extensive use of pitch-shifting effects in his solos. The album also features a reworking of Anthony Newley
Anthony Newley
Anthony George Newley was an English actor, singer and songwriter. He enjoyed success as a performer in such diverse fields as rock and roll and stage and screen acting.-Early life:...
and Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse
Leslie Bricusse is an English composer, lyricist, and playwright.Although best known for his partnership with Anthony Newley, Bricusse has worked with many other composers. He was educated at University College School in London and Gonville and Caius College, Cambridge...
's "Feeling Good
Feeling Good
"Feeling Good" is a song written by English singer-songwriters Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse for the 1965 musical The Roar of the Greasepaint - The Smell of the Crowd starring Cy Grant, who sang the original version of the song...
".
In 2002, Muse threatened Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...
with legal action when she planned to name her Las Vegas
Las Vegas Strip
The Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
show "Muse", despite the band owning the worldwide performing rights to the name. Dion offered Muse $50,000 for the rights, but they turned it down. Bellamy later stated that "We don't want to turn up there with people thinking we're Celine Dion's backing band." Eventually Dion was forced to back down.
Origin of Symmetry was well-received by critics; NME gave the album 9/10 with Roger Morton writing, "It's amazing for such a young band to load up with a heritage that includes the darker visions of Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
and Kafka, Mahler and The Tiger Lillies, Cronenberg
David Cronenberg
David Paul Cronenberg, OC, FRSC is a Canadian filmmaker, screenwriter and actor. He is one of the principal originators of what is commonly known as the body horror or venereal horror genre. This style of filmmaking explores people's fears of bodily transformation and infection. In his films, the...
and Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg
Arnold Schoenberg was an Austrian composer, associated with the expressionist movement in German poetry and art, and leader of the Second Viennese School...
, and make a sexy, populist album. But Muse have carried it off."
Maverick had reservations about Bellamy's vocal style on this album (considering it not to be "radio-friendly") and asked Muse to change some of their songs prior to U.S. release. The band refused and left Maverick, resulting in Maverick's decision not to release Origin of Symmetry in the United States. The album was finally released in the U.S. in September 2005, after Muse signed to Warner Bros.
Muse released a live DVD, Hullabaloo, featuring live footage recorded during Muse's two gigs on consecutive nights at Le Zenith in Paris in 2001 and a documentary film of the band on tour. A double album, Hullabaloo Soundtrack
Hullabaloo Soundtrack
Notes*A sample of Tom Waits's "What's He Building?" can be heard in disc two's pregap *The Intro of Rachmaninov's 'Prelude in C Sharp Minor "The Bells of Moscow"' is played at the beginning of Track 7 Disc 2.-Japanese release track listing:...
was released at the same time, containing a compilation of B-sides and a disc of recordings of songs from the Le Zenith performances. A double-A side single was also released featuring new songs "In Your World" and "Dead Star
Dead Star/In Your World
"Dead Star" and "In Your World" are songs by the English rock band Muse. Written for and included in a live form on their compilation album Hullabaloo Soundtrack, the songs were released as a double A-side single to promote the album, and as an EP in Japan and France. The single reached number...
".
2003–05: Absolution
Rich Costey
Rich Costey is an American record producer, engineer, and mixer who has worked with many bands including Muse, Cave In, Thursday, Franz Ferdinand, Glasvegas, The Mars Volta, Doves, Bloc Party, Ontronik , Jimmy Eat World, My Chemical Romance, Supergrass, Audioslave, Rage Against the Machine, Nine...
) was released in 2003 and debuted at number one in the UK. The album yielded their first top ten hit with "Time Is Running Out" and later three top-twenty hits: "Hysteria", "Sing for Absolution
Sing For Absolution
"Sing for Absolution" is a song by English rock band Muse, serving as the title track for their third studio album, Absolution. It was released in May 2004 as the fourth single from that album, peaking at #16 in the UK Singles Chart . The song also appears on the Absolution Tour DVD...
" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes
Butterflies and Hurricanes
"Butterflies and Hurricanes" is a song by Muse from their third album, Absolution, and was the last single released from the album. It was one of two songs recorded with a string section, both of which were recorded, along with an early version of "Apocalypse Please", during the initial stages of...
". Muse subsequently undertook an international tour in support of the album. It continued for about a year and saw Muse visiting Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and France. Meanwhile, the band released six singles (one being for charity) ("Time Is Running Out", "Hysteria", "Sing for Absolution", "Stockholm Syndrome
Stockholm Syndrome (song)
"Stockholm Syndrome" is a song by the English alternative rock band Muse from their third studio album: Absolution. The song was released as the album's lead single and also appears on the Absolution live DVD. It was released alongside its artwork as a download-only single through the...
", "Butterflies and Hurricanes" and "Apocalypse Please
Apocalypse Please
"Apocalypse Please", also known as "Emergency", is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, featured on their 2003 third studio album Absolution. Written by lead vocalist, guitarist and pianist Matthew Bellamy, a live version of the song was released as a digital download single on 23 August...
"). The US leg of the 2004 tour began ominously as Bellamy injured himself on stage during the opening show in Atlanta. The tour resumed after several stitches and a couple of days.
The band also played at the Glastonbury Festival
Glastonbury Festival
The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts, commonly abbreviated to Glastonbury or even Glasto, is a performing arts festival that takes place near Pilton, Somerset, England, best known for its contemporary music, but also for dance, comedy, theatre, circus, cabaret and other arts.The...
in June 2004. After the festival, the band described the concert as "the best gig of our lives". However, drummer Dominic Howard's father, William Howard, who was at the festival to watch the band, died from a heart attack very shortly after the performance. "It was the biggest feeling of achievement we've ever had after coming offstage", Bellamy said. "It was almost surreal that an hour later his dad died. It was almost not believable. We spent about a week sort of just with Howard trying to support him. I think he was happy that at least his dad got to see him at probably what was the finest moment so far of the band's life". Muse then continued their tour. They won two MTV Europe awards, including "Best Alternative Act" and a Q Award for "Best Live Act". Muse also received an award for "Best Live Act" at the 2005 BRIT Awards. Muse lost out twice to The Libertines
The Libertines
The Libertines were an English rock band, formed in London in 1997 by frontmen Carl Barât and Pete Doherty . The band, centred on the song-writing partnership of Barat and Doherty, also included John Hassall and Gary Powell for most of its recording career...
for the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
award Best British Band, in 2004 and 2005. In July 2005, Muse participated in the Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert in Paris
Live 8 concert, Paris
On 2 July 2005, a Live 8 concert was held at the Palais de Versailles, Paris, France.The event is also referred to as "Live 8 Paris" or "Live 8 France"...
.
2003 saw the band sue Nestlé
Nestlé
Nestlé S.A. is the world's largest food and nutrition company. Founded and headquartered in Vevey, Switzerland, Nestlé originated in a 1905 merger of the Anglo-Swiss Milk Company, established in 1867 by brothers George Page and Charles Page, and Farine Lactée Henri Nestlé, founded in 1866 by Henri...
, who used their cover of Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
's "Feeling Good" on an advert for Nescafé without the band's permission. They donated the compensation money to Oxfam
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
.The main reason behind the legal action was the bassist, Christopher Wolstenholme, who at the time had his third child, and was against the company that had a dubious reputation when it came to the promotion of powdered milk to new mothers in the third world.
An unofficial and unauthorised DVD biography containing no Muse music called Manic Depression was released in April 2005; the band was not involved with the project and did not endorse the release. Another DVD, this time official, was released by the band on 12 December 2005, called Absolution Tour
Absolution Tour
Absolution Tour is a live video album by English alternative rock band Muse. Released on 12 December 2005, the DVD release documents the band's performance at the 2004 Glastonbury Festival...
. The official release contained re-edited and re-mastered highlights from the Glastonbury Festival 2004 and previously unseen footage from London Earls Court, Wembley Arena, and the Wiltern Theatre
Wiltern Theatre
The Wiltern Theatre and adjacent 12-story Pellissier Building are Art Deco architectural landmarks located on the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Western Avenue in Los Angeles, California. The entire complex is commonly referred to as the Wiltern Center...
in Los Angeles. Two songs, "Endlessly" and "Thoughts Of A Dying Atheist", are hidden tracks on the DVD taken from Wembley Arena. The only song from Absolution not to appear on the live DVD is "Falling Away With You", which has never been performed live to date. Absolution eventually went Gold
RIAA certification
In the United States, the Recording Industry Association of America awards certification based on the number of albums and singles sold through retail and other ancillary markets. Other countries have similar awards...
in the US.
2006–08: Black Holes and Revelations and HAARP
Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production...
, co-produced by Muse and Rich Costey. The album's title and themes are the result of the band's fascination with science fiction and political outrage. The album charted at No. 1 in the UK, much of Europe, and Australia. It was also a success in the United States, reaching number nine on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
album chart. Prior to the release of the new album, the band resumed making live performances, which had halted while recording, making a number of promotional TV appearances starting on 13 May 2006 at BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Radio 1's Big Weekend. The Black Holes and Revelations Tour
Black Holes and Revelations Tour
The Black Holes and Revelations Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English alternative rock band Muse in support of their fourth studio album Black Holes and Revelations...
started just before the release of their album and initially consisted mostly of festival appearances, most notably a headline slot at the Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
in August 2006. The band's main touring itinerary started with a tour of North America from late July to early August 2006. After the last of the summer festivals, a tour of Europe began, including a large arena tour of the UK. Black Holes and Revelations was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize, but lost to Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys
Arctic Monkeys are an English indie rock band. Formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, the band currently consists of Alex Turner , Jamie Cook , Nick O'Malley and Matt Helders...
. The album did, however, earn a Platinum Europe Award after selling one million copies in the continent. In August 2006, Muse recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
for Live from Abbey Road
Live from Abbey Road
Live from Abbey Road is a 12-part, one-hour performance series/documentary that began filming its first season during 2006 at Abbey Road Studios in London. Season 2 was filmed between 2007 and 2008, season 3 was filmed in 2009 and Season 4 was filmed in 2011...
.
The first single from the album, "Supermassive Black Hole", was released as a download in May 2006. It was later followed by general releases as a single the next month, all ahead of the main album release. The second single, "Starlight", was released in September 2006. "Knights of Cydonia
Knights of Cydonia
"Knights of Cydonia" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse and is the closing track on the British release of their 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations. The song's title comes in part from the region of Mars named Cydonia, famous for the "face on mars"...
" was released in the US as a radio-only single in June 2006 and in the UK in November 2006. "Knights of Cydonia" was voted number 1 in the world's largest music poll Australian Radio's Triple J Hottest 100
Triple J Hottest 100
The Triple J Hottest 100 is an annual music poll, based on the votes of national Australian radio station Triple J listeners, in order to determine their favourite song of the year. Voting is conducted by the internet and begins roughly two weeks prior to the new year for the previous year's songs...
for 2007 and 18th in Triple J's Hottest 100 of All Time in 2009. The fourth single from the album, "Invincible
Invincible (Muse song)
"Invincible" is a song by English rock band Muse and is the sixth track on their fourth album Black Holes & Revelations. The song was also released as the fourth single from that album in the United Kingdom on 9 April 2007...
", was then released in April 2007. Another single, "Map of the Problematique
Map of the Problematique
"Map of the Problematique" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, released on their 2006 fourth studio album, Black Holes and Revelations. It was released as the fifth single from the album on 18 June 2007 as a digital download only...
", was released for digital download only in June 2007, following the band's performance at Wembley Stadium.
The band spent November and much of December 2006 touring Europe with British band Noisettes
Noisettes
Noisettes are an English indie rock band from London, comprising singer and bassist Shingai Shoniwa, guitarist Dan Smith, and drummer Jamie Morrison...
as the supporting act. The tour continued in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia in early 2007 before returning to England for the summer. Possibly their biggest performances to date were two gigs at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium
The original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
on 16 and 17 June 2007, which they opened using the piece "Montagues and Capulets". Both Wembley concerts were recorded for a DVD/CD titled HAARP, which was released on 17 March 2008 in the UK and 1 April 2008 in the USA. The touring continued across Europe in July 2007 before heading back to the US in August where they played to a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
, New York. They earned a headline spot on the second night of the Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...
on 15 September 2007, after The White Stripes
The White Stripes
The White Stripes was an American rock band, formed in 1997 in Detroit, Michigan. The group consisted of the songwriter Jack White and drummer Meg White . Jack and Meg White were previously married to each other, but are now divorced...
cancelled their performance. Not long after, they also performed at the October 2007 Vegoose
Vegoose
Vegoose was an annual Halloween music and arts festival that took place in 2005, 2006, and 2007 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Unlike the Bonnaroo Music Festival — put on by the same organizers, Superfly Productions and AC Entertainment — Vegoose does not offer on-site camping...
in Las Vegas alongside bands like Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
, Daft Punk
Daft Punk
Daft Punk are an electronic music duo consisting of French musicians Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo and Thomas Bangalter . Daft Punk reached significant popularity in the late 1990s house movement in France and met with continued success in the years following, combining elements of house with synthpop...
, and Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age
Queens of the Stone Age is an American rock band from Palm Desert, California, United States, formed in 1997. The band's line-up has always included founding member Josh Homme , with the current line-up including longtime members Troy Van Leeuwen and Joey Castillo , alongside Michael Shuman and...
. Muse continued touring in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Scandinavia before moving on to Australia and New Zealand. Muse played their final show of the Black Holes and Revelations tour as headliner of the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas after playing to sell-out crowds throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand.
A number of individual live appearances also occurred in 2008. In March, they played concerts in Dubai
Dubai
Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
, Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, and Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. On 12 April they played a one-off concert at the Royal Albert Hall
Royal Albert Hall
The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....
in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust
Teenage Cancer Trust is a charity that focuses on the needs of teenagers and young adults with cancer, leukaemia, Hodgkin’s and related diseases by providing specialist teenage units in NHS hospitals. The units are dedicated areas for teenage patients, who are involved in their concept and creation...
.
Muse were present at Rock in Rio
Rock in Rio
Rock in Rio is a series of music festivals held in three cities: Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, Lisbon in Portugal and Madrid in Spain.Four incarnations of the festival were in Rio de Janeiro, in 1985, 1991, 2001 and 2011, four in Lisbon, in 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010, and two in Madrid in 2008 and 2010....
Lisboa on 6 June, along other bands such as Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs
Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 1996. They were named after the South African football club Kaizer Chiefs....
, The Offspring
The Offspring
The Offspring is an American punk rock band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1984. Known as Manic Subsidal until 1986, the band consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Dexter Holland, lead guitarist Kevin "Noodles" Wasserman, bassist Greg K. and drummer Pete Parada...
and Linkin Park
Linkin Park
Linkin Park is an American rock band from Agoura Hills, California. Formed in 1996, the band rose to international fame with their debut album, Hybrid Theory, which was certified Diamond by the RIAA in 2005 and multi-platinum in several other countries...
.
The band also performed at a new gig in Marlay Park
Marlay Park
Marlay Park is a suburban public park located in Rathfarnham in the administrative area of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown, in Co. Dublin, Ireland. Lying about nine kilometres from Dublin city centre. The parkland comprises woodlands, ponds and walks...
, Dublin on 13 August and were set to play at a gig in Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
on 14 August. However, the Belfast date was dismissed according to The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph
The Belfast Telegraph is a daily evening newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland by Independent News & Media.It was first published as the Belfast Evening Telegraph on 1 September 1870 by brothers William and George Baird...
. Kasabian and Glasvegas
Glasvegas
Glasvegas are a Scottish indie rock band from Glasgow. The band consists of James Allan , Rab Allan , Paul Donoghue and Jonna Löfgren . The band received critical acclaim for their debut album Glasvegas which was released in September 2008, reaching No...
supported Muse on their Irish date.
A few days later, they were the headline act at V Festival
V Festival
The V Festival is an annual music festival held in England during the penultimate weekend in August. The event is held at two parks simultaneously which share the same bill; artists perform at one location on Saturday and then swap on Sunday. The sites are located at Hylands Park in Chelmsford and...
2008, playing in Chelmsford on Saturday 16 August and Staffordshire on Sunday 17 August.
They also hinted at the possibility of a future stadium tour or concerts in South America.
On 25 September 2008, Bellamy, Howard and Wolstenholme all received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from the University of Plymouth
University of Plymouth
Plymouth University is the largest university in the South West of England, with over 30,000 students and is 9th largest in the United Kingdom by total number of students . It has almost 3,000 staff...
for their contributions to music.
2009–11: The Resistance
The band's fifth studio album The ResistanceThe Resistance (album)
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
was released in September 2009. It is the first Muse album to have been produced by the band itself. The album was engineered by Adrian Bushby and mixed by Mark Stent
Mark Stent
Mark 'Spike' Stent is a British record producer, and audio engineer who has worked with The KLF, Björk, Keane, Depeche Mode, Muse, Erasure, Hard-Fi, Massive Attack, Janet Jackson, Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Marilyn Manson, Pet Shop Boys, Dave Matthews, No Doubt/Gwen Stefani, CSS, Beth Orton,...
. On its release, it topped the album charts in 19 countries, became the band's third number one album in the UK, and reached number 3 on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. Critics were mostly positive about the album, with much of the praise directed towards its ambition, classical music influences and the thirteen-minute, three-part "Exogenesis: Symphony
Exogenesis: Symphony
"Exogenesis: Symphony", commonly known as simply "Exogenesis", is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, featured on their 2009 fifth studio album The Resistance...
". It also beat its predecessor Black Holes and Revelations in relative album sales in its debut week in the UK with approximately 148,000 copies sold. The first single, "Uprising
Uprising (song)
"Uprising" is a song by English rock band Muse, featured on their fifth studio album The Resistance. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 7 September 2009...
", was released seven days earlier.
The Resistance Tour
The Resistance Tour
The Resistance Tour was a worldwide concert tour by English alternative rock band Muse in support of their fifth studio album The Resistance. The opening European leg began on 22 October 2009 and ended on 4 December 2009, comprising 30 shows. The second leg, which began on 7 January 2010, included...
started with a Seaside Rendezvous in Teignmouth
Teignmouth
Teignmouth is a town and civil parish in Teignbridge in the English county of Devon, situated on the north bank of the estuary mouth of the River Teign about 14 miles south of Exeter. It has a population of 14,413. In 1690, it was the last place in England to be invaded by a foreign power...
, Devon in September 2009 and included headlining Coachella Festival in April 2010. It also included two gigs at Wembley Stadium in September 2010. The band also supported U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
for their U2 360° Tour
U2 360° Tour
The U2 360° Tour was a worldwide concert tour by rock band U2. Launched in support of the group's 2009 album No Line on the Horizon, the tour visited stadiums from 2009 through 2011. It was named for a stage configuration that allowed the audience to almost completely surround the stage...
. In the "Breakfast with Muse Concert" KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM
KROQ-FM — branded 106.7 KROQ — is a commercial modern rock radio station licensed to Pasadena, California serving the Greater Los Angeles. The call sign is pronounced "kay rock." It is the flagship station of Loveline hosted by Dr...
held, Muse was asked how long they would be on tour. They commented saying in a paraphrase, "We will probably be touring until the end of next year. We will be doing this U2 and European tour and ship off to Australia and Asia and return for an extensive US tour. It will actually be our longest US tour to date. Starting at about the end of February or March."
In January 2010, Muse headlined the Big Day Out
Big Day Out
The Big Day Out is an annual music festival held in several cities in Australia and New Zealand in late January. It started in Sydney in 1992, spread to Adelaide, Melbourne and Perth by 1993, with the Gold Coast and Auckland joining in 1994...
festival at its various venues in Australia and New Zealand starting with Auckland
Auckland
The Auckland metropolitan area , in the North Island of New Zealand, is the largest and most populous urban area in the country with residents, percent of the country's population. Auckland also has the largest Polynesian population of any city in the world...
and eventually ending with Perth
Perth, Western Australia
Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia and the fourth most populous city in Australia. The Perth metropolitan area has an estimated population of almost 1,700,000....
. Muse headlined Coachella on Saturday 17 April. Muse also headlined the Glastonbury Festival 2010
Glastonbury Festival 2010
The 2010 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts took place in Pilton, Somerset, England in June 2010.The festival was headlined by Gorillaz, Muse, and Stevie Wonder. U2 were initially announced as headliners, but withdrew on 25 May 2010 citing Bono's recent back surgery...
along with Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
and Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
as well as the Oxegen
Oxegen
Oxegen is an annual music festival in Ireland held since 2004, sponsored by Heineken. As of 2007, 2008, 2009, the festival has been cited as Ireland's biggest music festival. And by 2009, the festival is cited as the greenest festival, being a 100% carbon neutral event in Ireland. It was previously...
festival in 2010 alongside Arcade Fire and Eminem
Eminem
Marshall Bruce Mathers III , better known by his stage name Eminem or his alter ego Slim Shady, is an American rapper, record producer, songwriter and actor. Eminem's popularity brought his group project, D12, to mainstream recognition...
. The group were also headline on the 2010 Hovefestivalen, as well as T in the Park 2010
T in the Park 2010
T in the Park 2010 was a music festival that took place in Balado, Scotland from 8–11 July 2010. It was the seventeenth event to take place. The festival was headlined by Kasabian, Muse and Eminem. Tickets for the event sold out on 26 February 2010.-Tickets:...
and among other festivals, including the Austin City Limits Music Festival
Austin City Limits Music Festival
The Austin City Limits Music Festival is an annual three-day American music festival that takes place in Austin, Texas at the city's central public park, Zilker Park...
. On 20 April 2010, the band announced fourteen dates for a North American tour, which were to be held between September and November 2010. In addition to this, the band had added further four dates to their forthcoming North American tour, on 28 April 2010. On 7 May 2010, it was announced that Muse would provide a pre-written song to be the lead single for the third film of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. The soundtrack
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (soundtrack)
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is the soundtrack album to the film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. It is the third soundtrack in the film's chronology, and was released on June 8, 2010. The soundtrack was once again co-produced by Alexandra Patsavas, the music supervisor for the previous two films...
's lead single "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)
Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)
"Neutron Star Collision " is a song by the English alternative rock band Muse, featured on the soundtrack to the 2010 film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Recorded by the band in 2010, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 17 May 2010...
" was released on 17 May.
Muse played at Glastonbury in June 2010 and were joined onstage by The Edge
The Edge
David Howell Evans , more widely known by his stage name The Edge , is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record...
from U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
to play "Where the Streets Have No Name
Where the Streets Have No Name
"Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song by rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree and was released as the album's third single in August 1987. The song's hook is a repeating guitar arpeggio using a delay effect, played during the song's introduction and...
", after U2 pulled out of their headlining slot due to lead singer Bono
Bono
Paul David Hewson , most commonly known by his stage name Bono , is an Irish singer, musician, and humanitarian best known for being the main vocalist of the Dublin-based rock band U2. Bono was born and raised in Dublin, Ireland, and attended Mount Temple Comprehensive School where he met his...
's back injury.
Muse's fearsome live reputation helped secure them the O2 Silver Clef Award
Silver Clef Award
The Silver Clef Award is an annual music award event based in the UK, which has been running since as early as 1976.-History:The Silver Clef fund-raising organization was founded in 1976 by musicians and managers from the British music industry to support all the charity and awarding activities of...
in London on 2 July 2010. The award was presented by Roger Taylor and Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
of Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
. Taylor described the Warner-signed trio as "probably the greatest live act in the world today," while May said that "this is a magnificent, incredible group."
On 12 July 2010, bassist Chris Wolstenholme informed NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
magazine that the band would be taking a break following the conclusion of their world tour supporting The Resistance
The Resistance (album)
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
. He also stated that the band would definitely begin recording material for a new album in 2011. Also, on 8 September, frontman Matthew Bellamy claimed in an interview with NME that the music for the band's next studio album would be more "personal" and more fitting for smaller scale performances as opposed to their current stadium tour.
In 2010, Muse topped a poll by popular music magazine NME for their cover of Nina Simone
Nina Simone
Eunice Kathleen Waymon , better known by her stage name Nina Simone , was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, arranger, and civil rights activist widely associated with jazz music...
's song "Feeling Good" as the greatest cover song of all time. Over 15,000 people voted.
On 12 September 2010, Muse won an MTV Video Music Award in the category of Best Special Effects, for the promo for "Uprising
Uprising (song)
"Uprising" is a song by English rock band Muse, featured on their fifth studio album The Resistance. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 7 September 2009...
". On 21 November, Muse took home an American Music Award for Favorite Artist in the Alternative Rock Music Category, in a ceremony at the Nokia Theater
Nokia Theater
Nokia Theater is the name of three entertainment venues in the United States, all sponsored by Nokia:*Best Buy Theater in Times Square, New York City, the site of the Heisman Trophy ceremony, formerly known as the Nokia Theater...
, Los Angeles. On 2 December, it was announced that Muse had been nominated for three awards for the 53rd Grammy Awards
53rd Grammy Awards
The 53rd annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2011, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. They were broadcast on CBS with a rating of 26.6 million viewers. Barbra Streisand was honored as the MusiCares Person of the Year two nights prior to the telecast on February 11. Nominations were...
: Best Rock Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocals – ("Resistance
Resistance (song)
-Chart performance:On 21 February 2010, "Resistance" entered the UK Rock Chart at #2. Following from its success on the Rock Chart, on 28 February 2010, the single entered the UK Singles Chart as a new entry at #38, beating previous single: "Undisclosed Desires", which only peaked at #49....
"); Best Rock Song – ("Resistance
Resistance (song)
-Chart performance:On 21 February 2010, "Resistance" entered the UK Rock Chart at #2. Following from its success on the Rock Chart, on 28 February 2010, the single entered the UK Singles Chart as a new entry at #38, beating previous single: "Undisclosed Desires", which only peaked at #49....
"), and Best Rock Album: (The Resistance
The Resistance (album)
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
). Based on having the largest airplay and sales in the U.S, Muse were named the Billboard Alternative and Rock
Rock Songs
Rock Songs is a chart published weekly by Billboard magazine which ranks the airplay of songs on alternative, mainstream rock and triple A radio stations. The first chart was published in the issue dated June 20, 2009. "Know Your Enemy" by Green Day was the first number-one song. The Rock Songs...
artist for 2010 with "Uprising
Uprising (song)
"Uprising" is a song by English rock band Muse, featured on their fifth studio album The Resistance. Written by lead vocalist and guitarist Matthew Bellamy, the song was released as the lead single from the album on 7 September 2009...
", "Resistance
Resistance (song)
-Chart performance:On 21 February 2010, "Resistance" entered the UK Rock Chart at #2. Following from its success on the Rock Chart, on 28 February 2010, the single entered the UK Singles Chart as a new entry at #38, beating previous single: "Undisclosed Desires", which only peaked at #49....
" and "Undisclosed Desires
Undisclosed Desires
"Undisclosed Desires", also known as "Undisclosed", is a song by English alternative rock band Muse, featured on their 2009 fifth studio album The Resistance...
" achieving 1st, 6th and 49th on the year end Alternative Song chart respectively. At the 53rd Grammy Awards on 13 February 2011, Muse won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album
Grammy Award for Best Rock Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rock Album is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards, to recording artists for quality albums in the rock music genre...
for The Resistance.
Muse have won an Ivor Novello Award (celebration and recognition of British music writing talent). The band were presented with the award for International Achievement at the ceremony in London, on Thursday 19 May.
On 30 July, Muse supported Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
at their only 2011 gig at the L.A. Rising festival. Muse were chosen by Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
themselves along with Rise Against
Rise Against
Rise Against is an American punk rock band from Chicago, Illinois, formed in 1999. The band currently consists of Tim McIlrath , Zach Blair , Joe Principe and Brandon Barnes .Rise Against spent its first five years signed to the independent record label Fat Wreck Chords, on which it...
, Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Hill
Lauryn Noelle Hill is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress.Early in her career, she established her reputation as a member of the Fugees. In 1998, she launched her solo career with the release of the commercially successful and critically acclaimed album, The Miseducation of...
, Immortal Technique
Immortal Technique
Felipe Andres Coronel , better known by the stage name Immortal Technique, is an American rapper of Afro-Peruvian descent as well as an urban activist. He was born in Lima, Peru and raised in Harlem, New York. Most of his lyrics focus on controversial issues in global politics...
and El Gran Silencio
El Gran Silencio
El Gran Silencio is a rock en español band from Monterrey, Mexico that blends a variety of rock, reggae, dancehall, and dub influences with traditional Latin American musical forms such as cumbia, vallenato and banda as part of the musical movement known as Avanzada Regia...
. On 13 August, Muse headlined the Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival
The Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival is a music festival held annually in San Francisco, California at Golden Gate Park. The first edition occurred August 22–24 in 2008, and included over 60 musical acts from around the world, as well as several art installations...
in San Francisco.
Muse headlined the Reading and Leeds Festivals
Reading and Leeds Festivals
The Reading and Leeds Festivals are a pair of annual music festivals that take place in Reading and Leeds in England. The events take place simultaneously on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of the August bank holiday weekend, sharing the same bill. The Reading Festival is held at Little John's Farm...
in August 2011. To celebrate the tenth anniversary of their second studio album Origin of Symmetry, the band performed all eleven tracks from top to bottom during their set. Muse also headlined Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza
Lollapalooza is an annual music festival featuring popular alternative rock, heavy metal, punk rock and hip hop bands, dance and comedy performances, and craft booths. It has also provided a platform for non-profit and political groups. The music festival hosts more than 160,000 people over a...
in Chicago's
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
Grant Park
Grant Park (Chicago)
Grant Park, with between the downtown Chicago Loop and Lake Michigan, offers many different attractions in its large open space. The park is generally flat. It is also crossed by large boulevards and even a bed of sunken railroad tracks...
in August 2011.
2012: Sixth studio album
According to bassist Chris Wolstenholme, Muse are set to enter the studio to start recording the new album in September 2011. Wolstenholme told BBC Radio 1: "September and October, that's when we're going to get into the studio to start writing the new album." In an interview with BillboardBillboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
on 18 October 2011, the band's manager Anthony Addis revealed that Muse have already begun recording their sixth album in London and that he expected it to be released by October 2012.
Musical style
Muse are an alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
band, and are often associated with space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
and progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
. Their music currently mixes sounds from genres such as electronic music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
, hard rock
Hard rock
Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...
, classical music and rock opera
Rock opera
A rock opera is a work of rock music that presents a storyline told over multiple parts, songs or sections in the manner of opera. A rock opera differs from a conventional rock album, which usually includes songs that are not unified by a common theme or narrative. More recent developments include...
. The band was described as a "trashy three-piece" by Matthew Bellamy on the BBC during 2002.
On the band's association with progressive rock, Dominic Howard has said: "I associate it with 10-minute guitar solos, but I guess we kind of come into the category. A lot of bands are quite ambitious with their music, mixing lots of different styles – and when I see that I think it's great. I've noticed that kind of thing becoming a bit more mainstream."
Sound development through the years
Muse's characteristic sound during the Showbiz album was composed of a mixture of musical genres such alternative rockAlternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
(Nirvana
Nirvana (band)
Nirvana was an American rock band that was formed by singer/guitarist Kurt Cobain and bassist Krist Novoselic in Aberdeen, Washington in 1987...
and The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins
The Smashing Pumpkins are an American alternative rock band that formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988. Formed by Billy Corgan frontman and James Iha , the band has included Jimmy Chamberlin , D'arcy Wretzky , and currently includes Jeff Schroeder Mike Byrne , and Nicole Fiorentino The Smashing...
), alternative metal
Alternative metal
Alternative metal is a genre of alternative rock and heavy metal that gained popularity in the early 1990s. Most notably, alternative metal bands are characterized by heavy guitar riffs and experimental approaches to heavy music.-Origins:...
(Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine
Rage Against the Machine is an American rock band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1991, the group's line-up consists of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim Commerford, guitarist Tom Morello and drummer Brad Wilk...
and Deftones
Deftones
Deftones are an American alternative metal band from Sacramento, California, founded in 1988. The band consists of Chino Moreno , Stephen Carpenter , Chi Cheng , Frank Delgado , and Abe Cunningham . Currently Sergio Vega is standing in on bass while Cheng recovers from a car accident...
), as well as an early appreciation of more diverse musical genres like progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
(Rush
Rush (band)
Rush is a Canadian rock band formed in August 1968, in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario. The band is composed of bassist, keyboardist, and lead vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart...
), classical music (Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
and Sergei Rachmaninov) and Latin music.
In their second release (the Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 July 2001 by Taste Records. In the UK it reached #3 and was certified platinum. The title for the album comes from a concept put forward by Michio Kaku in his book Hyperspace.On Origin of Symmetry,...
album), the band wanted to enhance their sound into a more progressive, confident and aggressive sound. Muse experimented with uncommon instruments such a pipe organ
Pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air through pipes selected via a keyboard. Because each organ pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ranks, each of which has a common timbre and volume throughout the keyboard compass...
, improved drum kits and more prominent electronic arrangements as well as more ambitious lyrical themes.
Their third release, Absolution, followed its predecessor's tendency, increasing the band's heaviness and intensity alongside its ambitious thematics. The album also features songs with prominent string arrangements and starts to draw influences from artists such as Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...
, while the album's cover art was designed by Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
's album art guru Storm Thorgerrson.
Their fourth album, Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production...
is a more electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
- and space rock
Space rock
Space rock is a subgenre of rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early, mostly British, 1970s progressive and psychedelic rock bands such as Hawkwind and Pink Floyd, characterised by slow, lengthy instrumental passages dominated by electric organs, synthesizers, experimental...
-oriented album, though some tracks keep the heaviness of the band's previous work, while others show a more melodic style, akin to the musical style of their Showbiz album. Black Holes and Revelations was influenced by artists like Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode
Depeche Mode are an English electronic music band formed in 1980 in Basildon, Essex. The group's original line-up consisted of Dave Gahan , Martin Gore , Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke...
and Lightning Bolt, as well by various styles of European and Asian music, known as Naples music
Naples
Naples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
; additionally, the band listened to radio stations from the Middle East during the album's recording sessions.
Muse's fifth album, The Resistance
The Resistance (album)
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
is centered on the symphonic rock
Symphonic rock
Symphonic rock is a sub-genre of progressive rock. Since early in progressive rock's history, the term has been used sometimes to distinguish more classically influenced progressive rock from the more psychedelic and experimental forms of progressive rock....
and progressive rock genres. Although it is sonically softer than its predecessors, it still contains the heavy compositions for which Muse has become known. The album is heavily influenced by classical music as well as rock acts such as Queen and U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
. Queen's guitarist Brian May
Brian May
Brian Harold May, CBE is an English musician and astrophysicist most widely known as the guitarist and a songwriter of the rock band Queen...
has praised Muse's work, calling the band "extraordinary musicians" who "let their madness show through, always a good thing in an artist."
Critics have made comparisons between Muse's early work with that of English alternative rock band Radiohead
Radiohead
Radiohead are an English rock band from Abingdon, Oxfordshire, formed in 1985. The band consists of Thom Yorke , Jonny Greenwood , Ed O'Brien , Colin Greenwood and Phil Selway .Radiohead released their debut single "Creep" in 1992...
, with criticism directed towards Bellamy's vocal style. Regarding the topic, Howard has shown to liking Radiohead's music. Additionally, in a 1999 issue of the French magazine Rock Sound, Matt named The Bends by Radiohead & Nirvana's Nevermind as the most important albums of the decade. However since then the band have retracted these statements various times and have stated that what they meant to say was that Nirvana and Radiohead were the most successful alternative rock bands in the 90's, and were influential to many bands, but that does not necessarily mean that Radiohead was an influence for them. On the other hand Muse acknowledges the band Nirvana as a major influence. Singer and composer Matthew Bellamy
Matthew Bellamy
Matthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist, and main songwriter of the alternative rock band Muse.-Early life:...
has stated at various times that Radiohead "really don't do much for me" and attributes the similarities to the fact that both bands are notably influenced by the alternative rock musician Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
.
Musical methods
Many Muse songs are recognisable by lead vocalist Matthew Bellamy's use of falsettoFalsetto
Falsetto is the vocal register occupying the frequency range just above the modal voice register and overlapping with it by approximately one octave. It is produced by the vibration of the ligamentous edges of the vocal folds, in whole or in part...
and vibrato
Vibrato
Vibrato is a musical effect consisting of a regular, pulsating change of pitch. It is used to add expression to vocal and instrumental music. Vibrato is typically characterised in terms of two factors: the amount of pitch variation and the speed with which the pitch is varied .-Vibrato and...
, influenced primarily by Jeff Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Jeffrey Scott "Jeff" Buckley , raised as Scotty Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was the son of Tim Buckley, also a musician...
. As pianist, Matt Bellamy often utilises the broken chords technique (arpeggio
Arpeggio
An arpeggio is a musical technique where notes in a chord are played or sung in sequence, one after the other, rather than ringing out simultaneously...
) on several piano-based songs. Some influences in Bellamy's playing include classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and Romantic era
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
composers such as Sergei Rachmaninov, Ludwig Van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential composers of all time.Born in Bonn, then the capital of the Electorate of Cologne and part of...
, Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
, and Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric Chopin
Frédéric François Chopin was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist. He is considered one of the great masters of Romantic music and has been called "the poet of the piano"....
among others. He also draws influence from more contemporary composers, namely Philip Glass
Philip Glass
Philip Glass is an American composer. He is considered to be one of the most influential composers of the late 20th century and is widely acknowledged as a composer who has brought art music to the public .His music is often described as minimalist, along with...
.
In many Muse songs the bass line is used as the central motif, often with the guitar providing an extra layer to the song, adding embellishment to the bass. The bass usually has distortion and other effects applied to it, to achieve a greater weight and depth, allowing the guitar to serve as counterfoil to the main chord progression, often playing higher notes, or electronic sounds. Both bass and guitar also play unison parts on occasion, adding emphasis to specific melodies and riffs (see 'Hysteria' post-second chorus; 'Dead Star' main riff). As a guitarist, Bellamy often utilises arpeggiator and Pitch-shift effects to create a more "electric" sound, citing Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
and Tom Morello
Tom Morello
Thomas Baptiste "Tom" Morello is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist best known for his tenure with the bands Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, his acoustic solo act The Nightwatchman, and his newest group, Street Sweeper Social Club...
as influences for this method.
Lyrical
Early Muse songs' lyrics dealt with introspective themes, such as relationships, social alienation,and difficulties they had encountered while trying to establish themselves in their hometown. However, with the band's progress, their song concepts have become more ambitious, addressing issues such as the fear of the evolution of technology, in their Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 July 2001 by Taste Records. In the UK it reached #3 and was certified platinum. The title for the album comes from a concept put forward by Michio Kaku in his book Hyperspace.On Origin of Symmetry,...
album. They deal with the apocalypse
Apocalypse
An Apocalypse is a disclosure of something hidden from the majority of mankind in an era dominated by falsehood and misconception, i.e. the veil to be lifted. The Apocalypse of John is the Book of Revelation, the last book of the New Testament...
and catastrophic conflicts, in Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations
Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production...
respectively, and with a worldwide revolution in The Resistance
The Resistance (album)
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
, as well as themes of a new world order throughout these albums.
Books that have influenced Muse lyrical thematics include: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
by George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
, Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control
Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control
Brainwashing: The Science of Thought Control is a non-fiction book analyzing brainwashing, thought reform and mind control, by neuroscientist and physiologist Kathleen Taylor. It was first published in hardcover on December 16, 2004 by Oxford University Press...
by Kathleen Taylor
Kathleen Taylor
Kathleen Taylor is a research scientist in the Department of Physiology, Anatomy and Genetics at the University of Oxford.-Education:Taylor attended the University of Oxford where she studied physiology and philosophy...
, Hyperspace
Hyperspace (book)
Hyperspace: A Scientific Odyssey Through Parallel Universes, Time Warps, and the Tenth Dimension is a book by Michio Kaku, a theoretical physicist from the City College of New York. It focuses on Kaku's studies of higher dimensions referred to as hyperspace...
by Michio Kaku
Michio Kaku
is an American theoretical physicist, the Henry Semat Professor of Theoretical Physics in the City College of New York of City University of New York, the co-founder of string field theory, and a "communicator" and "popularizer" of science...
, and The 12th Planet by Zecharia Sitchin
Zecharia Sitchin
Zecharia Sitchin was an Azerbaijani-born American author of books promoting an explanation for human origins involving ancient astronauts. Sitchin attributes the creation of the ancient Sumerian culture to the Anunnaki, which he states was a race of extra-terrestrials from a planet beyond Neptune...
. The band has also been influenced by 19th century
19th century
The 19th century was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Holy Roman and Mughal empires...
political theorist Henry George
Henry George
Henry George was an American writer, politician and political economist, who was the most influential proponent of the land value tax, also known as the "single tax" on land...
.
Members
Current members- Matthew BellamyMatthew BellamyMatthew James Bellamy is an English musician, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead vocalist, lead guitarist, pianist, and main songwriter of the alternative rock band Muse.-Early life:...
– lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboard - Christopher Wolstenholme – bass, backing vocals, harmonica
- Dominic HowardDominic HowardDominic James "Dom" Howard , is the drummer for the English rock band Muse.-Early life:Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with his family to Teignmouth, a small town in Devon. He began playing drums at about the age of 12, when he...
– drums, percussion, synthesisers
Live members
- Morgan NichollsMorgan NichollsMorgan Nicholls is an English musician, member of Senseless Things and best known for performing with Gorillaz, The Streets, Muse and most recently Lily Allen. He released one solo album under the name Morgan.-Career:...
– keyboards, percussion, synthesisers, backing vocals, bass, guitar ("United States of EurasiaUnited States of Eurasia"United States of Eurasia" is a song by English alternative rock band Muse and is featured on their fifth studio album The Resistance. The song was made available as a free digital download online on 21 July 2009 and is followed by an instrumental solo entitled "Collateral Damage", based on...
") (2004, 2006–present) - Alessandro CortiniAlessandro CortiniAlessandro Cortini is an Italian musician best known for touring and recording with the American industrial rock band Nine Inch Nails from 2004 to 2008. Currently, Cortini is also the frontman for the Los Angeles based electronic-alternative band SONOIO. In addition, he was a touring member of The...
– keyboards (filled in for Morgan Nicholls briefly in 2009) - Dan the Trumpet Man - Trumpet on live performances of City of Delusion and Knights of Cydonia during the Black Holes and Revelations Tour (2006-2008). Also appears on HAARP live at Wembley Stadium.
Discography
Studio albums- Showbiz (1999)
- Origin of SymmetryOrigin of SymmetryOrigin of Symmetry is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 July 2001 by Taste Records. In the UK it reached #3 and was certified platinum. The title for the album comes from a concept put forward by Michio Kaku in his book Hyperspace.On Origin of Symmetry,...
(2001) - Absolution (2003)
- Black Holes and RevelationsBlack Holes and RevelationsBlack Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production...
(2006) - The ResistanceThe Resistance (album)The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released in Europe on 14 September 2009, and in North America on 15 September 2009....
(2009) - TBA (2012)