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Muse - "givee me your heart and you soul"
The band includes Matthew Bellamy, vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist -Chris Wolstenholme, bassist - Dominic Howard, drummer
Muse's
most popular CDs and DVDs: Absolution,
Origin of Symmetry, Showbiz, Soundtrack Hallabaloo
See
their performance on stage
at Live 8 France
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the Live 8 Paris DVD here
Buy
the Complete
Live 8 DVD set here
(4 Box set)
Tract Listing:
Hysteria
4:21
Bliss 4:21
Plug In Baby 4:28
T ime Is Running Out 4:18
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DVDs and CDs online:
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Absolution |
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Showbiz |
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CD at: |
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Origin of Symmetry |
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CD at: |
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Hallabaloo |
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Muse at Live 8
Muse is a British rock band formed in Teignmouth,
Devon in 1995. Its three members are Matthew Bellamy (singer, guitarist
and keyboardist), Chris Wolstenholme (bassist) and Dominic Howard (drummer
and percussionist). Bellamy is the principal songwriter and creative influence
in the band, though the band's more recent material has been credited
to Wolstenholme and Howard also.
H istory of Muse
Formation and Early years (middle 1990s)
Having been in separate bands at the school they attended in the early
1990s, the three members founded their new band originally under such
lugubrious names as Gothic Plague and Fixed Penalty (Muse have given out
confusing and contradictory information regarding the band's previous
monikers in various interviews and, consequently, the chronology of these
is unclear).
In 1996, under the name Rocket Baby Dolls, Muse took part in a local Battle
Of The Bands, playing with such emotion and violence (going as far as
to break everything on stage - a trait which has remained to the present
day, though perhaps something of a rock 'n' roll cliché) that they
stood out from the competition and won.
It was this identification with the emotion in their musical style and
a feeling of being different to the rest of the local music scene in Teignmouth
that saw the Muse choose not to go to university and seriously pursue
being a band.
In the spotlight (Muse and Muscle Museum 1998-1999)
Interestingly, despite being British, Muse was influenced predominately
at this stage by early 1990s rock music from America, particularly grunge,
exemplified by Nirvana and Soundgarden which was something of a reaction
against the Britpop movement which was hugely popular at the time.
From the British rock scene of the 90s, Muse were influenced primarily
by Radiohead - with their acclaimed albums The Bends and OK Computer -
and The Verve - with A Northern Soul and Urban Hymns. Notably both of
these bands weren't considered Britpop, as they were mavericks on the
scene and showcased more alternative and experimental revitalization to
the British music of the 90s. These influences put a mark on the music
of Muse, as they skilfully incorporated American grunge music in their
style with the alternative and experimental approach of British groups
like The Verve and Radiohead. One very notable similarity is the high-pitched
vocals of Matt Bellamy, which are very reminiscent and clearly influenced
of those of Radiohead's frontman Thom Yorke.
Following a number of gigs in London and Manchester trying to find a suitable
market for their music (a market that was certainly not to be found in
their home town), the band, now named Muse, had a significant meeting
with Dennis Smith, owner of Sawmills - a recording studio in a converted
water mill in Cornwall, S.W. England.
This meeting led to their first proper recording in the shape of a self-titled
E.P. on Sawmills - in-house Dangerous label. Their second E.P., entitled
Muscle Museum, was a breakthrough for Muse, attracting the attention of
influential British music journalist Steve Lamacq and the weekly British
music publication NME.
Subsequent to its release, Denis Smith co-founded the music publishing
company Taste Media especially for Muse, with whom the band has stayed
until the present day. This was extremely fortunate for the band as it
allowed them to preserve the individuality of their sound in the early
stages of their career.
Breakthrough (Showbiz 1999-2000)
In spite of the success and acclaim of their second E.P., no English record
label would back Muse, Bellamy's vibrato-laden, often high-pitched vocal
and unusual stage-presence almost certainly being sources of reluctance.
In fact it was the American label Maverick Records that took a gamble
on Muse, giving them a number of gigs in the U.S. and eventually signing
them by the end of 1998. Upon their return from America, Taste Media arranged
deals for Muse with various record labels in Europe and Australia and
John Leckie, producer of Radiohead's highly regarded album The Bends,
was brought in to produce Muse's first album Showbiz, considered by some
to be heavily influenced by Radiohead. It was an album showcasing the
Muse's aggressive style and features a number of lyrical references to
the hard time they had whilst trying to establish themselves in Teignmouth.
The release of this album was followed by Maverick giving Muse prestigious
support slots for the Foo Fighters and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers in a
series of gigs in the United States, playing to crowds of over 20,000
people. 1999 and 2000 saw Muse playing major festivals in Europe and gigs
in Japan and Australia, accumulating a considerable fan base in Western
Europe (though in Britain this following remained somewhat left-field).
Rising to Superstardom (Origin of Symmetry 2001-2002)
Muse settled down to write their second album Origin of Symmetry. This
album saw Muse innovating more, exploring their style in ways they were
not fully able to on Showbiz, with a heavier, darker rock sound, backed
up by Wolstenholme's large, often overdriven or synthesized bass sound
(used to fill the gaps left in the band's music by their 3-man lineup).
Muse experimented with unorthodox instrumentation, such as a church organ
and Howard's expansion of the standard rock drum set. There was also more
of Bellamy's high pitched vocal lines and distinctive piano playing, inspired
by the works of pianists of the Romanticism such as Sergei Rachmaninoff.
Bellamy cites some of his guitar playing influences as Jimi Hendrix and
Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine), the latter being particularly
evident in the more riff-based songs on Origin of Symmetry and in Bellamy's
extensive use of pitch-shifting effects in his solos.
The general eccentricity of Muse's fundamentally rock style has seen them
likened to 1970s rock band Queen, Freddie Mercury being a confessed song
writing influence of Bellamy's.
The accomplished nature of this album might have led to Muse making a
significant impact on the American music scene, but a stroke of irony
saw Maverick cause Origin of Symmetry to never reach American record stores.
With reservations about Bellamy's vocal style (considering it not "radio-friendly"),
they asked Muse to change some of their songs prior to U.S. release.
Insulted, Muse declined and left Maverick altogether. After the album,
Muse released Hullabaloo, a DVD featuring their live performance at Le
Zenith in Paris in 2001. An accompanying double album was released at
the same time, including a collection of b-sides and recordings of some
songs from the Le Zenith performance. To further fill the void between
Origin of Symmetry and Absolution a double A side single was released
containing new tracks In Your World and Dead Star, a move away from the
grand opera style of Origin of Symmetry. The new singles were greeted
with a mixed reaction from existing fans used to Muse's unique sound,
but the new mood did help attract many new fans helped of course by radio
friendly lengths and styles.
Critical and fan acclaim (Absolution 2003-2004)
In 2003, Muse's latest studio album was released. Entitled Absolution,
this recording expressed a continuation of the experimentation in the
rock genre displayed in Origin of Symmetry while trying to maintain a
sense of the three-piece band that they are and was produced by Rich Costey
who, somewhat fittingly given Bellamy's guitar style, had previously produced
Rage Against the Machine.
Muse continued to blend their classical influences into their hard rock
sound, the overall effect being somewhat Wagnerian in style. The band
made reference to there being a through-running theme in the album - the
end of the world, and a series of reactions to that situation. This draws
mainly from Bellamy's intrigue in conspiracy theories, theology, science,
futurism, computing and the supernatural amongst others. The song "Ruled
By Secrecy", for instance, takes its title from a Jim Marrs novel
about the secrets behind the way that major governments are run - many
lyrics on this album have political references.
Similar themes were explored in Origin of Symmetry: the song "Space
Dementia" is named after a mental disorder identified in some astronauts
following prolonged periods of time in space and the opening line of the
song gives the name of a type of microprocessor. And in songs such as
"New Born" references are made to a hypothetical future where
technology has a detrimental effect on society.
Finally receiving mainstream critical acclaim in Britain and with a new
American record deal, Muse shook-off Radiohead comparisons for good and
undertook their first international stadium tour. It continued for about
a year and it saw Muse visiting Australia, USA, Canada and France and
meanwhile the band released 5 singles.
Unfortunately, a tragedy struck Muse in the middle of the year. The band
- along with Oasis and Paul McCartney - headlined the Glastonbury festival
(Matt described the concert as "The best gig of our lives!"),
but shortly after the concert finished, Bill Howard - father of drummer
Dominic Howard - died from a heart attack. "It was the biggest feeling
of achievement we've ever had after coming offstage", Bellamy says.
"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 Dom 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."
After few months of continuing countenance and emotional support from
his bandmates and family, Dominic decided to stay with the band.
Muse continued their hugely successful tour. Their last dates were in
USA and in London, at the Earls Court arena where they played an extra
day due to the high demand for tickets. Beside the tour Muse have also
won two MTV Europe awards, including "Best Alternative Act",
and a Q Award for "Best Live Act". At the end of 2004, Vitamin
Records released The String Quartet Tribute To Muse by The Tallywood Strings.
The album consisted of instrumental string versions of some of Muse's
well known (and some lesser known) songs from the band's history. At the
2005 Brit Awards, Muse were awarded the "Best Live Act" award
- fitting for a band which has long been reputed by fans all over the
world as one of the best live acts ever.
This article about Muse is posted under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from this Wikipedia
article.
Muse music CDs and Live 8 DVDs..
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