Muse has been one of the most important bands around for a while now. They’ve been characterized for their unique abstract sounds and visuals. Recently they’ve been recording their eighth album ‘London’, which they’ve been working on for a long time now. A couple of months ago they revealed that their latest news regarding the upcoming album, saying to a fan that they’ve recorded three new songs. “One heavy” and the other ones “not so heavy”.
They’ve worked hard on their next release, as they will be trying to overcome “Drones,”. Muse revealed they will have other things to treat the fans. As one of the last standing late 90’s band will be releasing a “memorabilia tribute” album of their early years. As it will be a compilation of demos and unreleased material titled “Origins Of”. This while they get prepared to tour in the U.S. with 30 Seconds To Mars and to headlight the 2017 Reading & Leeds Festival along Eminem and Kasabian.
Backlash in the meantime
The band spent the last months working on the 8th album. Songwriting, posting pictures of them on the studio, recording and everything to have the album done. They still don’t have an official releasing date, only that it will be out in the second half of 2018. Also, referring to the new album they’ve unveiled the video for new one-off single “Dig Down”. But they will still be giving the fans something to enjoy this year. As they will be releasing their “Origins Of” compilation. Since they will be joining the demos, rare and unreleased material, from their two first records “Showbiz” and “Origin Of Symmetry”. Bellamy referred to it as “a kind of autobiography of music”, as they’re hoping “to put out something actually, this year”.
Bellamy told Andy Harms on Alt 98.7. “We’re working on it. It’s probably going to be a limited edition like a package of the first two albums put together. With all the songs and demos that we made around that time. (…) We’re going to call it ‘Origin Of Muse’ because it’s basically the story musically of how we got to the ‘Origin Of Symmetry’ album“. Considering the name of the album and the actual origins of the British band, there is some interesting background that may unveil some nice stuff that we never imagined. Who knows we may get some more individual origins and roots from all of the members.
Also, when the band was asked if they would play some of their old tracks in concerts they said that they wouldn’t have any problem with it. Since they have done it several times before. Especially now that the 20th anniversary of their 1999 debut album “Showbiz” is approaching. As drummer Dom Howard replied: “We’ve actually already done that with ‘Origin Of Symmetry’, on its 10th anniversary in the UK”. To what Bellamy added: “We played ‘Black Holes And Revelations’ from top to finish, but that was actually just as the album came out. We’ve done it a couple of times. Some albums lend themselves better to it than others. ‘Drones’ would work. We’ve done it twice before, maybe we’ll do it again. I enjoyed it, we’ll do it again.”
Origins and perks of the band
The members of Muse played in separate school bands during their time at Teignmouth Community College in Devin throughout the early 1990s. Guitarist Matt Bellamy positively tried out for drummer Dominic Howard’s band, Carnage Mayhem, becoming its singer and songwriter. They renamed the band Gothic Plague. In 1994, the Muse line up we know and grew up with started playing under the name Rocket Baby Dolls, and they stuck together as a side project until they won the school’s “Battle of the Bands” which led them to take the band more seriously. So they decided to change their name to a more “professional” one, and Muse was born.
One of the most iconical aspects of the band is their sound. Something they work really hard on to differentiate themselves from other bands. Bellamy mentioned some details of how they’ve achieved it. Referring to their album “The Resistance” he talked about the extensive use of Dickinson amplifiers on the record. All these kinds of details and perks are what they’ve used to get “their science fictional themes and integration of digital electronica, techno influences, and analogical equipment into the power trio at the format, at heart Muse are an old fashioned heavy rock band who can really really play”. Between those particular aspects, even lead singer and guitarist Bellamy has developed unique guitars. “All of the guitars built for Bellamy, aside from the 7 String E Guitar, have a shape that he designed with Manson, dubbed “Mattocaster”. The Mattocaster shape resulted from Bellamy wanting a guitar with “the body of a Fender Telecaster and the power and presence of a Gibson Les Paul”.