Muse

History

1994–1997: Early years

The members of Muse played in separate school bands during their time at Teignmouth Community College in the early 1990s. Guitarist Matt Bellamy successfully auditioned for drummer Dominic Howard's band, Carnage Mayhem, becoming its singer and songwriter. They renamed the band Gothic Plague. They asked Chris Wolstenholme – at that time the drummer for Fixed Penalty – to join as bassist; he agreed and took up bass lessons. The band was renamed Rocket Baby Dolls and adopted a goth-glam image. Around this time, they received a £150 grant from the Prince's Trust for equipment.

In 1994, Rocket Baby Dolls won a local battle of the bands, smashing their equipment in the process. Bellamy said, "It was supposed to be a protest, a statement, so, when we actually won, it was a real shock, a massive shock. After that, we started taking ourselves seriously." The band quit their jobs, changed their name to Muse, and moved away from Teignmouth. The band liked that the new name was short and thought that it looked good on a poster. According to journalist Mark Beaumont, the band wanted the name to reflect "the sense Matt had that he had somehow 'summoned up' this band, the way mediums could summon up inspirational spirits at times of emotional need".

1998–2002: Showbiz and Origin of Symmetry

After a few years building a fanbase, Muse played their first gigs in London and Manchester supporting Skunk Anansie on tour. They 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 with their future manager Safta Jaffery, with whom he had recently started the record label Taste Media. The meeting led to their first serious recordings and the release of the Muse EP on 11 May 1998 on Sawmills' in-house Dangerous label, produced by Paul Reeve. Their second EP, the Muscle Museum EP, also produced by Reeve, was released on 11 January 1999. It reached number 3 in the indie singles chart and attracted the attention of the radio broadcaster Steve Lamacq and the magazine NME.

Later in 1999, Muse performed on the Emerging Artist's stage at Woodstock '99 and signed with Smith and Jaffery. Despite the success of their second EP, British record companies were reluctant to sign Muse. After a trip to New York's CMJ Festival, Nanci Walker, then Sr. Director of A&R at Columbia Records, flew Muse to the US to showcase for Columbia Records' then-Senior Vice-president of A&R, Tim Devine, as well as for American Recording's Rick Rubin. During this trip, on 24 December 1998, Muse signed a deal with American record label Maverick Records. Upon their return to England, Taste Media arranged deals for Muse with various record labels in Europe and Australia, allowing them control over their career in individual countries. John Leckie was brought in alongside Reeve to produce the band's first album, Showbiz (1999). The album showcased Muse's aggressive yet melancholic musical style, with lyrics about relationships and their difficulties trying to establish themselves in their hometown.

During the production of their second album, Origin of Symmetry (2001), Muse experimented with instrumentation such as a church organ, Mellotron, animal bones, and an expanded drum kit. There was more of Bellamy's falsetto, arpeggiated guitar, and piano playing. Bellamy cites guitar influences such as Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello (of Rage Against the Machine), the latter evident in the more riff-based songs in Origin of Symmetry and in Bellamy's use of guitar pitch-shifting effects. The album features a cover of Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse's "Feeling Good", voted in various polls one of the greatest cover versions of all time. It was released as a double A-side single, "Hyper Music/Feeling Good".

2003–2008: Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations

Muse's third album, Absolution, produced by Rich Costey, Paul Reeve and John Cornfield was released on 15 September 2003. It debuted at number one in the UK and produced Muse's first top-ten hit, "Time Is Running Out", and three top-twenty hits: "Hysteria", "Sing for Absolution" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes". Absolution was eventually certified gold in the US. Muse undertook a year-long international tour in support of the album, visiting Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, and France. On the 2004 US leg of the tour, Bellamy injured himself onstage during the opening show in Atlanta; the tour resumed after Bellamy received stitches.

In June 2004, Muse headlined the Glastonbury Festival, which they later described as "the best gig of our lives". Howard's father, William Howard, who attended the festival to watch the band, died from a heart attack shortly after the performance. Bellamy said: "It was the biggest feeling of achievement we've ever had after coming offstage. 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."

Muse won two MTV Europe awards, including "Best Alternative Act", and a Q Award for "Best Live Act", and received an award for "Best British Live Act" at the Brit Awards. On 2 July 2005, they participated in the Live 8 concert in Paris. In 2003, the band successfully sued Nestlé for using their cover "Feeling Good" for a Nescafé advertisement without permission and donated the money won from the lawsuit to Oxfam. An unofficial DVD biography, Manic Depression, was released in April 2005.

Muse released another live DVD on 12 December 2005, Absolution Tour, containing edited and remastered highlights from their Glastonbury performance unseen footage from their performances at London Earls Court, Wembley Arena, and the Wiltern Theatre in Los Angeles.

In 2006, Muse released their fourth album, Black Holes and Revelations, co-produced once again with Rich Costey. The album's title and themes reflect the band's interest in science fiction. The album charted at number one in the UK, much of Europe, and Australia. In the US, it reached number nine on the Billboard 200.

2009–2013: The Resistance and The 2nd Law

During the recording of Muse's fifth studio album, The Resistance, Wolstenholme checked into rehab to deal with his alcoholism, which was threatening the band's future. Howard said: "I've always believed in band integrity and sticking together. There's something about the fact we all grew up together. We've been together for 18 years now, which is over half our lives."

The Resistance was released in September 2009, the first album produced by Muse, with engineering by Adrian Bushby and mixing by Mark Stent. It topped album charts in 19 countries, became the band's third number one album in the UK, and reached number three on the Billboard 200. Reviews were mostly positive, with praise for its ambition, classical influences and the three-part "Exogenesis: Symphony". The Resistance beat its predecessor Black Holes and Revelations in album sales in its debut week in the UK with approximately 148,000 copies sold. The first single, "Uprising", was released seven days earlier. On 13 September, Muse performed "Uprising" at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards in New York City.

The Resistance Tour began with A Seaside Rendezvous in Muse's hometown of Teignmouth, Devon, in September 2009. It included headline slots the following year at festivals including Coachella, Glastonbury, Oxegen, Hovefestivalen, T in the Park, Austin City Limits and the Australian Big Day Out. Between September and November, Muse toured North America.

Muse provided the lead single for the film The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)", released on 17 May 2010. In June, Muse headlined Glastonbury Festival for the second time. After U2 canceled their headline slot following their singer Bono's back injury, their guitarist, the Edge, joined Muse to play the U2 track "Where the Streets Have No Name".

For their live performances, Muse received the O2 Silver Clef Award in London on 2 July 2010, presented by Roger Taylor and Brian May of Queen. Taylor described the trio as "probably the greatest live act in the world today". On 12 September 2010, Muse won an MTV Video Music Award in the category of Best Special Effects, for the "Uprising" video. On 21 November, Muse won an American Music Award for Favorite Artist in the Alternative Rock Music Category. On 2 December, Muse were nominated for three awards for the 53rd Grammy Awards on 13 February 2011, for which they won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album for The Resistance.

2014–2021: Drones and Simulation Theory

Muse began writing their seventh album soon after the Rome concert. The band felt that the electronic side of their music was becoming too dominant, and wanted to return to a simpler rock sound. After self-producing their previous two albums, the band hired producer Robert John "Mutt" Lange so they could focus on performance and spend less time mixing and reviewing takes. Recording took place in the Vancouver Warehouse Studio from October 2014 to April 2015.

Muse announced their seventh album, Drones, on 11 March 2015. The following day, they released a lyric video for "Psycho" on their YouTube channel, and made the song available for instant download with the album pre-order. Another single, "Dead Inside", was released on 23 March.

From 15 March to 16 May, Muse embarked on a short tour in small venues throughout the UK and the US, the Psycho Tour. Live performances of new songs from these concerts are included on the DVD accompanying the album along with bonus studio footage. On 18 May 2015, Muse released a lyric video for "Mercy" on their YouTube channel, and made the song available for instant download with the album pre-order.

Drones was released on 8 June 2015. A concept album about the dehumanisation of modern warfare, it returned to a simpler rock sound with less elaborate production and genre experimentation. It topped the album charts in the UK, the US, Australia and most major markets. Muse headlined Lollapalooza Berlin on 13 September 2015. On 15 February 2016, Drones won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Album at the 58th Grammy Awards. On 24 June, Muse headlined the Glastonbury Festival for a third time, becoming the first act to have headlined each day of the festival (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). On 30 November 2016, Muse were announced to headline Reading and Leeds 2017.

In 2017, Muse embarked on a co-headlining North American tour with Thirty Seconds to Mars, supported by PVRIS. On 18 May, they released "Dig Down", the first single from their eighth album. In November, they performed at the BlizzCon festival. "Thought Contagion", the second single, was released on 15 February 2018, accompanied by an 1980s-styled music video. In June, Muse opened the Rock In Rio festival. On 24 February, they played a show at La Cigale in France with a setlist voted for fans online, followed by a show at Shepherd's Bush Empire, London, in which they played mainly older material and B-sides. A concert video, Muse: Drones World Tour, was released in cinemas worldwide on 12 July 2018.

2022–2024: Will of the People

On 13 January 2022, Muse released the single "Won't Stand Down", which marked a return to their heavier early sound. On 9 March, Muse posted a 35-second clip across various social media platforms depicting large busts of the band members being torn down. Muse released their ninth album, Will of the People, on 26 August 2022. It was promoted with the singles "Compliance", "Will of the People", "Kill or Be Killed" and "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween". The final single "Ghosts (How Can I Move On)" was published as a collaborative version with Italian singer-songwriter Elisa on 25 November 2022.

The Will of the People World Tour began in April 2022. Nicholls was replaced by Dan Lancaster on additional keys, percussion and guitar. On 17 November 2023, Muse released a 20th-anniversary reissue of Absolution, featuring bonus tracks, live recordings and demos. Muse appeared on the song "1685" from the 2024 album Telos by the electronic producer Zedd. In August 2024, Wolstenholme announced a solo project, Chromes, and released the singles "Imaginary World" and "The Good Life".

2025–present: The Wow! Signal

According to the Guardian, by 2023, Muse's critical standing had declined, with "hit-and-miss albums" damaging "what was previously a bulletproof reputation for top-notch anthem-making". Bellamy conceded that Simulation Theory and Will of the People were poorly received by critics and fans. The Guardian critic Alexis Petridis suggested that Muse had been weakened by the rise of "dystopian fantasies" and conspiracy theories in the mainstream, and the adoption of their songs by rightwing commentators.

Muse's tenth album, The Wow! Signal, was released on 26 June, 2026. The lyrics were influenced by Bellamy's split from his wife, the model Elle Evans. Most tracks were produced by Lancaster, who pushed Muse to a create a more "fresh" and modern sound. It was backed by the singles "Unravelling", "Be with You", "Cryogen", "Hexagons", "Nightshift Superstar", and "Hush". A North American tour began in July, with a European arena tour to begin in November.

Musical style

Described as a band that fuse alternative rock, progressive rock, space rock, hard rock, art rock, electronic rock, progressive metal, indie rock and pop, Muse also mix sounds from genres such as electronica and R&B, with forms such as classical music and rock opera. In 2002, Bellamy described Muse as a "trashy three-piece". He said supporting the Red Hot Chili Peppers on their 1999 Californication tour inspired Muse to become less reserved and "up their game" in their performances. Bellamy said Lady Gaga was an influence on Muse's showmanship and stage costumes, "crossing that line between what is fantasy and what is reality".

Early in their career, Muse were often likened to Radiohead. Spin wrote that Bellamy's voice "often slips into high, mournful tones" similar to the Radiohead singer, Thom Yorke. John Leckie, who produced Muse's first two albums and also produced Radiohead's second album, The Bends (1995), dismissed the comparisons, saying: "In the late 90s, any British band that sang passionately and played guitar was going to get compared to Radiohead." He said he chose to produce Muse after The Bends because he "intentionally looked for something different". Asked in 2009, Bellamy said he did not hear the similarity, saying Muse were "past [the comparisons] in most places". Reviewing their fourth album, Black Holes and Revelations (2006), Spin, Stylus Magazine and Observer Music Monthly wrote that Muse had transcended comparisons to Radiohead. In 2026, the Guardian critic Alexis Petridis wrote that Muse "pulled away from a deluge of post-OK Computer artists by the simple expedient of dialling everything up to 11. As their sound became bombastic and melodramatic, the lyrics dealt not in Radiohead-esque existential grumbling but irrational conspiracy theories, luridly drawn dystopias and apocalypticism."

In 2006, Pitchfork described Muse's music as "firmly ol' skool at heart: proggy hard rock that forgoes any pretensions to restraint ... their songs use full-stacked guitars and thunderous drums to evoke God's footsteps". AllMusic described their sound as a "fusion of progressive rock, glam, electronica, and Radiohead-influenced experimentation". On Muse's association with progressive rock, Howard said: "I associate [progressive rock] 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."

The Guardian described Muse as "fearlessly flamboyant". Howard said he loved the "excess" of their music and that he liked "pushing it as far as we can", citing the choir of "Survival" as an example. Wolstenholme said: "You can go on writing traditional pop-rock songs and get stale or try something new. There are risks either way." The Queen guitarist, Brian May, praised Muse in 2009, calling them "extraordinary musicians" who "let their madness show through, always a good thing in an artist".

Musicianship

Many Muse songs are recognisable by Bellamy's vocal vibrato, falsetto, and melismatic phrasing, influenced by Jeff Buckley. As a guitarist, Bellamy often uses arpeggiator and pitch-shift effects to create a more "electronic" sound, citing Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello as influences. His guitar playing is also influenced by Latin and Spanish guitar music; Bellamy said: "I just think that music is really passionate...It has so much feel and flair to it. I’ve spent important times of my life in Spain and Greece, and various deep things happened there – falling in love, stuff like that. So maybe that rubbed off somewhere."

Wolstenholme's basslines provide a motif for many Muse songs; the band combines bass guitar with effects and synthesisers to create overdriven fuzz bass tones. Bellamy and Wolstenholme use touch-screen controllers, often built into their instruments, to control synthesisers and effects including Kaoss Pads and Digitech Whammy pedals.

Lyrics

Most earlier Muse songs lyrically dealt with introspective themes, including 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 (2001) album. They deal mainly with the apocalypse in Absolution (2003) and with catastrophic war in Black Holes and Revelations (2006). The Resistance (2009) focused on themes of government oppression, uprising, love, and panspermia. The album was inspired by Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell. Their sixth studio album, The 2nd Law (2012), relates to economics, thermodynamics, and apocalyptic themes. Their 2015 album, Drones, is a concept album that uses autonomous killing drones as a metaphor for brainwashing and loss of empathy. The Guardian wrote that Muse incorporate "calls for revolution just vague enough that both the left and right could rally behind them".

Books that have influenced Muse's lyrics include Nineteen Eighty-Four, Confessions of an Economic Hitman by John Perkins, Hyperspace by Michio Kaku, The 12th Planet by Zecharia Sitchin, Rule by Secrecy by Jim Marrs and Trance Formation of America by Cathy O'Brien.

Band members

Official members

Matt Bellamy – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards

Dominic Howard – drums, percussion

Chris Wolstenholme – bass, backing vocals

Touring musicians

Dan Lancaster – keyboards, guitars, percussion, backing vocals (2022–present)

Morgan Nicholls – keyboards, guitars, percussion, backing vocals, bass (2004, 2006–2022)

Daniel Newell – trumpet (2006–2008)

Alessandro Cortini – keyboards, synthesisers (2009, substitute)

Concert tours

Headlining

Showbiz Tour (1998–2000)

Origin of Symmetry Tour (2000–2002)

Absolution Tour (2003–2004)

US Campus Invasion Tour 2005 (2005)

Black Holes and Revelations Tour (2006–2008)

The Resistance Tour (2009–2011)

The 2nd Law World Tour (2012–2014)

Psycho Tour (2015)

Drones World Tour (2015–2016)

Simulation Theory World Tour (2019)

Will of the People World Tour (2022–2023)

The Wow! Signal Tour (2026)

Co-headlining

North American Tour (with Thirty Seconds to Mars) (2017)