After the Absolution Era, Muse progressed to 2006 with the brand new release, Black Holes and Revelations. After listening to the album in full, you can hear the new genre of ‘Space Rock’ throughout. With songs names such as Supermassive Blackhole, Starlight, Knights of Cydonia and Exo-politcs, along with the name of the album, this would make sense as these are all space related entities. Another theme throughout was the thought of a dystopia feature, talking about revolutions and “fighting for your rights”. (J, Touzeau 2007)
Throughout the creation of the album, it was stated that particular influences were Rage Against the Machine, Ennio Morricone, Nina Simone, Lightning Bolt and Belgium bands such as Evil Superstar. The Lightning Bolt influence can be linked to why they played Dracula Mountain live when they performed.
Knights of Cydonia has been self admittedly been influenced by Bellamy’s father, George Bellamy who was also in a band called The Tornadoes, and a similar riff could be hears in their hit song, Telstar. Knights of Cydonia as written to be a journey through 40 years of history and it can be heard throughout, from the slow anthem like beginning, to the ending that consists of a heavy rock riff. When soloing the drum track during the final section of the song, Dominic Howard (drummer) seems to have borrowed the drum line straight from Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Muse may have taken influence from Ennio Morricone and they pay homage to this when performing the song live, playing a rendition in their take of Man with a Harmonica as an intro.
Through the creation of this album, Chris Wolstenholme stated that the band had been listening to Islamic radio stations while recording Assassin. System of a Down was again referenced as an influence, again, with the use of quick tremolo picking on 3 or 4 notes. The use of barber shop quartet vocals are heard excessively through this song, which is an interesting choice as it is one of the heaviest songs in the discography of Muse. The extended version of this song actually includes a heavy rock rendition of Prelude in G minor, once again by Rachmaninoff. (Muse featured in NME and Kerrang!Retrieved from muselive.com.)
Whether or not you championed the grand dramatics of Absolution, Muse is a solid band and Black Holes and Revelations defines that with a passion. Rich Costey joins Muse in the co-production of this 11-song set; together, they create the band's most realized and meticulous album to date.
- Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English rock band Muse. It was released on 3 July 2006 through the band's own Helium-3 imprint as well as Warner Bros. Recording was done in a four-month span and was split between New York and France.
- One of my favourites album cover of all time it is Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations Album.There’s so much story behind this picture. As a student of graphic design, I did a lot of work.
- One of my favourites album cover of all time it is Muse’s Black Holes and Revelations Album.There’s so much story behind this picture. As a student of graphic design, I did a lot of work.
- This is the album that brought Muse into the masses. Believe the hype, 'Black Holes and Revelations' is extraordinary from start to finish. 'Take A Bow' is a political and angry juggernaut. 'Starlight' is simply romantic. Contains a killer keyboard riff and flawless vocals courtesy of Matthew Bellamy. That falsetto of.
The late David Bowie’s Heroes was an influence for the song Invincible.Invincible is a slow slide guitar based song, reaching the rapid guitar tapping solo with heavy uses of guitar effect, such as a koass pad and whammy pedal. In an interview, David Bowie had actually appeared keen to make a collaboration in the studio, however the band wasn’t quite ready, so Invincible was performed for him, and Bowie allegedly enjoyed it.
This can be heard below:
The piece, City of Delusion, seemed to have been again influenced by eastern/Latin styles. The chord structure and rhythm matches as such and the song itself has a trumpet solo, surely displaying the Latin influences.
A trivial aspect from the song Take a Bow, a very dark heavy song, with constant synth arpeggios, changes key 13 times, using a ‘circle of fifths’.
Starlight underwent many changes until the final product was created, and Wolstenholme stated that the song itself sounded like something from the band The Strokes. Starlight was shone in the spotlight by reaching high rankings on many charts around the world, as well as being portrayed in the media often (e.g. TV commercials, movies etc.). (A Willsher NME 2006).
Another song from the album that was offered much commercial success (aka featuring in Twilight), was Supermassive Black Hole. It was apparently influenced by bands such as “Millionaire, dEUS, Evil Superstars and Soulwax” because these bands were the first to mix R&B rhythms with alternative guitar. (Craig Fitzsimons. 2006).
Map of the Problematique bears similarities to that of Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode, again utilising electronic elements and fusing it with rock music. As an outro to this song when played live, Muse often used the breakdown riff from “Maggies Farm” by Bob Dylan (Seen below).
After the Absolution Era, Muse progressed to 2006 with the brand new release, Black Holes and Revelations. After listening to the album in full, you can hear the new genre of ‘Space Rock’ throughout. With songs names such as Supermassive Blackhole, Starlight, Knights of Cydonia and Exo-politcs, along with the name of the album, this would make sense as these are all space related entities. Another theme throughout was the thought of a dystopia feature, talking about revolutions and “fighting for your rights”. (J, Touzeau 2007)
Throughout the creation of the album, it was stated that particular influences were Rage Against the Machine, Ennio Morricone, Nina Simone, Lightning Bolt and Belgium bands such as Evil Superstar. The Lightning Bolt influence can be linked to why they played Dracula Mountain live when they performed.
Knights of Cydonia has been self admittedly been influenced by Bellamy’s father, George Bellamy who was also in a band called The Tornadoes, and a similar riff could be hears in their hit song, Telstar. Knights of Cydonia as written to be a journey through 40 years of history and it can be heard throughout, from the slow anthem like beginning, to the ending that consists of a heavy rock riff. When soloing the drum track during the final section of the song, Dominic Howard (drummer) seems to have borrowed the drum line straight from Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen. Muse may have taken influence from Ennio Morricone and they pay homage to this when performing the song live, playing a rendition in their take of Man with a Harmonica as an intro.
Through the creation of this album, Chris Wolstenholme stated that the band had been listening to Islamic radio stations while recording Assassin. System of a Down was again referenced as an influence, again, with the use of quick tremolo picking on 3 or 4 notes. The use of barber shop quartet vocals are heard excessively through this song, which is an interesting choice as it is one of the heaviest songs in the discography of Muse. The extended version of this song actually includes a heavy rock rendition of Prelude in G minor, once again by Rachmaninoff. (Muse featured in NME and Kerrang!Retrieved from muselive.com.)
The late David Bowie’s Heroes was an influence for the song Invincible.Invincible is a slow slide guitar based song, reaching the rapid guitar tapping solo with heavy uses of guitar effect, such as a koass pad and whammy pedal. In an interview, David Bowie had actually appeared keen to make a collaboration in the studio, however the band wasn’t quite ready, so Invincible was performed for him, and Bowie allegedly enjoyed it.
This can be heard below:
The piece, City of Delusion, seemed to have been again influenced by eastern/Latin styles. The chord structure and rhythm matches as such and the song itself has a trumpet solo, surely displaying the Latin influences.
A trivial aspect from the song Take a Bow, a very dark heavy song, with constant synth arpeggios, changes key 13 times, using a ‘circle of fifths’.
Black Holes & Revelations - Albums - Muse
Starlight underwent many changes until the final product was created, and Wolstenholme stated that the song itself sounded like something from the band The Strokes. Starlight was shone in the spotlight by reaching high rankings on many charts around the world, as well as being portrayed in the media often (e.g. TV commercials, movies etc.). (A Willsher NME 2006).
Another song from the album that was offered much commercial success (aka featuring in Twilight), was Supermassive Black Hole. It was apparently influenced by bands such as “Millionaire, dEUS, Evil Superstars and Soulwax” because these bands were the first to mix R&B rhythms with alternative guitar. (Craig Fitzsimons. 2006).
Black Holes And Revelations - Wikipedia
Map of the Problematique bears similarities to that of Enjoy the Silence by Depeche Mode, again utilising electronic elements and fusing it with rock music. As an outro to this song when played live, Muse often used the breakdown riff from “Maggies Farm” by Bob Dylan (Seen below).