#muse origin of symmetry 2001

[miscellaneous-dragon-art]

I finished painting Muse albums on very tiny squares!!!

I hope @musedotmuofficial likes this!!!

[sunburnacoustic]

Muse at Abbey Road Studios

I went to Abbey Road to see the famous Abbey Road studios today. Yes, I walked the Beatles crosswalk too ;) But read on!

I found a bit of Muse history there, for those interested!

Part of Origin of Symmetry was recorded down at Abbey Road, after all! Specifically in Studio 2.

Muse started writing the album whilst on tour for Showbiz in 2000, recording parts of it (high on mushrooms) with Dave Bottrill at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey. These ended up almost becoming demos, as when the band began mixing them with John Cornfield after the tour was over, they weren’t satisfied with the mixes and ended up having to lay them down them again.

That’s when the group trouped down to London to rerecord the few songs they had at the time, New Born, Plug In Baby, Bliss and Darkshines. They also wrote and recorded the rest of the album, in Studio 2, which is Abbey Road’s most famous recording room. It wasn’t Muse’s first time at Abbey Road: they’d done a filmed live set there in 1999.

https://geo.dailymotion.com/player.html?video=x502p01&

The album was rerecorded at Abbey Road in full in 2000 with John Leckie, who worked with Muse on Showbiz as well.

Muse at Abbey Road Studios for Origin of Symmetry in 2000.

Muse of course revisited the studio and master mixes of Origin of Symmetry in 2021 for the 20th anniversary RemiXXes, and would go on to do two more sessions there: a second in June 2001, and the more famous 2008 sessions for Channel 4 in the UK.

2008.

2021: remiXXed, revisited, reminisced on.

Muse also tracked drums for songs on Will Of The People at Abbey Road in Studio 3, and here is Matt and his Manson sitting on the doorstep outside the studios.

They have a little badge honouring Muse as one of the famous artists to have recorded at Abbey Road. Made my little Muser heart swell with pride to see it :’) ❤️

[rattbellamy]

2001

[cherrylng]

Matt Bellamy - Muse [ROCKIN'ON (June 2001)]

Photographer: Masakazu Yoshiba

[urbanowa]

Paradise comes at a price That I am not prepared to pay What were we before? Could someone tell me please? The good news is she can't have babies And won't accept gifts from me What are they for? They'll just grow up and break the laws you've loved Take off your disguise I know that underneath it's me Useless device, it won't suffice I want a new game to play When I am gone, it won't be long Before I disturb you in the dark And paradise comes at a price That I am not prepared to pay What were we before? Will someone tell me please? Take off your disguise I know that underneath it's me

[114-reprises]

Man. Origin of Symmetry by Muse.

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

New Born

Bliss

Space Dementia

Hyper Music

Plug In Baby

Citizen Erased

Micro Cuts

Screenager

Darkshines

Feeling Good

Megalomania

Spotify | YouTube

[val-likes-music]

Val's Albums [1] - Origin of Symmetry, Muse

How could I start this blog without reviewing one of the most impactful alternative albums of the early 2000s? 

Muse's 2001 masterpiece, Origin of Symmetry, may just be the album that brought the "space rock" genre into the spotlight, and it sure delivers. 12 biting tracks demand attention, featuring screeching guitars, spine-chilling vocals, abstract lyrics, and ethereal piano. OOS is a red-hot meteor crashing down to Earth, and it wants the world to hear its fiery descent. 

In my opinion, this album is where Matt Bellamy - Muse’s frontman and main songwriter - really came into his own. Don’t get me wrong; their prior album, Showbiz (1999), was a sparkling debut for the band. Many regard it as a more ‘depressing’ album, and this was reflected in the frontman’s attitude. Struggling with touring and adjusting to the life of a musician, he felt that the Showbiz era was one of their lowest points. Going forward, he vowed to have “more fun”, and this new frame of mind is more than evident in OOS. 

As soon as the first track begins, Muse set about defying expectations. Mournful, classical-sounding piano coupled with Bellamy’s soft falsetto set the stage, raise tensions, build and build until… a chaotic, nasty, distorted guitar riff slaps you right in the face. And before you know what hit you, the track spirals into a loud rock piece that serves as the perfect opener for the fifty-five minute journey awaiting you. New Born is an unforgiving song that juxtaposes dirty guitar and fast-paced melodies with Bellamy’s melancholic cries of “Wasting our last chance / To come away…”

The next track, Bliss, uses heavenly synth arpeggios against more distorted guitar, which elicits a sci-fi feel that perfectly complements the soft tones of Bellamy’s voice. In fact, a common theme in this album is the relationship between the frontman’s voice and the rest of the instruments. The high falsetto heard in almost every track on this album is as much of an instrument as the guitar, the drums, or the bass. It feels skilfully woven into the clever melodies charging on beside it. 

Perhaps the most breathtaking example of Bellamy’s voice is the haunting track Micro Cuts - with a borderline creepy main melody and soaring operatic vocals, Matt’s voice ascends all the way up to a G5! With possibly the most enigmatic lyrics of the album, the song was penned about the vivid hallucinations Bellamy experienced during severe dehydration.

Catchy songs like Plug in Baby (perhaps the album’s most popular track), take the traditional rock format and turn it on its head, utilising a blazing scale-like riff, and once more that wistful voice to carry it into the atmosphere. Not afraid to blend in a little piano, too, Darkshines is a shining example of Matt’s proficiency on both the guitar and the keys. 

But for all the praise the frontman’s getting, it’s worth noting that the other two members of the band play key roles in giving the sound that spacey shimmer. Dom Howard is a genius on the drums, and his technical skills prove invaluable in grounding the soaring vocals and melodies. While not his most impressive performance, Screenager sure is interesting in terms of percussion - experimental sounds such as animal bones provide the beat for a quiet, introspective track about self-harm. Chris Wolstenholme’s magic on the bass provides bright counter-melodies that perfectly complement the shrieking distortion of the guitars, like in the heartbroken chaos of Hyper Music. 

And Citizen Erased can’t be left out. It’s the longest song on the album, but every second is important - from the mind-rending industrial screeches at the beginning, to the expansive final chorus packed with heat and emotion, to the celestial lustre of the descent afterwards. Many consider it to be the best song on the album, and it’s certainly understandable. It’s Muse packed into seven minutes. Intelligent melodies, heart-stopping vocals, and that otherworldly shimmer that seems exclusive to the band. 

These spacey melodies and beautifully tender vocals carry the listener through the human mind and out into the far reaches of the universe, swinging from moving to mournful to loud and abrasive (and doing it with style, too). The final track, Megalomania, feels like a perfect conclusion to an hour of auditory magic. Sweeping church organs wash through the track up until the final note, showing itself in all of its magnificence, as if to say “This is it.” 

Perhaps aiding in the album’s creation, a good deal of the songs were originally recorded at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey, a homey studio seemingly surrounded by nature. For this album, Muse aimed for a more energetic style, and so most of the recording was done as a band. This did a great job of capturing the energy and dynamics of the bandmembers, and added a richness to the recordings that you don’t often see in studio tracks. 

The experimentation was a strong aspect of the album’s creation as well, as their producer often encouraged the band to explore new directions. And as for inspiration, the field of psychedelic mushrooms right next to the studio seemed to supplement Bellamy’s already-genius songwriting. When it comes to lyrics, Matt has stated not even he knows what some of them mean, which seems to be a recurring theme for Muse in general. Vague yet poetic lyrics - while regarded as lazy by some - allow the listener to have a unique interpretation of every song, making the tracks rather personal. 

Twenty years after its initial release, much to the joy of Muse fans, the band announced a remix and remaster that completely revamped the - let’s be honest, kind of muffled - sound quality. Along with this crisp new sound, extra instrumentation and vocals were added from those recording sessions long ago. Additional strings in the second chorus of Space Dementia gave the song just what it needed, and a harpsichord added to Micro Cuts takes the creepiness of the track to a whole new level. 

Origin of Symmetry was something new, something unique, and it paved the way for many artists to follow. Despite only being the second Muse album, it still holds true as the classic Muse sound, open and raw and drenched in stardust. With iconic instrumentation, iconic vocals, and an iconic album cover, it stands as a testament to the dazzling creativity of the band. No one’s forgetting about Origin of Symmetry, that’s for sure. 

Track listing: 1 - New Born 2 - Bliss 3 - Space Dementia 4 - Hyper Music 5 - Plug In Baby 6 - Citizen Erased 7 - Micro Cuts 8 - Screenager 9 - Darkshines 10 - Feeling Good 11 - Futurism  12 - Megalomania

Listen here: Spotify Apple Music Youtube

Official website: muse.mu

[phantom-kiwi]

Important poll time

[nematanthus]

Album Review: Origin of Symmetry-Muse

Release Date:

June 18 2001

Tracklist:

New Born

Bliss

Space Dementia

Hyper Music

Plug in Baby

Citizen Erased

Micro Cuts

Feeling Good

Screenager

Darkshines

Megalomania

Futurism

Favorite Track:

Bliss

Least favorite track:

Screenager

Album art opinions:

The album cover features hand drawn American football goal like structures protruding from a white ground with an orange-yellow sky. The cover is meant to existentialist, as it's an artists rendition of the albums title, which in and of itself is a question of the universe and the meaning of existence and life. It's a striking image, one to be interpreted in many ways, as was the intention of the piece.

Color: 7/10

Recognizability: 9/10

Vibes: 9/10

Total: 8/10

Music opinions/notes:

This album is much improved from the previous, in every single way. The production is better so you can hear some of the more subtle choices made within the instrumentals. Matt's voice has gotten significantly better, and his falsetto is clear. There's no question as to why this was Muses breakout album and why they found success shortly following this records release. There are several classics on this album, including Plug in Baby, which is a concert staple of the band even to this day.

Mix: 7/10

Lyrics: 7/10

Instruments: 8/10

Vibes: 9/10

Total: 8/10

Total Score: 8/10

[glass-needles-and-futurisms]

So Muse's second album Origin of Symmetry was originally released in 2001 worldwide, except in the United States where it came out four years later. The band had a creative conflict with their American label who wanted them to rerecord some songs, tone down Matt Bellamy's signature falsetto and make it sound more like nu metal which was

[starlight-bread-blog]

This song being the first song in Origin of Symmetry is actually amazing. I wasn't exactly alive when this came out, but this makes me imagen what it was like listening to it back at 2001. About to listen to the new Muse album, the song starts, and it's a long piano opening. For the first minute, it's calm. Then, the guitars and drums begin. The intense music we know begins. And that is how you start an album.

[sunburnacoustic]

23 years of Plug In Baby, released as a single on 5 March, 2001, when the band was aged 23.

I hope you all appreciate I added Frutiger to Photopea for this

[corrodedbisexual]

🎵💿 discography tag 💿🎵

Rules: pick an artist or a band and share your favorite song from each of their albums, then tag some mutuals!

@eddiemunsonwillbethedeathofme and @i-me-mine both tagged me 😘😘

No pressure tagging: @josephfakingquinn @eddieslostsheep @witchy-munson @hellfirelady @chaoticgood-munson @pizzaqueen @flowercrowngods (I think I know your pick xD) @die-lerche @thesolarangel

Artist: Muse

Perfect because a post I reblogged yesterday "put your favorite Muse song in the tags" left me frustrated as hell. What do you mean pick just one?! Fuck that.

Album: Showbiz (1999) || Song: Muscle Museum

Album: Origin of Symmetry (2001) || Song: Plug in Baby

Album: Absolution (2004) || Song: Sing for Absolution

This was a hard choice between this and Hysteria.

Album: Black Holes and Revelations (2006) || Song: Knights of Cydonia

Starlight is a classic. But nothing beats being in a crowd of ~50k people yelling "NOONE'S GONNA TAKE ME ALIVE".

Album: The Resistance (2009) || Song: Uprising

Best album ugh. Undisclosed Desires is a banger shipping song. Resistance and Guiding Light are both absolutely amazing. But this one is increasingly personal with each year.

Album: The 2nd Law (2012) || Song: Madness

Album: Drones (2015) || Song: The Handler

Another album of absolutely banger tracks. Dead Inside. Mercy. But that "YOOOOOU YEAAAAH YEAAAAAH" Matt sings like he's fucking DYING and that fucking cosmic interlude man.

Album: Simulation Theory (2018) || Song: Algorithm

Close tie with Get Up And Fight. But this just has that BEAT. Can't explain it. Best experienced in noise cancelling headphones lying on the floor after a bottle of wine.

Album: Will Of The People (2022) || Song: Kill Or Be Killed

Won't Stand Down would be a close second. But this one is just. Fucking EPIC. Loud and aggressive and bitter and ANGRY ANGRY ANGRY and that's me a lot of the time throughout last year.

[cherrylng]

Matt Bellamy - Muse [ROCKIN'ON (June 2001)]

Photographer: Masakazu Yoshiba