It was five years today that Muse crossed the boundary from indie rock band to popular trendsetter. Their album, The Resistance, took the charts by storm, racing to number one only five days after it was officially released.
The Resistance saw Muse grow in popularity by bridging the gap between heavy rock bands such as My Chemical Romance and Lacuna Coil and more gentle rock bands such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Snow Patrol. They delivered a fresh, punchy album which meshed melody and rocky undertones with smooth vocals and confident rhythms. The album saw Muse present their style to the masses with forceful confidence, supported by their bizarre yet hypnotic album cover, reflecting the idiosyncrasy of their sound.
The album saw Muse become ever more popular without losing their individuality set by early tracks such as ‘Supermassive Black Hole’, which exudes dark energetic sounds. This album saw the expert combination of electronic sound and classic melody: an ambitious endeavour due to its eclectic nature. It sold over 148,000 copies in its first week adding to the band’s success having already received many awards throughout their journey since its birth in 1994.
The Resistance sees the band truly express itself with tracks such as ‘Knights of Cydonia’ using very little lyrical input. Other tracks such as ‘Uprising’ take over and deliver an eerie start to the album, with ‘Undisclosed Desires’ using classical sounds to create a tangibility. The album immediately ignites to fill the room with an explosion of sound both savagely and gently.
Since The Resistance, Muse have released another album, The 2nd Law, which took a much more artificial sound at a much greater volume, resulting in it not rising as successfully as its predecessor.
Muse are currently working on their seventh album which they began collaborating in May 2014.
