"Knights of Cydonia" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
Single by Muse | ||||
from the album Black Holes and Revelations | ||||
B-side | "Assassin" (Grand Omega Bosses Edit) | |||
Released | 27 November 2006 [1] | |||
Recorded | 2005 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length |
| |||
Label | ||||
Songwriter(s) | Matt Bellamy | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Muse singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
DVD single cover | ||||
7" Single | ||||
![]() The "Knights of Cydonia" 7" cover | ||||
Music videos | ||||
"Knights of Cydonia" on YouTube |
"Knights of Cydonia" is a song by English rock band Muse and is the closing track on their 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations . The song's title refers to the Cydonia region of Mars,which gained public attention from the illusion of a rock formation which looked similar to a human face. [2]
The radio edit version was first aired on KROQ-FM radio on 6 June 2006,and released to other radio stations in the United States on 12 June 2006. The song was released as the third single from Black Holes &Revelations in the UK on 27 November 2006,debuting at No 10 in the UK Singles Chart (see 2006 in British music). [3] It also hit the No. 10 spot on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart in the United States,becoming their third top-ten hit on that chart. The song was described by BBC Radio 1 DJ Annie Mac on 27 October 2006 as "six minutes and seven seconds of pure genius". In 2007,Eve of Summer recorded a remix.
The first live performance of "Knights of Cydonia" took place at a BBC Radio 1 event,Radio 1's Big Weekend,held at Camperdown Park in Dundee on 13 May 2006. Also performed at this event were "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Starlight",the first two singles from Black Holes and Revelations. Live performances of "Knights of Cydonia" give Matt Bellamy's intro falsetto more prominence than its studio counterpart,along with Dominic Howard's introductory drum pattern being included in the performance. Since 2008,live performances have included an introduction of Ennio Morricone's "Man With a Harmonica" from Once Upon a Time in the West where bassist Chris Wolstenholme plays a harmonica piece. Other live additions include Bellamy playing an extra guitar part during the solo at the end of the song,Howard ending the song with a short drum solo and the coda of "Space Dementia" played as a finale.[ citation needed ]
In 2007,"Knights of Cydonia" was the number-one song in Australia's Triple J Hottest 100. The song was also ranked No. 18 in the Triple J Hottest 100 of All Time,2009 and No. 53 on Rhapsody's list of the Top 100 Tracks of the Decade. [4] In October 2011, NME placed it at number 44 on its list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years". [5]
The intro,as performed on the live album HAARP,is a citation of the five tone musical phrase from the film Close Encounters of the Third Kind . The song uses synthesised and live trumpet parts overlaid with vocals from both Matt Bellamy's higher and lower reaches,spanning B3-E5. The guitar sound in the song was inspired by the 1962 number one hit "Telstar" by The Tornados (George Bellamy,Matt Bellamy's father,was the band's rhythm guitarist). [6] The song,taken in entirety,also bears a striking resemblance to George Bellamy's composition "Ridin' the Wind". The first noise heard in the song is an explosion,then a horse neigh. The first 2:03 of the song is a guitar solo to the tune of the lyrics,before Bellamy sings "Come ride with me,through the veins of history."
Bellamy has stated that on the album in general,he tried to create a vision of what is occurring in the song. For example,the bassline has a galloping rhythm resembling someone riding a horse. [7]
The Knights of Cydonia video was shot over five days:three days in Romania;one day in London;and one day in Red Rock,California;it was made available on 11 July 2006. It was filmed and edited as a thematic smörgåsbord:a Spaghetti Western film with post-apocalyptic influence,complete with beginning and end credits,livened with the occasional kung-fu cowboy or metal-clad maiden astride a unicorn.
The video was directed by Joseph Kahn,and stars British actor Russ Bain as the protagonist (The Man With No Name),Richard Brake as the antagonist (Sheriff Baron Klaus Rottingham),and Cassandra Bell as the love interest (Princess Shane Kuriyami). Throughout the video,the actors mouth out the lyrics,such as Russ Bain pilloried in town square mouthing "No one's going to take me alive," and Cassandra Bell at the gallows "You and I must fight for our rights." In both instances,the mouthed words occur after the song lyrics and complete before the song moves on to the next line. The band appears in some scenes,partly as holograms.
At the end of the video,the end of the credits read "Copyright MCMLXXXI" which are the Roman numerals for 1981.
An unlicensed remix by Feed Me was released as a white label single.[ citation needed ]
Oakland hip hop group Zion I released a notable remix of the song in 2008. [8]
A remix by Gramatik was released in the "Official &Bootleg Remixes,Colabs &Rare Tracks" album in 2012. [9]
In 2015 the song was sampled in and was used as the main theme for the launch gameplay trailer for Halo 5:Guardians. [10]
Prior to its entry in the Singles Chart,"Knights of Cydonia" had been active in the Downloads Chart,and sat at No. 41 the same week that the physical release debuted at No. 10 in the Singles Chart. Three weeks earlier,the song sat at No. 104 in the Downloads Chart,marking a substantial jump in that time period. The song also reached number 2 in the charts in both Flanders and Wallonia of Belgium. It peaked at number 20 in Norway.[ citation needed ]
The song was the winner of Triple J's annual Hottest 100 countdown for 2007,beating Silverchair’s “Straight Lines”by only 13 votes,and was later voted No. 18 in 2009's Hottest 100 of All Time countdown,where it was the second-highest ranked song from the 21st century.[ citation needed ]
Chart (2006–2008) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australia Digital Tracks (ARIA) [11] | 43 |
Netherlands (Single Top 100) [12] | 91 |
Norway (VG-lista) [13] | 20 |
Scotland (OCC) [14] | 7 |
UK Singles (OCC) [15] | 10 |
UK Rock &Metal (OCC) [16] | 1 |
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [17] | 10 |
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
New Zealand (RMNZ) [18] | Gold | 15,000‡ |
United Kingdom (BPI) [19] | Gold | 400,000‡ |
United States (RIAA) [20] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. |
Muse are an English rock band from Teignmouth,Devon,formed in 1994. The band consists of Matt Bellamy,Chris Wolstenholme,and Dominic Howard.
"No One Knows" is a song by American rock band Queens of the Stone Age written by band members Josh Homme and Mark Lanegan. It was the first single and second track from their third album,Songs for the Deaf,and was released on November 26,2002. "No One Knows" was a chart success,becoming the band's first single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 and their only single to top the US Alternative charts. The song was also critically acclaimed,receiving a nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance at the 2003 Grammy Awards.
Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Muse,first released on 3 July 2006 through Warner Bros. Records and Muse's Helium-3 imprint. It was produced by Rich Costey over four months in New York City,London,Milan and southern France.
"Supermassive Black Hole" is a song by English rock band Muse. Written by Muse lead singer and principal songwriter Matt Bellamy,it was released as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album,Black Holes and Revelations (2006),on 19 June 2006,backed with "Crying Shame".
"Butterflies and Hurricanes" is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the sixth and final single from their third studio album,Absolution (2003),on 20 September 2004. Unlike Absolution,the single was released through Atlantic Records.
"Muscle Museum" is a song by the English rock band Muse,released as the third single from their 1999 debut album Showbiz. Written by lead singer Matt Bellamy,the song's title likely derives from the fact that the words "muscle" and "museum" come immediately before and after the word "muse" in some dictionaries. The song peaked at number 25 on the UK Singles Chart.
The discography of the English rock band Muse includes nine studio albums,two live albums,one compilation album,one box set,five EPs,44 singles,two video albums and 61 music videos.
"Starlight" is a song by the English rock band Muse. It was released in 2006 as the second single from their fourth studio album,Black Holes and Revelations (2006).
"Invincible" is a song by English rock band Muse,released on 9 April 2007 as the fourth single from their fourth studio album Black Holes &Revelations (2006). Matthew Bellamy has cited David Bowie's "Heroes" as an influence on the song.
HAARP is a live album and video by English rock band Muse,released on 17 March 2008 in the United Kingdom and 1 April 2008 in the United States. The CD documents the band's performance at London's Wembley Stadium,as part of their Black Holes and Revelations Tour,on 16 June 2007,while the DVD contains 20 tracks from the performance on 17 June. The total number of audiences watching the band's shows on 16 and 17 June 2007 was 180,000. It was named the 40th greatest live album of all time by NME in 2010.
"Undisclosed Desires" is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the second single from their fifth studio album,The Resistance,on 16 November 2009. The song was written by lead vocalist Matthew Bellamy,who has described it as being "quite a personal song about me and my girlfriend." The song peaked at number 49 on the UK Singles Chart. It also achieved large success in Australia where it was certified Platinum and is Muse's highest-charting single in that country.
"Resistance" is a song by English rock band Muse,featured as the title track on their fifth studio album The Resistance. Written by vocalist,guitarist and pianist Matthew Bellamy,it was released as the third single from the album,following "Uprising" and "Undisclosed Desires",on 22 February 2010. The song makes several references to the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four,by George Orwell. The intro of the song is used in the trailer of the last episode of BBC show Silent Witness. In February 2010,Muse had uploaded a picture puzzle of "Resistance" artwork on their official Facebook page. The puzzle itself has a making of the "Resistance" track. The song was featured in a promo for an episode of Human Target. The song was also released as downloadable content for the music video game Guitar Hero:Warriors of Rock.
"Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)" is a song by the English rock band Muse,featured on the soundtrack to the 2010 film The Twilight Saga:Eclipse. Recorded by the band in 2010,the song was released as the lead single from the album on 17 May 2010.
"Madness" is a song by the English rock band Muse. It is the second track and second single from Muse's sixth studio album,The 2nd Law (2012), released as a download on 20 August 2012. It was written by singer and guitarist Matthew Bellamy and produced by the band. The music video premiered on 5 September 2012.
"Psycho" is a song by the English rock band Muse from their seventh studio album Drones,released on 12 March 2015 as a promotional single and the first from the album. It was later featured as the B-side to the official lead single later that month,"Dead Inside".
"Thought Contagion" is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the second single from the band's eighth studio album,Simulation Theory,on 15 February 2018,following "Dig Down",released the previous year. The single debuted at number 76 on the UK Singles Chart and topped the UK Rock &Metal Singles Chart.
"Pressure" is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the fifth single from the band's eighth studio album,Simulation Theory. The track was released on 27 September 2018,following the release of "The Dark Side",which was released August of that year.
"Algorithm" is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the first track from the band's eighth studio album,Simulation Theory,on 9 November 2018. "Algorithm" is a retro-futuristic and industrial sounding song,in common with the overall theme of Simulation Theory.
Muse –Simulation Theory is a concert film by English rock band Muse,based on their 2018 album Simulation Theory and its supporting tour in 2019. Directed by Lance Drake,it was released on 17 August 2020 in a one-night only worldwide IMAX release,with a download and streaming release on 21 August.
"Kill or Be Killed" is a song by the English rock band Muse. It was released on 21 July 2022 as the fourth single ahead of their ninth studio album Will of the People,having already debuted in live format during festival shows of their Will of the People World Tour. It was nominated for Best Metal Performance at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards.