Recording
After completing the Showbiz tour,Muse recorded "Plug In Baby","Bliss","New Born" and "Darkshines" with the producer David Bottrill,forming the "backbone" of Origin of Symmetry. To capture their live energy,Muse recorded together as a band,with some overdubs. [9]
After Bottrill departed to work on the Tool album Lateralus ,Muse enlisted John Leckie,who had produced Showbiz. [9] They recorded in Sawmills in Fowey,Cornwall;Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey;Real World Studios in Box,Wiltshire;and David Gilmour's Astoria houseboat studio on the Thames. [9] While they were working in Real World Studios,they went to a church in Bath to record a church organ for "Megalomania". [9]
Having mainly recorded Showbiz with a Gibson Les Paul guitar,Bellamy recorded Origin of Symmetry using a custom Manson guitar equipped with a built-in Fuzz Factory,a fuzz distortion effect. [9] It was the first of many collaborations between Bellamy and Manson. [9]
Legacy
Origin of Symmetry has made appearances on lists of the greatest rock albums of the 2000s. In 2006,Q named it the 74th-greatest album of all time, [25] and in 2008 Q readers voted it the 28th-best British album. Kerrang! named it the 20th-best British rock album and the 13th best album of the 21st century. [26]
In a retrospective review,Natalie Shaw of BBC Music wrote that Origin of Symmetry "shows a band with the drive and unfettered ambition to create a standalone marvel which not only awakens the ghosts and clichés from prog's pompous past,but entirely adds its own voice". He said that many elements of the band's later albums,such as Black Holes and Revelations (2006),could be traced back to the album. [27] The author Amy Britton argued that on Origin of Symmetry Bellamy "progressed [his band]'s sound so much that he earned a new title –this generation's guitar hero," highlighting "Plug In Baby" and "New Born". [28] In a retrospective review in 2021,the Pitchfork critic Jazz Monroe wrote:"Muse were playing melodrama as teenage realism,an extremely,ridiculously honest noise ... By combining goth vulnerability with sci-fi scale and hard-rock drama,[Origin of Symmetry] captures a paradox of young romance:on one hand,Bellamy sounds wracked with despair,but he proclaims his heartbreak with the glee of an ecstatic preacher." [18]
On 26 and 28 August 2011,Muse performed a special set at the Reading and Leeds Festivals,which consisted of the band playing Origin of Symmetry from start to finish,to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the album. [29]
Reissues
On 6 December,2019,Origin of Symmetry was remastered and reissued as part of the Origin of Muse boxset,alongside Showbiz,demos,live performances and other material. [30] On 18 June 2021,the album's 20th anniversary,Muse released a remixed and remastered version,Origin of Symmetry:XX Anniversary RemiXX. [31] A collaboration with the producer Rich Costey,who worked on several later Muse albums,it features a "more open,dynamic and less crushed sound". [32] The new mixes also restore elements that were originally muted or obscured,such as string sections on "Space Dementia","Citizen Erased" and "Megalomania",and a harpsichord on "Micro Cuts". The album features new cover artwork by Sujin Kim. [31] The Pitchfork critic Jazz Monroe described the reissue as "definitive ... even more colossal and timeless". [18]
Lateralus is the third studio album by the American rock band Tool. It was released on May 15, 2001, through Volcano Entertainment. The album was recorded at Cello Studios in Hollywood and The Hook, Big Empty Space, and The Lodge, in North Hollywood, between October 2000 and January 2001. David Bottrill, who had produced the band's two previous releases Ænima and Salival, produced the album along with the band, and became the last Tool album produced by Bottrill to date. On August 23, 2005, Lateralus was released as a limited edition two-picture-disc vinyl LP in a holographic gatefold package.
Muse are an English rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, formed in 1994. The band consists of Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme, and Dominic Howard.
Absolution is the third studio album by English rock band Muse, released on 22 September 2003 through Taste Media. It was produced by Muse and Rich Costey, with additional production by John Cornfield and Paul Reeve.
Showbiz is the debut studio album by English rock band Muse, first released on 7 September 1999 through Taste Media. It was released in various other regions around the world through the band's different regional labels such as; Naïve in France, Motor in Germany, Russia, Turkey and Ukraine, Maverick in the United States, Play It Again Sam (PIAS) in Benelux, and Avex Trax in Japan.
Gorillaz is the debut studio album by English virtual band Gorillaz, released on 26 March 2001 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and in the United States by Virgin Records. The album reached number three in the UK and number fourteen in the US, and the top ten in several other countries. Gorillaz has sold over seven million copies worldwide. The album's success earned the group an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the "Most Successful Virtual Band", and spawned the singles "Clint Eastwood", "19-2000", "Rock the House", and "Tomorrow Comes Today".
Hullabaloo Soundtrack, also known as simply Hullabaloo, is a compilation and live album by English rock band Muse. The album is a double album with disc one containing previously released B-sides and disc two acting as the soundtrack to their live video Hullabaloo: Live at Le Zenith, Paris, which documented the band's performances at Le Zénith in Paris, France, on 28 and 29 October 2001. It was released alongside the live video on 1 July 2002 via Taste and Mushroom records.
"New Born" is a song by the English rock band Muse, from their second studio album, Origin of Symmetry (2001). It was released as the second single on 4 June 2001 and reached number 12 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was also featured on the Hullabaloo live DVD.
Meds is the fifth studio album by British alternative rock band Placebo. It was recorded from late 2005 to early 2006 and released on 13 March 2006 by record label Virgin in most countries, although it was released three days earlier in Australia and New Zealand. Illegal copies had previously been available on the Internet since 17 January 2006.
Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by 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.
"Plug In Baby" is a song by English rock band Muse. It was released as the lead single from the band's second studio album, Origin of Symmetry (2001), on 12 March 2001.
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.
"Citizen Erased" is a song by English rock band Muse. It is the sixth track on their second studio album, Origin of Symmetry (2001). Written by singer and guitarist Matt Bellamy, it is a grandiose, multi-section progressive rock and space rock song that serves as the centrepiece of Origin of Symmetry. Despite having not been released as a single at first, it charted at No. 122 on the UK Singles Chart in 2007 and became a fan favourite. It was later given a new mix as part of Origin of Symmetry: XX Anniversary RemiXX in 2021 and was released as that album's lead single.
Battle for the Sun is the sixth studio album by British alternative rock band Placebo. It was recorded in Canada in 2008 and released on 8 June 2009 by record label PIAS. It is their first album with new drummer Steve Forrest, following the departure of Steve Hewitt in 2007.
The Resistance is the fifth studio album by English rock band Muse, first released on 11 September 2009 through Warner Bros. Records and Muse's Helium-3 imprint. Produced by the band and mixed by Mark Stent, the album was recorded from September 2008 to May 2009 at Studio Bellini in Lake Como, Italy. Musically, the record is similar to some of the band's previous material, mixing orchestral elements with rock and electronic music. The album also saw the band craft a three-part, 13-minute long symphony piece titled "Exogenesis". Lyrically, it is a concept record, as well as a continuation of the themes from their previous records, being influenced by politics and more oppressive subjects.
The 2nd Law is the sixth studio album by English rock band Muse, first released on 28 September 2012 through Warner Bros. Records and the band's own Helium-3 imprint. Recording of the album took place in studios between London and Los Angeles County, beginning in October 2011 and ending in August 2012. The 2nd Law was Muse's second album to be solely self-produced, following The Resistance (2009), and features a plethora of additional musicians that performed brass, strings, and choir vocals.
Drones is the seventh studio album by English rock band Muse, released on 5 June 2015 through Warner Bros. Records and the band's own Helium-3 imprint. The album was recorded between October 2014 and April 2015 at the Warehouse Studio in Vancouver, with orchestral sections recorded at Officine Meccaniche in Milan, and was produced by the band and Robert John "Mutt" Lange. Drones is a concept album following a soldier's abandonment, indoctrination as a "human drone", and eventual defection. It also comments on the Obama administration's drone program. After their previous albums incorporated orchestral and electronic music, Muse aimed to return to a more straightforward rock sound musically.
Matthew James Bellamy is an English singer, songwriter and producer. He is the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and chief songwriter for the English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his eccentric stage persona, wide tenor vocal range and musicianship.
The Shadow Side is the debut solo album by Black Veil Brides frontman Andy Black. It was released on May 6, 2016, on Lava and Republic Records.
Origin of Muse is a box set by English rock band Muse, released on 6 December 2019 through Muse's Helium 3 label and Warner Records. It includes remastered editions of Muse's first two albums, Showbiz (1999) and Origin of Symmetry (2001), as well as B-sides, demos, and live performances from their early career. In total, the box set includes 113 tracks, nine CDs, and four vinyl records.
Will of the People is the ninth studio album by English rock band Muse, released through Warner Records and Helium-3 on 26 August 2022. Self-produced by the band, it is a genre-hopping album that Matthew Bellamy described as "a greatest hits album – of new songs." "Won't Stand Down", "Compliance", "Will of the People", and "Kill or Be Killed" were released as singles before the album was released, and "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween" was released as a single the same day the album came out.
