With the recent release of the movie Twilight, Muse has seen a sharp upswing in popularity thanks in part to the throng of tweenage girls fawning over the scene playing their song Supermassive Black Hole. Sadly, moviegoers that are more focused on the movie’s pale and troubled vampires are missing out on some of the best music written in the past decade. Supermassive Black Hole is a good song in its own respects – it’s fun, catchy, and a blast to hear played live – but it is also just a glimpse of the musical genius that Muse possesses.
Hailing from the town of Teignmouth in Devon, Muse consists of Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard and Christopher Wolstenholme. The trio is a musical powerhouse; they often sound like a much larger ensemble. With influences from Rage Against the Machine to Rachmaninoff, Muse seems to defy traditional musical genres and jumps easily between classically arranged piano, mosh-worthy riffs, and even acoustical bits reminiscent of Radiohead.
While Muse’s songs make up a vast library, certain tracks do stand out from the others and are widely considered to be Muse’s best songs. The following songs, listed with their albums, will serve as a wonderful starting place for any new fan interested in increasing their Muse playlist.
Apocalypse Please – Absolution
Joined with the 22-second track Intro from the same album, Apocalypse Please sets the mood for the album with crashing piano and booming drums as Bellamy sings about the end of the world. The dark subject matter and music prove to be a beautiful contrast to later songs on the album, such as Endlessly or Sing for Absolution, but even on its own it is sure to blow people away.
Butterflies and Hurricanes – Absolution
With a verse and chorus that have created many mosh pits at live shows and a breakdown that proves Bellamy’s piano prowess, Butterflies and Hurricanes is the perfect example of Muse’s genre-crossing abilities. The fact that it causes crowds to go from crazy to completely quiet during the piano solo speaks volumes.
Hysteria – Absolution
Thanks to its radio presence after the release of Absolution, Hysteria is widely considered to be Muse’s trademark song. Featuring a hand-cramping bass line and a guitar solo that the begs the use of the Echo effect, Hysteria is quite likely to be the song that many people will have heard without knowing anything about Muse.
Invincible – Black Holes and Revelations
Because of its slow start, people often fail to realize that Invincible is building up to an incredible solo and finale. When looking for a broad scope of Muse songs, this powerful and sadly underrated song should not be excluded.
Knights of Cydonia – Black Holes and Revelations
The concept of Knights of Cydonia may sound cheesy at first, based off of the band’s love of Spaghetti Westerns and outer space, but this song downright rocks. From the thundering triplets, Matt’s use of falsetto and a breakdown that gets a crowd chanting like they are marching off to war, Knights of Cydonia is quickly becoming one of Muse’s signature songs.
New Born – Origin of Symmetry
Origin of Symmetry starts off with a soft piano piece reminiscent of a music box…and from there, proceeds to kick the listener in the face with one of the band’s heaviest riffs. It all leads up to a blistering solo that Bellamy has somehow managed to improve for recent live shows. When searching for Muse songs that are on the heavier side, there is no better place to start than New Born.
Plug In Baby – Origin of Symmetry
Plug In Baby can frequently be found on lists counting down the greatest riffs of all time, and with good reason: the riff makes the song instantly recognizable. Yet another piece that has seen its fair share of mosh pits, Plug In Baby is another great song for anyone looking for Muse songs of the heavier variety.
Space Dementia – Origin of Symmetry
Space Dementia is a unique song, simply because it achieves some of the heaviness of their other songs using the piano rather than a guitar. From the classical intro, to the fast paced verses (which Bellamy often plays live in double time), to the ending in which all hell breaks loose, there are few songs that sound remotely like it.
Sunburn – Showbiz
The first song off of Muse’s debut album, Sunburn set the bar high for the rest of their career. The song features all of the band’s staples: piano throughout, a great little solo, a complex bass line and pounding drums. Bellamy’s vocal range is very apparent on this track, making it one that no Muse library should be without.
Take a Bow- Black Holes and Revelations
Take a Bow started the album Black Holes and Revelations, but more often than not finishes the list at live Muse shows. There is very good reasoning why the band chooses to end with this track; the song builds and builds, layering one instrument on top of another until it comes to the finale. It is very easy to close your eyes and picture fireworks exploding while listening to this song.
For those just be getting into Muse, or those who have their entire library on their shelf and are just looking for a new playlist, the aforementioned songs are sure to please. All of these Muse songs and their corresponding albums are available in the iTunes store.
Nicole Bohny - My love for English began at the young age of two, when I began to learn how to read. By the age of four I was reading articles in the ...
