Music In Your Hand: MUSE biography

Muse are an English alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon. Since their inception in 1994, the band has comprised Matthew Bellamy (lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, keytar), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass, backing vocals, keyboards, guitars, harmonica), and Dominic Howard (drums, percussion, synthesizers, backing vocals, sampling). After the release of the album Black Holes and Revelations, Morgan Nicholls (keyboards, percussion, bass guitar) has performed live with the band. Muse are known for their energetic and extravagant live performances, having played over 950 gigs in 47 countries and their fusion of many music genres, including progressive rock, alternative rock, classical music, heavy metal, and electronica with recurring themes of revolution.

Muse have released five studio albums: Showbiz (1999), Origin of Symmetry (2001), Absolution (2003), Black Holes and Revelations (2006), and The Resistance (2009). The band have also issued three live albums, HAARP (2008), Absolution Tour (2005), and a compilation of B-sides, Hullabaloo Soundtrack (2002).

Black Holes and Revelations earned the band a Mercury Prize nomination and a third place finish in the NME Albums of the Year list for 2006. Muse have won many other music awards throughout their career, including five MTV Europe Music Awards, five Q Awards, eight NME Awards, two BRIT awards and four Kerrang! Awards. Before the release of The Resistance, Muse had sold over ten million albums worldwide.

Musical style

Muse's primary genres are progressive rock, space rock, and alternative rock, but they also integrate parts of electronica, indie, rock opera, hard rock, and metal.

Many Muse songs are recognizable by lead vocalist Matthew Bellamy's use of falsetto and vibrato. As a guitarist, Bellamy often utilizes arpeggio and pitch-shift effects to create a more "electric" sound, citing Jimi Hendrix and Tom Morello as influences for this method.

Muse's album Black Holes and Revelations was influenced by various styles of European and Asian music. "I've been listening to quite a lot of music from the south of Italy on this album", Bellamy admits. "I've been living in Italy for a while, and I discovered this music from Naples, which sounds like a mix of music from Africa, Croatia, Turkey, and Italy. It kind of gives it a mystical sound, so I think that's one thing that influenced the album. I like being influenced by things that have a mixed style".

Muse have cited Queen as an influence. Queen guitarist Brian May has praised Muse's work, calling the band "extraordinary musicians" who "let their madness show through, always a good thing in an artist." In particular, Dominic Howard noted the influence of Queen on "United States of Eurasia."

On the band's association with progressive rock, Dominic Howard has said: "I associate it with 10-minute guitar solos, but I guess we kind of come into the category. A lot of bands are quite ambitious with their music, mixing lots of different styles — and when I see that I think it's great. I've noticed that kind of thing becoming a bit more mainstream."

Members

Core

Matthew Bellamy - lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, keytar
Christopher Wolstenholme - bass, backing vocals, keyboards, guitar, harmonica
Dominic Howard - drums, percussion, synthesizers, backing vocals, sampling

Live members

Morgan Nicholls - keyboards, percussion, bass guitar, guitar, backing vocals (2004, 2006–present)
Dan Newell - trumpet ("Knights of Cydonia" and "City of Delusion") (2006–2007)
Alessandro Cortini - keyboards (filled in for Morgan Nicholls briefly in 2009)