The Dark Side (song)
| Muse song | |
|---|---|
| Name | The Dark Side |
| Album/single |
|
| Length | 3:47 (Album Version), 3:54 (Alternate Reality Version) |
| Alternative titles | Drkside |
| First live performance | 24th February 2018 (guitar solo), 21st September 2018 (full), 25th February 2023 (ARV Instrumental) |
| Latest live performance | 15th October 2019 |
| Recorded | 2017/2018 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy |
| Producer | Muse, Rich Costey |
| Chart position | Unknown |
| Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Algorithm | < | The Dark Side | > | Pressure |
| Album Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drones (2015) | < | Simulation Theory (2018) | > | Will of the People (2022) |
Listen (Alternate Reality Version)
Description
Matt said The Dark Side is a song that contains 'angry lyrics' and has the common Muse themes of frustration and loneliness. [1]
According to Matt, this song and Algorithm deal with the struggle to get away of a dystopian world and the anxieties about technology, trying to escape of your anxieties or from a some kind of matrix.[2]
The song has also been compared to artists like Prince and is very reminiscent to the Scarface theme, "Push it to the Limit," and to Laura Branigan's hit "Self-Control." With the 80s influence being very strong in this one, it also contains a very "I Want to Break Free"-like guitar solo. Moreover, it is similar to their own Sunburn, in that both prominently feature arpeggios in an Em progression.
You can listen to it here
The Dark Side (Alternate Reality Version)
Played on piano and with a chillier ambiance, this version is to "The Dark Side " what Hyper Chondriac Music is to Hyper Music. Unlike the other pair of songs, the Alternate Reality version is in a different key (C minor) than its counterpart.
An instrumental version of Dark Side AR was also released as part of Simulation Theory's Super Deluxe Version. A short snippet of the instrumental, backed with some dialogue, was also released in 2020 as part of the Simulation Theory Film's soundtrack on the boxset cassette, titled "Emotionality Rush".
You can see the official lyric video of this version here.
Additional information
First mentioned by Matt during KROQ's interview on The Kevin & Bean Show on February 15th, 2018. Matt said that it is one of the band's favourites. The title first appeared in the Something Human music video, during the closing shot, on a car licence plate falling on the ground. The same shot was also used as the opening in the music video for The Dark Side.
Bellamy described the song as "Rock-electro-synth-map-ish-ish". He said this about the song on a Kerrang interview "Some people will listen to Dark Side and think it's a story about battling with mental illness".
Dom's favourite track from the album, he said this in an interview about the song "One of my favourites is Dark Side, because it reminds of some classic sound of the band, but also quite futuristic at the same time".
Live
The effect used in the solo was used during Plug in Baby on the By Request gig in Paris for the first time. Also during the Yokohama Arena gig soundcheck, an unidentified guitar lick was played after Madness, later identified as the guitar solo. It was played full for the first time at Reeperbahn Festival 2018/09/21.
The Instrumental Alternate Version of the song was played during the Will of the People World Tour with Matt sitting on Will the Hacker's shoulder. More here.
Lyrics
I have lived in darkness
For all my life, I've been pursued You'd be afraid, if you could feel my pain And if you could see the things I am able to see
Break me out, break me out, let me flee Break me out, break me out, set me free
I hail from the dark side For all my life, I've been besieged You'd be scared, living with my despair And if you could feel the things I am able to feel
Break me out, break me out, let me flee Break me out, break me out, set me free
Break me out, break me out, let me flee Break me out, break me out, set me free
Save me from the dark side Break me out, break me out, set me free
References
- ↑ Matthew Bellamy. (2018-07-20). Twitter / Jay Pea: @MattBellamy You're not angry enough in your song writing anymore, I miss frustrated lonely muse. Twitter. Retrieved 2018-07-20 from twitter.com.
- ↑ John Kennedy for Radio X. (2018). John Kennedy - Radio X in conversation with Muse. Retrieved 2018-07-12 from Youtube.