Simulation Theory (album)

This page will serve as a running commentary on Muse's next major release.

New Info

The first time when Muse began to speak about this album was in September 2015. According to Dom, they were discussing the direction for the new album and that this album must be really different from the other releases. Dom also said: «I think it's time to kind of lose our minds a little bit more in the studio and delve into some new areas of music that we're kind of not that used to or comfortable with. I think we should definitely do that and kinda go for it. Yeah, we've got small ideas about how we think we can evolve. That's the key thing: evolving.»

In one of the interviews in 2016 Dom said that Drones might've been their last album as it is. As he said «The world is a very different place. And the way people consume music is very different than it used to be. So we’ve been talking about just releasing small groups of tracks, or just singles, for quite a number of years now.».

In another 2016 interview for Virgin Radio France, Bellamy mentioned that they might start recording and working on new material by the end of 2016. He also mentioned that they might use more electronic elements or orchestral elements and take the experimental approach again for new material, as opposed to their recent album's more basic approach (using guitar, bass and drums).

At the 2016 Q awards, Bellamy said that they might release a song or two in 2017 but it's unlikely that a new album would come out that year, more likely in 2018.

During 2017, both Bellamy and Howard posted several posts of themselves working in the studio as well as Dom liking some Instagram comments posted by fans, pointing out to new material, suggesting that they are probably working on new material. After a fan met both the band and Tommaso Colliva outside Air Studios, he cited them saying that they have recorded 3 new songs, one of which is presumably going to be a heavier song.

On May 18th, 2017, Muse released a new song called Dig Down, that they confirmed would be on the next album. It is probably not one of the original three songs recorded in March, as Dig Down was written in early April 2017.

On October 11th, 2017, the band announced that they were back in the studio in Los Angeles with Rich Costey, who previously helped Muse produce Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations. The band also teased instagram followers with a few photos during recording sessions.

During an interview with KROQ on December 9th, 2017, Bellamy revealed that they're mixing a new song called 'Thought Contagion'. The release date and artwork were subsequently revealed in ealry February of 2018 on Muse's Instagram before the song was released on February 15th, 2018.

When interviewed on KROQ's The Kevin & Bean show on February 15th, 2018, Matt said they are currently working on 10 songs for the album, and they have got "four or seven songs in the bag", but they might record a few more spare songs in the future. He mentioned they have plans to release three or maybe even four additional singles in this year before releasing a full album later this year/earlier next year. Additionally, he also said the new album was inspired by a British sci-fi series Black Mirror.

According to Howard, speaking to Matt Wilkinson on Beats 1 Radio, aired on February 16th, 2018, the upcoming album will be very different from the previous album having "a lot more weird synths and stuff".

During an interview on The Woody Show on ALT 98.7 radio on February 16th, 2018, Matt also mentioned a possibility of the album being released in the fall of this year.

When speaking with a French Radio RTL2 on February 26th, Bellamy mentioned that they're going to try to produce one song with Timbaland in the first two weeks of March. He also mentioned, in the same interview, that Thought Contagion will likely be the most traditional style and that the next song they plan to release in the future will probably be a surprise in a very different style.

He also mentioned, in the same interview, that the main ideas and themes of the songs in the album will revolve around simulated reality and the idea that people in the future will be able to live in any point in the past with the help of VR.

Possible/Confirmed songs

Song	Information
Dig Down	Released as a single on May 18th, 2017, they revealed in an interview that it would be in the next album scheduled for 2018.
Thought Contagion	Released as single in February 15th, 2018.
Acoustic song(s)	First rumoured on 27 October 2016 when Matt posted a photo of himself with an acoustic guitar on Instragram with the caption: "Attempting to write a song on an acoustic guitar #oldskool #vintage #whereismywhammy #regram @mattbellamy". Possibly one of the three songs recorded in London.
Heavy song(s)	In a interview with a fan on 13 March 2017, the band revealed that they had recorded three songs in London and that one of them was heavy, while the other two were not.
Pop song(s)	In a interview with a fan on 13 March 2017, the band revealed that they had recorded three songs in London and that one of them was heavy, while the other two were not.
The Dark Side	Name of the song they are presumably working on, 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 favorites.
Algorithm	Name of the song Matt mentioned while speaking with Matt Wilkinson on Beats 1 Radio on February 16th, 2018. According to Matt the song blends a bit of classical romantic piano with 80s synths/computer game music.