The Resistance (album)

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Cover art
Muse.mu Exclusive Limited Edition Deluxe box set
Muse album
Name The Resistance
Tracks 11
Total length 54:13
Recorded 2008–2009[1]
Writer/composer Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard, Christopher Wolstenholme
Producer Muse[2]
Art work La Boca
Publisher Warner, Helium 3[note 1]
Format(s)
  • CD, CD+DVD (Limited Edition), download (MP3, iTunes LP) »
  • CD+DVD+USB (MP3, M4A, WAV) +2LP (Limited Edition box set)
  • CD+5.1 DVD (5.1 surround sound) +DVD+USB (MP3, M4A, WAV) +2LP (Muse.mu Exclusive Limited Edition Deluxe box set)
Catalogue № 825646874347
Release date 14th September 2009[1][3]‡
Chart position 1[4][5]†
album chronology
Black Holes and Revelations
←
The Resistance
→
The 2nd Law
Singles
United States of Eurasia cover art.jpgUprising CD cover art.jpgUndisclosed Desires CD cover art.jpgWEA430CD.JPGExogenesis vinyl.jpgMKULTRA.png


Information

Muse's fifth studio album, The Resistance, was released on September 14th 2009. Like previous Muse albums it draws from a wide range of genres and influences, including glam rock, R&B, disco and classical. The Resistance sees the return of instrumentation previously used on Origin of Symmetry, including a church organ (Unnatural Selection) and llama toenails (United States of Eurasia).[6] Matthew Bellamy summarised the album as having "an emphasis on rhythm and contemporary R&B at the start. Then it gets epic and strange, then it becomes contemporary classical music."[7]

The band won the Grammy for Best Rock Album with The Resistance in 2011.

Writing

On the 24th of May 2006 Matt was interviewed by Australian record station Triple J, before the release of Black Holes and Revelations. He stated that he wanted create a more progressive album with a lot of longer, piano based songs, with similarities to Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon.[8] Also, in the fan webchat, when fans had the opportunity to ask questions of the band, one fan posed the question "Which song off the new album (BH&R) is most similar to the sound of the new album?". The band stated it was too early to tell, but some songs being written were in a similar style to " Map of the Problematique".

In an interview with French magazine Rock Mag in July 2007, Matt revealed a few details about the new album's direction, stating that some of the songs are more dance and electronica influenced, while others are a lot more symphonic and classical, and may include an orchestra. In another interview he mentioned one specific song he had written that would work well live with an orchestra, and mentioned he would like to use one for older songs such as " Hoodoo".[9] He also said that they may release a new song, that sounds "like Elton John", as a charity download single. This is presumably the same song that was mentioned months earlier in a Planet Sound article.[10] This article announced that a new song had been recorded. Dom stated "It came too late to put on Holes—we thought we should finish it in a tour break to put it out as a single. It's so long ago now, I can't exactly remember how it sounds."[11] This song was ultimately not released by Muse, but was identified in 2009 as being "Soaked" when the demo was listed in the Warner/Chappell song catalogue. The song was later covered by Adam Lambert.

In Q magazine Matt stated that "I live in Como, northern Italy, in a house that used to belong to the opera composer Vincenzo Bellinii. I'm trying to trace his ghost right now to help me write songs. I do this late at night, 3am. I turn the lights down low and start playing his songs on the piano in the hope of making contact. It hasn't worked so far but I'm confident it will".[12] Opera has influenced Matt in the past, notably the song " Micro Cuts". Later in a February 2008 interview with UK magazine Rock Sound, Matt stated that his lyrics may take a departure from the paranormal and other worldly elements, and that whilst he never used to be comfortable discussing personal issues within his songs, he is becoming more comfortable doing so and wishes to explore that side of songwriting.

Numerous media reports about the fifth album began to appear[13][14][15] after the Daily Star published a story quoting Dom as saying "We’re going to start writing it properly next year but we’ve been getting lots of ideas down. “We think it might have quite an electronic feel". Howard also said the band were "buzzing" and indicated they would be ready to begin work on the album immediately after touring, with no break for reflection.[16] In an interview in October 2007, Matt indicated that their progression to electronic music would probably be limited to added synths, and they would ultimately remain a rock band.[17]

The band discussed a few of the songs they wanted on the album in early 2008. Matt stated he would like "at least one 15-minute space-rock solo" and "dancing, grooving, rhythm section-dominated songs".[18] Matt later confirmed that he was indeed working on a 14 minute long "progressive" song that was "like a slimy opera version [of previous Muse songs]", as well as "funk and r'n'b" songs, but as of the March 2008, nothing had been recorded.[19] On 4th June, Dom posted updates to the Musewire twitter page concerning the new album, speaking of 'otherworldly disco', '15 minute orchestral monsters' and 'things in between'.[20][21]

Later in July, Matt detailed a song the band were working on that "sounds a little like ‘New Year’s Day’" by U2. He also stated that there was "a bit of glam rock creeping in there as well". Chris said in the same interview: "At the moment, I'm into getting loose in the studio with an engineer and seeing what happens. It might be shit!".[22] This song was later appeared to be " Guiding Light". The album sees new methods of playing and style with the song " Undisclosed Desires" being the first song in which Matt plays neither guitar or piano, also having a programmed Drum Machine.[7] This song is the first time Chris uses the method of slap bass.[23]

Recording

The album was recorded in Moltrasio (Lake Como) and Milan, Italy, between late-2008 and mid-2009. The beginning of the recording process was first indicated to have begun with the announcement of the Rock in Rio Festival, with the band scheduled to be recording in June 2008.[24] However, on the 21st June 2008, Chris announced that although band had five or six new songs for the new album, they had not heard any of Matt's lyrics for the songs, saying that he's sure "he already has them in his head and that they are dark, as always". He contradicted earlier indications that recording would begin in June, instead stating that the band "don't plan to start recording before September or October", and that the album would be released in 2009.[1] Chris later announced in early July, through Musewire, that they were "trying to put together a new album" in Italy, in Lake Como, where Matt's house is.[25] By September, the band were rehearsing for the album in their home county of Devon, UK,[26] and in October, Dom stated the band were working on a "symphonic monster among other things", presumably the aforementioned orchestral song, and would "start a bit of real recording in a couple of weeks".[27] In the Muse Q&A session in November 2008, Matt implied this song was difficult to compose as he was arranging the orchestral elements himself due to the fear of a composer changing the music. The song, if finished, will be in three parts at the end of the album.[28] In addition, Dom said that the song "starts quite mellow and ends up very heavy indeed whilst moving through a few genres to get there".[29] By mid-December 2008, Muse were working on the album in Matt's personal studio at Lake Como, Italy.[30] The Muse Christmas present ultimately lead to a screensaver that featured silent clips of the band recording the album, including Matt playing a keyboard whilst singing and wearing a santa hat.[31] On 31st January Tom Kirk posted a video he uploaded to YouTube of Dom playing a snare drum in a sheep field whilst listening to some sort of device.[32] On 2nd March, a second video was posted onto YouTube by Tom Kirk featuring the band clicking into a microphone in a toilet cubicle, and another on the 28th of March with the band discussing recording after dinner.[33] Dom posted a blog on his MySpace profile on the 14th March 2009 stating that "Matt is doing vocals on some tracks as we speak which normally means they're nearly finished". In addition, after two more tracks are recorded from scratch, he said that "we might be almost looking at a complete album", before adding the finishing touches on the songs until they are finished.[33]

Recording was completed by May 2009, at which point mixing had begun.[34] On the 11th June 2009 Dom posted an update on MySpace stating that The Resistance had been mixed and he thought that the band had "actually finished the album", indicating a Sepetember release.[35] On 23rd June 2009, Chris announced via the band's Twitter account that the album was "well and truly finished" and the band were preparing for mastering in New York.[36]

At some point it was expected that there would be some form of collaboration with Does It Offend You, Yeah?. In April, Dan Coop of Does It Offend You, Yeah? stated that they would be "hopefully going to go over to Matt's studio in Italy", but it was unknown where it would be Muse featuring Does It Offend It You, Yeah? or vice versa.[37] No further news of this collaboration emerged, though they have made a remix of the first single Uprising which will be released as the B-Side on the CD single.

Pre-release

Listening party player

None of the songs featured on The Resistance were played in full prior its recording, despite the band initially expressing desires to do so.[38][39] The first song title to be known was " United States of Eurasia", obtained from an image of the song's sheet music posted on Musewire.[40][41]

On 3rd February Microcuts.net posted a message saying that "Warner decided to release the new yet-to-be-named album in September 2009. An european tour should follow in fall."[42] On the 22nd May 2009, the title was announced to be The Resistance.[43] On 16th June, it was announced on the official website that the release date is 14th September 2009. On the 3rd July the track list was announced one song at a time via Musewire. When " United States of Eurasia" was announced, it was appended by (+Collateral Damage); "Collateral Damage" was eventually revealed as the outro to the song. " I Belong to You" was similarly appended by (+Mon Coeur S'Ouvre A Ta Voix), an interlude which is sung in French.

Release

The band initially entertained the idea of not releasing a full album but instead release a series of stand-alone songs to be released soon after touring concluded.[44] Early in 2008 Matt hinted the band had no real idea about what any future release could be, or if it would even be an album, stating "It may just be albums, but it may be a stream of singles, or it may just be one 50-minute symphony, do you know what I mean? Who knows?".[45]

In March 2008, Matt elaborated on his wishes to diverge from the traditional album format, stating "I don't think we're going to approach the next album like we're making an album... we're just gonna make a load of music." He went on to explain that the future approach would be "Almost like making the single a more prominent format and then every few years doing a 'best of' from that period and that would be the album. So in other words, throw out songs every couple of months and see how people like them, and whichever ones people like, stick that on a record of 11 tracks."[46] It later became apparent that band were in fact working on a full album.

Album art

The front cover artwork was unveiled on the 4th of August 2009 via muse.mu. It depicts a human figure standing on an illuminated pathway with the Earth at the center.

Formats

The album was released in a total of five different formats: CD, Limited Edition CD+DVD, MP3 download, the Limited Edition box set, the Muse.mu Limited Edition Deluxe box set and a special iTunes LP version on iTunes. The limited edition DVD contains a making of documentary of the album. The CD and CD+DVD version are packaged in a foldout softpak derived from sustainable forestry materials. The Limited Edition box the includes the CD, DVD, the album on double 12" heavyweight vinyl and on a USB flash drive in 320kpbs MP3, lossless WAV and Apple Lossless formats. The Muse.mu Exclusive Deluxe box set, available only from the Official Muse website was limited to 5000 copies world wide (though it has been speculated in the Muse Messageboards that more than 5000 were released) and additionally contains an audio DVD of the album in full bitrate DTS & Dolby 5.1 surround sound. Both box sets include a 12" album art, and Exogenesis art print. The iTunes LP version included the complete album and a special computer part which contained pictures, videos, notes to every song and credits.

Those who pre-ordered the album could download exclusive videos of live Muse performances, made available one per week until the release date.

Chart positions

Region Position
Australia (AU) 1
Austria (AT)
Belgium (BE)
Canada (CA)
Europe
France (FR)
Germany (DE)
Ireland (IE)
Italy (IT)
Japan (JP) 2
Korea (KR) 1
Mexico (MX)
Netherlands (NL)
New Zealand (NZ)
Norway (NO)
Portugal (PT) 2
Spain (ES)
Switzerland (CH) 1
United Kingdom (GB)
USA (US) 3

Release dates

Region Date
Australia (AU) 12th September 2009
Benelux (BX) 11th September 2009
Germany (DE)
Japan (JP) 16th September 2009[47]
Italy (IT) 11th September 2009
United Kingdom (GB) 14th September 2009[1][3]
USA (US) 15th September 2009

Track list

CD, USB

  1. Uprising
  2. Resistance
  3. Undisclosed Desires
  4. United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)
  5. Guiding Light
  6. Unnatural Selection
  7. MK ULTRA
  8. I Belong to You (+Mon Cœur S'ouvre à Ta Voix)
  9. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)
  10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)
  11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)

Muse.mu Exclusive limited 5.1 DVD

  1. Uprising
  2. Resistance
  3. Undisclosed Desires
  4. United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage)
  5. Guiding Light
  6. Unnatural Selection
  7. MK ULTRA
  8. I Belong to You (+Mon Cœur S'ouvre à Ta Voix)
  9. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)
  10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)
  11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)

Special Edition bonus DVD

The making of The Resistance: - 43:53

  1. Uprising
  2. Resistance
  3. Undisclosed Desires
  4. United States of Eurasia
  5. Guiding Light
  6. Unnatural Selection
  7. MK ULTRA
  8. I Belong To You
  9. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 1 (Overture)
  10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination)
  11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)
  12. (Credits)

Vinyl

A

  1. Uprising
  2. Resistance
  3. Undisclosed Desires

B

  1. United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage) - 5:47
  2. Guiding Light - 4:13

C

  1. Unnatural Selection - 6:54
  2. MK ULTRA - 4:06
  3. I Belong to You (+Mon Cœur S'ouvre à Ta Voix) - 5:38

D

  1. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture) - 4:18
  2. Exogenesis: Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination) - 3:56
  3. Exogenesis: Symphony Part III (Redemption) - 4:37

iTunes LP

  1. Uprising - 5:02
  2. Resistance - 5:46
  3. Undisclosed Desires - 3:56
  4. United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage) - 5:47
  5. Guiding Light - 4:13
  6. Unnatural Selection - 6:54
  7. MK ULTRA - 4:06
  8. I Belong to You (+Mon Cœur S'ouvre à Ta Voix) - 5:38
  9. Exogenesis: Symphony Part I (Overture) - 4:18
  10. Exogenesis: Symphony Part II (Cross Pollination) - 3:56
  11. Exogenesis: Symphony Part III (Redemption) - 4:37
  12. The making of Uprising (Video) - 5:35
  13. The making of United States of Eurasia (+Collateral Damage) (Video) - 5:41
  14. Supermassive Black Hole (Live from Paris Video) - 3:58
  15. 10 photos
  16. Songs with linernotes of Matt

Pre-order downloads

Week 1: Stockholm Syndrome (Live From Kuala Lumpur) video - 8:19

Week 2: The Making of Uprising - 5:35

Week 3: Assassin (Live from LA) video - 7:13

Week 4: On the Road in South America - 8:20

Week 5: The Making of United States of Eurasia - 5:41

Week 6: Knights of Cydonia (Live From Den Bosch) video - 07:15

Details

Region Release Catalogue № Publisher(s) Tracks Length Date Chart position
GB CD 825646874347 Helium 3, Warner 11 54:13 2009-09-14[1][3] 1[4][5]
JP CD WPCR13629[48] Unknown 11 Unknown 2009-09-16 2
Unknown 5.1 DVD Unknown Unknown 11 54:39 Unknown Unknown

The Resistance Gallery

  • CD+DVD front cover

  • CD+DVD back cover

  • CD

  • DVD

  • 5.1 DVD front cover

  • 5.1 DVD back cover

  • 5.1 DVD

  • USB

  • Vinyl A/B side cover

  • Vinyl A/B side back cover

  • Vinyl C/D side cover

  • Vinyl C/D side back cover

  • Box set front cover

  • Box set back cover

Into the Fifth Album gallery

  • The Buchla Madness

  • Synths and Biscuits

  • Matt and Adrian the engineer

  • Keyboard Skills

  • Atrocity Vector?

  • Viewing

  • United States of Eurasia, Score in Milan...

  • Rock Viola

Notes

  1. ↑ Assumption based on previous releases

References

  1. ↑ a b c d e SofiaR. (2008-04-22). Chris Interview - Metro. Muselive. Retrieved from www.muselive.com.
  2. ↑ Michael Odell. (2009-07). Hot New Albums 42: Muse. Q, 78. Retrieved 2009-07-25. [verify]
  3. ↑ a b c The Resistance (2008-06-12). Amazon UK. Retrieved from www.amazon.co.uk.
  4. ↑ a b Rockers Muse enjoy chart success (2009-09-20). BBC. Retrieved 2009-09-21 from www.bbc.co.uk. [verify]
  5. ↑ a b Muse score 16 global Number Ones with 'The Resistance' (2009-09-23). NME website. Retrieved 2009-09-24 from www.nme.com. [verify]
  6. ↑ Samantha Clode. (2009-06-24). Viva la Resistance!. jmag. Retrieved 2009-06-25 from www.muselive.com. [verify]
  7. ↑ a b Ray Wilkinson. (2009-07). Progressive stadium rock three dream up album five. Mojo magazine, 1802. Retrieved 2009-07-05 from www.muselive.com. [verify]
  8. ↑ Matt Bellamy Interviewed on Triple J 20070524
  9. ↑ Interview with 20min.ch 20070725
  10. ↑ Rock Mag article 20070709
  11. ↑ Muse Memory Full of Holes (2006-11-17). Planet Sound. Retrieved 2007-07-16. [verify]
  12. ↑ Ten Commandments (2007-08). Q magazine. Retrieved 2007-08-03. [verify]
  13. ↑ Alex Fletcher. (2007-10-12). Muse have "electronic" fifth album plans. Digital Spy. Retrieved 2007-10-19 from www.digitalspy.co.uk. [verify]
  14. ↑ Souldshine.ca news 20071016
  15. ↑ Ken Bruce Show on BBC Radio 2
  16. ↑ Daily Star article 20071011
  17. ↑ Interview with Matt and Dom at UKA Festival
  18. ↑ Muse: next album to have '15-minute space-rock solo' (2008-03-12). NME. Retrieved from www.nme.com.
  19. ↑ redstar. (2008-03-31). Visions Interview - "I like to be ignored". Muselive. Retrieved from www.muselive.com.
  20. ↑ Twitter / musewire (2008-06-04). Twitter. Retrieved 2008-06-04 from twitter.com.
  21. ↑ Twitter / musewire (2008-06-04). Twitter. Retrieved 2008-06-04 from twitter.com.
  22. ↑ Exclusive: Matt Bellamy reveals U2 influence! (2008-07-21). Hot Press. Retrieved from www.hotpress.com.
  23. ↑ Dean Chalkley. (2009-07-07). Muse New Album - First Listen. NME magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-08. [verify]
  24. ↑ BobjimTheAwesome. (2008-04-03). Muse to begin recording new album in June?. Muse forum. Retrieved from board.muse.mu.
  25. ↑ Twitter / musewire (2008-07-04). Twitter. Retrieved 2008-07-04 from twitter.com.
  26. ↑ Microfuzz. (2008-09-26). Rockers Recieve Uni Doctorates. Plymouth Evening Herald (Muselive.com). Retrieved 2008-09-26 from muselive.com.
  27. ↑ Dominic Howard. (2008-10-28). Hello... Myspace.com. Retrieved 2008-11-01 from myspace.com.
  28. ↑ Matthew Bellamy via Muse Answers. (2008-11-22). Question 23. Official Message Board. Retrieved 2008-11-22 from board.muse.mu.
  29. ↑ Dominic Howard via Muse Answers. (2008-11-28). Question 6. Official Message Board. Retrieved 2008-11-22 from board.muse.mu.
  30. ↑ sebby aka pup. (2008-12-15). Matt Bellamy Hangs Out with Jet. Official Message Board. Retrieved 2008-12-16 from board.muse.mu.
  31. ↑ Speculation for the OFFICAL Muse Christmas Present (2008-12). Official Message Board. Retrieved 2009-02-01 from board.muse.mu.
  32. ↑ Tom Kirk. (2009-01-31). New Album Recordings. Official Message Board. Retrieved 2009-02-01 from board.muse.mu.
  33. ↑ a b Tom Kirk. (2009-03-28). MUSE RECORDING NEW ALBUM - clip 3. Retrieved from youtube.com. Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; name "ml20090314" defined multiple times with different content
  34. ↑ Domic Howard. (2009-05-25). The Resistance. Retrieved from blogs.myspace.com.
  35. ↑ Dominic Howard. (2009-06-11). Finished.. Possibly... MySpace. Retrieved 2009-06-11 from blogs.myspace.com.
  36. ↑ Twitter / Musewire (2009-06-23). Twitter. Retrieved from twitter.com.
  37. ↑ Kev Geoghegan. (2008-04-03). Does It Offend You, Yeah? join up with Muse. Retrieved 2008-10-05 from news.bbc.co.uk.
  38. ↑ ~screenager~. (2008-02-22). Marlay Park Update. Muselive. Retrieved from muselive.com.
  39. ↑ ~screenager~. (2008-04-04). Interview with Matt in today's Irish News. Muselive. Retrieved from muselive.com.
  40. ↑ Twitoic / musewire (2009-05-19). Twitpic. Retrieved 2009-05-19 from twitpic.com.
  41. ↑ Muse. (2009-05-22). New Album Title. Official Muse website. Retrieved from muse.mu.
  42. ↑ New Album Release (2009-02-03). MicroCuts. Retrieved 2009-02-04 from microcuts.net.
  43. ↑ Twitter / musewire (2009-05-22). Twitter. Retrieved 2009-05-22 from twitter.com.
  44. ↑ Dan Martin. (2007-06-16). The Road to Wembley. New Musical Express. Retrieved 2008-01-08. [verify]
  45. ↑ Muse: 'New LP may be 50-minute Symphony' (2008-01-15). Digital Spy. Retrieved from digitalspy.co.uk.
  46. ↑ Muse 'might ditch album format' (2008-03-12). BBC. Retrieved from news.bbc.co.uk.
  47. ↑ RO69. (2009-07-07). MUSE新作のトラック・リストが解禁！！！. Retrieved from ro69.jp.
  48. ↑ (2009-07). [Item listing]. HMV Japan. Retrieved 2009-07-15 from www.hmv.co.jp.

See also


Go back to discography

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