The Resistance (album)

This page will provide a running commentary on the progress of the fifth Muse studio album.

Muse release
Name	Unknown
Tracks	Unknown
Total length	Unknown
Recorded	2008-2009
Writer/composer	Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard, Christopher Wolstenholme
Producer	Unknown
Art work	Unknown
Publisher	Warner, Helium 3
Format(s)	CD, download
Catalogue №	HEL3009
Release date	2009
Chart position	Unknown
{{{Type}}} chronology
Unknown

Early indications

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.

Also, in the fan webchat, when fans had the oppurtunity to ask questions of the band, one fan posed the question "Which song off the new album (BH&R) is most similiar to the sound of the new album?". The band stated it was too early to tell, but some songs being written were in a similiar style to Map of the Problematique.

Possible releases

A short article Planet Sound announced that a new song had been recorded. Dom stated "It came to 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."

In NME magazine, running up to the Wembley Stadium gigs of June 2007, Matt is quoted as saying he didn't think the next Muse release would be a full album, but rather that new songs would be release soon after they finished touring, through an outlet such as download-only singles.

First details

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. 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 the Planet Sound article. 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.

Paranormal aid and operatic influences

In the August 2007 edition of 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". This may indicate a possible inclusion operatic influences. Opera has influenced Matt in the past, notably the song Micro Cuts.

More down to earth themes

In a Feburary 2008 interview with UK magazine Rock Sound Matt stated that his lyrical content may take a departure from the paranormal and other worldly elements. Stating that he never used to be comfortable discussing personal issues within his songs but he is becoming more comfortable doing so and wishes to explore that side of songwriting.

Album?

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?".

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."

Matt also discussed the nature of new material, stating he would like "at least one 15-minute space-rock solo" and "dancing, grooving, rhythm section-dominated songs". 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.

Indication of progress

Numerous media reports about the fifth album began to appear 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.

In February 2008 Matt stated that they would "probably play a couple of new songs live, before we record them" at the sporadic upcoming gigs. In April, Dan Coop of the band 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. It was indicated with the announcement of the Rock in Rio Festival that the band were scheduled to be recording in June 2008. Matt stated that the band intended to play new songs in Ireland in August 2008. However, the band did not play any new songs, at least in full, by V Festival in August 2008. 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'. On the 21st June, Chris confirmed that band had five or six new songs for the new album, but 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. Chris later announced, in early July, through Musewire that they were "trying to put together a new album" in Italy, presumably in Lake Como, where Matt's house is.

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!".

By September, the band were rehearsing for the album in their home county of Devon, UK, 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". 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 fifth album. 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".

By mid-December 2008, Muse were working on the album in Matt's personal studio at Lake Como, Italy. 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. 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. 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."

Possible time-line of the fifth album

Date	Progress
March/April/May 2008	Album in planning stage, some songs written
June/July/August 2008	New songs rehearsed.
September/October 2008	Studio rehearsals begin.
November 2008	Recording begins.
September 2009 (?)-2010	Fifth album released, touring expected.

Possible songs

Song	Information
Elton John-esque	Recorded after Black Holes and Revelations but unreleased.
15 minute orchestral	Mentioned several times by the band, between 10 and 15 minutes long. Intended to be split into three seperate tracks at the end of the album.
U2-esque	A song sounding similar to U2's "New Year's Day".
Drum and Bass	A jam first played in 2004, and was played at every gig since April 2008.
Otherworldly Disco Song	Mentioned on a twitter update.
Feat. Does It Offend You, Yeah?	A possible collaborative track to be written in Matt's studio in Italy. Will probably not be on final album.

See also

• Fourth album theory, written prior to release of Black Holes and Revelations

Back to Discography