Muse - Simulation Theory
On November 9, 2018, "Simulation Theory", the eighth studio album by the band "Muse", was released.
After the British trio from Teignmouth, Devon, dedicated their seventh album, "Drones," from 2015, to a return to their heavy rock roots and live studio playing around a somber concept of autonomous warfare and military alienation, Matt Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme, and drummer Dominic Howard sought a bold new way to push the boundaries of their sound. Rather than entering the studio and recording an entire album as one piece, as they had done for two decades, the members of "Muse" decided in early 2017 to completely change their working method. They chose to record and release individual songs gradually over the course of a year and a half, with the desire to give each track full production, visual, and conceptual attention before they came together to form a complete work.
The first recording session began at AIR Studios in London with producer Mike Elizondo, known for his work with Dr. Dre, Eminem and Twenty One Pilots, and the band later traveled to Los Angeles to work again with their longtime partner Rich Costey, who had accompanied them back in the days of the masterpiece albums "Absolution" from 2003 and "Black Holes and Revelations" from 2006. They were later joined by Swedish pop producer Shellback and hip-hop and R&B legend Timbaland. The combination of such diverse production minds gave rise to a dizzying hybrid sound in which fuzz-heavy electric guitars, symphonic orchestras conducted by David Campbell and stadium choirs meet analog synthesizers, futuristic drum machines and electronic funk beats.
The central concept of "Simulation Theory" grew out of an observation of the information age, political polarization, fake news culture, and the philosophical theory that all of human reality exists within a sophisticated computer simulation. However, in contrast to the heavy dystopian atmosphere of their previous albums, this time Bellamy, Wolstenholme, and Howard wrapped the existential angst in a colorful, cinematic, and nostalgic pop-art envelope that draws direct inspiration from the science fiction culture, arcade games, and synthesizer soundtracks of the 1980s, from John Carpenter's films and "Back to the Future" to the television series "Stranger Things."
The journey into the simulation opens in a cinematic and dramatic way with "Algorithm", a monumental work that immediately places the listener at the heart of a virtual world where algorithms control consciousness. The song opens with a dark, 1980s-style synthesizer beat that blends with dramatic classical piano and a wide-ranging string and brass arrangement, before Bellamy's sawtooth guitar and operatic voice call for the creator's rebellion against the computer code that created him. The song's official music video, directed by Lance Drake as part of a series of narrative videos that accompanied all of the album's singles, stars actor and comedian Terry Crews as a character trapped inside a retro-futuristic video game.
It's followed by "The Dark Side", one of the album's most melodic, moving and beloved songs, perfectly bridging the gap between electronic experimentation and the classic DNA of "Muse" from the early 2000s. The song is driven by Howard's determined drum beat, a mesmerizing synthesizer line and an electric guitar reminiscent of Bellamy's work on 2001's "Origin of Symmetry", while the chorus opens into a heavenly, melancholic melody seeking refuge from the darkness that closes in on the soul.
The energy shifts to pure, sweeping rock and roll bliss on the third track, Pressure, a bouncy, fast-paced, and infectious indie-rock anthem born from the band's desire to create a song with a relentless guitar riff in the spirit of Supermassive Black Hole and Uprising. The song combines a festive brass section, sharp rhythm changes, and a massive stadium chorus that deals with the social and mental pressures of modern life. The album's deluxe edition also includes a special version recorded with the famed UCLA Marching Band in Los Angeles.
At the heart of the album, the trio lets loose with a series of surprising stylistic experiments. "Propaganda," produced in collaboration with Timbaland, is a cheeky, minimalist Prince-inspired funk-rock and electro-pop piece that combines robotic vocoder whispers, heavy bass, and a completely surprising bluesy acoustic guitar solo in the middle of the song. It's followed by "Break It to Me," an exotic, heavy, and unusual track where Bellamy combines a heavy Middle Eastern guitar riff inspired by Tom Morello of "Rage Against the Machine" with a dreamy, symphonic R&B chorus, once again proving how much the band refuses to stay in their comfort zone.
The album's bare, human, and relaxed side is revealed in "Something Human", a warm, melodic acoustic song written by Bellamy at the end of the grueling world tour of the previous album, reflecting the longing for simple, real human contact in a world dominated by screens and machines. Immediately following, the dark, rhythmic atmosphere returns with the hit "Thought Contagion", a song about how extremist ideas, fears, and conspiracies spread on social media like a contagious virus. The song is built on a fat electronic bass line by Wolstenholme and an anthemic choir chorus, and is accompanied by a spectacular vampire dance video that pays homage to the mythological video for Michael Jackson's song "Thriller".
The album's final section ranges from deeply personal emotion to classic stadium explosions. "Get Up and Fight," produced by Shellback and featuring soaring backing vocals from Swedish singer Tove Lo, was written by Bellamy as a moving gesture of support and hope for his uncle, who was battling cancer at the time. It is immediately followed by "Blockades," a fast, dramatic, arpeggio-laden prog-rock and synth-rock assault that returns the listener to the rhythmic energy of "Knights of Cydonia," with a virtuoso and melodic guitar solo from Bellamy.
Towards the end, "Dig Down", the first song recorded for the project in spring 2017, appears, an electronic gospel-rock ballad that gradually develops from a hypnotic synth bass to an uplifting vocal and choral climax inspired by George Michael's song "Freedom! '90", which calls for maintaining faith and inner strength even in the lowest moments. The album's closing chord is reserved for the atmospheric and chilling piece "The Void", a dark and slow space epic built on deep synthesizer sounds and echoing piano, in which Bellamy mocks the prophets of doom and concludes the conceptual journey with a declaration that human hope is stronger than any algorithm or cosmic void.
The album's full artwork was designed by British illustrator Kyle Lambert, who created the iconic Stranger Things poster art, alongside illustrator Paul Shipper, who designed the Super Deluxe Edition poster. Lambert painted the album cover in vibrant neon pinks and blues that give the band members and characters from the music videos the look of a classic 1980s sci-fi movie poster. The expanded Super Deluxe Edition of the album further deepened the experience with orchestral alternate reality versions, acoustic performances, and special synthwave versions of the songs.
Upon its release in November 2018, "Simulation Theory" was a huge commercial success, immediately taking the top spot in the UK Albums Chart and becoming "Muse"'s sixth consecutive album to reach the top of the chart in their homeland, along with sales of over a million copies worldwide. In 2019, the band translated the album into one of the most theatrical and ambitious tours ever seen in the rock world, which included dancers in laser suits, a giant robot skeleton tens of meters tall named Murph and giant futuristic lighting, a show documented in the spectacular film released in 2020. Over time, "Simulation Theory" stands as one of the most adventurous, colorful and fun albums in the "Muse" catalog, a work in which the trio dared to laugh at the anxieties of the future and turn them into an intergalactic stadium rock party.
For Listening: Spotify, Apple Music
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