“They’ve always ignored the rule book in favour of new, often over-the-top ideas”: These are Muse’s proggiest moments

From bombastic and extravagant compositions through to deep-thinking concepts and conspiracies which inform much of their lyrics, Muse have often married mainstream sensibilities with the scope and grandeur of prog rock. With their ever-evolving sound the Devonshire trio have always ignored the rule book in favour of new, often over-the-top ideas. From 10-minute apocalypse operas to three-part symphonies to getting their Floyd on, here are 10 moments – first presented in 2022 – in which Muse have let their progressive influences lead the way.

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Butterflies & Hurricanes 

Arguably the band’s most far-out single from their stratospherically successful Absolution record, Butterflies & Hurricanes contains pain and beauty in equal measure, launching off a repetitive two-note phrase. It builds and builds, orchestrations sweeping cinematically into the picture with a choir of Matt Bellamy’s wringing out courage finding lyrics. Yet its constant rise is ebbed by a leftfield, winding piano interlude, before Bellamy’s Rachmaninoff influences prompt a stunning detour as an explosive finale.

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Space Dementia 

“Space Dementia is the term NASA Used for what happens if you’re left out in space for a long time,” Bellamy has explained. “Because if you truly conceptualise the situation of being there and looking back at Earth, it can drive you mad.”

Between spiralling piano, a punch-drunk, fuzz-lavished bassline and the singer’s near-psychotic operatics, floating in zero gravity is that sense of madness. The 20th anniversary remix heightening its tension with weeping strings. Enormous, crushing guitars come in for an outro designed to be a stark contrast from its earlier section, as they drag you towards an ominous conclusion.

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Animals 

The 2nd Law is arguably Muse’s most experimental album. A melting pot of so many influences, Queen and Floyd-isms are bedfellows with dubstep, classical, jazz and more across what are very ambitious reinterpretations of the band’s blueprint. Animals packs a lot into its short run. The band flit between time signatures for its dizzying conclusion, which segues from ethereal Floyd to a gorgeous guitar solo and a crunching prog rock riff that, just for a moment, drops into a head bobbing 4/4.

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City Of Delusion 

2006’s chart topping Black Holes & Revelations is best known for Supermassive Black Hole, Starlight and frequent set-closer Knights of Cydonia – which leaves City Of Delusion something of a hidden gem. Ricocheting off an Eastern-styled chord progression and slowly building strings, its theatrics are amassed a winding structure iced with a dance-worthy yet sullen trumpet solo.

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The Globalist 

A sequel to fan-favourite Citizen Erased from Origin Of Symmetry, and clocking in at just over 10 minutes, this apocalypse opera is full of complexities and Easter eggs. During the song, which is takes in whistled melodies, slide guitars and a monolithic, seven-string guitar riff fest, the protagonist discovers a code which starts World War Three. That code consists of lines from the record’s previous seven tracks played backwards, with ideas inspired by Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations dotted throughout the song.

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Exogenesis Symphony 

Resistance may be one of Muse’s more underwhelming albums, but that doesn’t mean it’s bereft of magical prog moments. Closed out by this awe-inspiring three-part symphony, it’s inspired by the concept of pansmeria, in which humanity’s last hopes of survival are pinned on astronauts finding a new planet to become home. As early as 2008, Bellamy had hinted at a “15 minute space rock solo” – and he delivered with a stirring suite inspired as much by Radiohead as Chopin and Strauss.

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Take A Bow 

The dark, unsettled opening track from Black Holes… represents a lot of Muse’s strengths in one snapshot: we have atypical structure, a defiant anti-corruption messaging and a piece of sheer scale. Described by Bellamy as a “gothic fairytale,” it lacks a definitive verse or chorus; instead it’s driven by arpeggiated keyboard phrases that perpetually change keys downwards, getting even darker and even more settled with each loop.

“Its structure is mathematical,” bassist Chris Wolstenhome explained. “Dom’s never played like that, with very jazzy rhythms, slow ones, followed by more chaotic bits integrated into the whole.”

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Survival 

The official anthem of the London 2012 Olympic Games and penned especially for the world’s biggest sporting event, it’s befittingly gigantean. It started as a planned collaboration with Elton John (which was ultimately fruitless) before Bellamy turned it into a gladiatorial powerhouse. Whilst the song polarised fans – and its lyrics are guilty of being a little cheesy – musically, it’s an adventurous, perpetually progressing piece that feels like climbing a mountain, sword in hand and fuelled by a lust for glory, with all the pomp and majesty prog can muster.

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The Gallery

On The Gallery, Muse step away from the security of their well used tropes for something completely different. A stripped back instrumental which interweaves jazzy drum work and eerie theremin textures makes this Origin… era B-side compellingly hypnotic.

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Knights Of Cydonia 

This intergalactic spaghetti western extravaganza unites sci-fi imaginings with a blend of Ennio Morricone and Dick Dale; but the track also pays homage to Bellamy’s father. The laser-like tremolo riffing and galloping rhythms are a tip of the hat to The Tornados’ hit Telestar, on which George Bellamy played guitar.

Its title is inspired by a region of Mars that’s piqued many astronomers’ interest due to its face-like mountain which is believed to have once stood next to a giant Martian lake. The song’s huge success comes in the spite of being through-composed, meaning it lacks any clear repeating sections. Instead, it keeps thundering through the kind of grandiose astral plains that only Muse could create.

You can usually find this Prog scribe writing about the heavier side of the genre, chatting to bands for features and news pieces or introducing you to exciting new bands that deserve your attention. Elsewhere, Phil can be found on stage with progressive metallers Prognosis or behind a camera teaching filmmaking skills to young people.