Five Things Learnt From #MuseBrighton

As the final piece of feedback rung round Brighton Dome following Muse frontman Matt Bellamy’s decision to throw his microphone in the crowd, the curtain closed on Muse’s mini tour. The road adventure only had six dates as Muse prepared themselves for their upcoming summer slots, including headlining Download Festival in June, so the sense of intrigue regarding their setlists was palpable. Would they be heavy? Would they bring out rarities? Would they play unheard tracks? The answer was yes to all three, as the band gave clues as to what their summer sets would bring. Here’s five things from last night’s show (23/03/2015) in Brighton that was noted.

1) ‘Dead Inside’ is actually pretty good…

The main talking point pre-gig was the new song, which was released at 7pm – to very mixed reviews across the board by Muse fans. Despite the band pledging they would strip back the electronic sounds, you wouldn’t know it after hearing the funk inspired album opener – described by some as Madness 2.0 and a mash up of Muse, Depeche Mode, Prince and U2. Brighton would be the stage for the live premiere, and it was taken very well by the crowd – especially the solo and the guitar breakdown towards the end. Muse’s first taste of a radio friendly song should go down very well among the masses.

2) …as are the other tracks from ‘Drones’

The way set opener ‘Psycho’ was taken in, you’d have thought it was a live staple for years as rows as far as the eye could see pogoed about to that monster riff. Well, technically the riff has been a live staple for years, but the crowd’s enthusiasm for the rest of the song didn’t wane in the slightest. ‘Reapers’ was also played, and you can hear the AC/DC influence in production from Mutt Lange come out, with a riff that wouldn’t look at all out of place on their ‘Back In Black’ album that he produced. With some trademark Muse guitar sound effects thrown in too, musically it’s a cracker. The only downside was Bellamy’s vocals were unclear at times, but from what was played from ‘Drones’, there is a lot to be excited about.

3) The oldies still sound pristine

While Brighton didn’t get to see ‘Hyper Music’, ‘Fury’, ‘Futurism’, ‘Dead Star’, or ‘Muscle Museum’ – all of which were previously played on Muse’s short road stint – the Dome still got its fair share of rarities. ‘Map of the Problematique’ made its first appearance of the tour, while ‘The Groove’ – the B side to ‘Time is Running Out’ – was also played. Most impressively was ‘Uno’ however, which the band started their encore with, and still sounds as dynamite as it did while sitting on ‘Showbiz’ in 1999. Bellamy also gave subtle hints to what could be played at Download, by playing a segment of ‘Assassin’ before ‘Uprising’, while also teasing that the song ‘Showbiz’ could feature “maybe next time.”

4) ‘Bliss’ is still the best live song they possess

Indisputably, undeniably, outrageously brilliant. The fact Muse call on something as immaculate as ‘Bliss’ so infrequently is baffling, as most bands would sacrifice body parts they don’t need in order to include a song like that in their set. The high notes are still there and are met tremendously, the Hullaballoons made an appearance as they descended on the standing area, and the extended outro threatened to remove some of the foundations the Dome was built on. ‘Knights of Cydonia’ and ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ weren’t far behind on the night, but the ‘Origin of Symmetry’ track was the clear winner.

5) They’re still the best live band in the world

After being asked how good Kasabian were, lead singer Tom Meighan replied, “we’re a fucking fantastic live band – we’re fucking Call of Duty, no-one can stop us. No-one can touch us on our day.” Clearly he’s never seen Muse, as if he had, he wouldn’t be stupid enough to make such a comment. In line with Meighan’s ‘Call of Duty’ reference, what Muse do to Kasabian is order an air strike on them, and then scatter the remaining bits away with machine guns. And I like Kasabian. There is simply no contest, as even with a stripped back show with just stage lighting, a backdrop, and five LED shaped spikes behind them, Muse put on a performance that was worthy of headlining the biggest stages in the world. What’s more, you got the impression at times they weren’t even trying – it was just effortless and comes naturally to them. The chance to see them in the summer is one that has to be grabbed with both hands.

 

Fans will have to wait until that Download show on the 13th June before bearing witness to the Devon trio on UK shores again, by which point ‘Drones’ will be available – albeit for five days. Until then, there will be more speculating as to what the band will play. Will anything from their sixth album, ‘The 2nd Law,’ be played, seeing as not a single song from that album featured last night? Will ‘Micro Cuts’ get a run-out, after Muse played the outro to that song after ‘Stockholm Syndrome?’ Ultimately, there are more questions than answers – but Muse are fast rivalling recent Glastonbury bill topper Kanye West for the award of ‘most anticipated festival headliner’ this summer.

Muse ‘Psycho’ single review

The anticipation had reached breaking point. Frontman Matt Bellamy’s tweets and Muse’s Instagram page had left fans impatiently twitching with excitement, as the band flirted and teased upcoming new material from their seventh studio album, ‘Drones’, similar to the way the proverbial blonde lady in a red dress sends a wink from across the bar while ever so slowly exposing more leg.

Bellamy had promised that, after two experimental albums, things would “get heavy” again. He’d drip fed  the topics the record would go over, claiming “deep ecology, the empathy gap and World War Three” were on the agenda. The biggest clue perhaps came at a gig in Helsinki in July, as Muse played ‘Agitated’ and ‘Yes Please’, stating this was a sign of things to come. Despite that, there was nothing concrete – the occasional slice of audio on Instagram amidst the creepy videos depicting the band with their eyes crossed out aside. Until now.

Via Twitter again, Bellamy had confirmed the first single would be called ‘Psycho’, and a video snippet of drummer Dom Howard sat in a studio as the final bits and pieces of the track were mixed was posted to Instagram. Before this, a video – which deliberately gave the album name away – was accompanied by a drill sergeant and a soldier speaking. Only now have we seen how that piece of the jigsaw fits, as Muse posted a video for the song yesterday (12/03/2015).

After a few seconds of build up, the drill sergeant now has a face and is having an exchange with the soldier.

“If you are not told to do, when you’re told to do it, you will be punished – do you understand?!”
“Aye sir”
“If you leave my base, without proper authorisation, I will hunt you down and throw your ass in jail – do you understand?!”
“Aye sir”
“I can’t hear you!”
“AYE SIR”
“Scream it!”
“AYE SIR!”
“Your ass belongs to me now!”
“AYE SIR!!”

Then it hits. Everything makes sense. Including B side ‘Agitated’ to their setlist in Helsinki was the biggest clue Muse could have possibly given, as the earth shuddering riff they’d play after that song from 1999 onwards, before using it as an outro for ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ on the live circuit, has now been put into a song. This one.

That staple in their live set has instantly become the most catchy and powerful riff of 2015. Despite sitting on it for 16 years, Muse have managed to make that musical thunderbolt sound fresh and new, as Bellamy delves into his belief that soldiers are being turned into human drones and killing machines. You also question whether Bellamy is getting in some of his thoughts regarding his recent split with actress Kate Hudson, as the opening verse starts with, “Love…it will get you nowhere/You’re on your own/Lost in the wild.”

Lyrically, ‘Psycho’ is more hit than miss, but far from immaculate. Bellows of, “Your ass belongs to me now” will take some time before it feels remotely comfortable for a crowd to scream back at them live, but other lines typify Bellamy’s genius. “Your mind is just a program/And I’m the virus” is just one reminder of his skills with the pen, while his chilling third person approach to a sergeant claiming, “I could use someone like you/Someone who’ll kill on my command/And asks no questions” has the Muse frontman at his thought-provoking best.

It’s fair to say Bellamy wasn’t lying when he said things were going to get heavy, nor was he when he tweeted that ‘Psycho’ would be “too offensive for radio.” There will be several producers who are still pulling their hair out as they try to find a way to secure a radio edit, as I don’t think the BBC Radio One daytime listener hooked on Sam Smith will take too kindly to Bellamy squealing, “I’m gonna make you a fucking psycho,” while emitting sufficient power from his Manson guitar to trigger an avalanche.

Ultimately however, this is a superb return from Muse. With Royal Blood creating a gap in the commercial market for snarling guitar sounds, Muse have taken full advantage with this beast of a track as the waiting for ‘Drones’ intensifies. While it’s impossible to gauge an album on one song – indeed Muse’s next single comes out on the 23rd March, which should offer a clearer idea – if this is anything to go by, ‘Drones’ will be monstrous to say the least.