Absolution (album)

Absolution
Studio album by Muse
Released 15 September 2003 (2003-09-15)
Recorded September 2002 – June 2003
Studio
Genre
Length 52:19
Label
Producer
Muse chronology
Hullabaloo Soundtrack
(2002)		 Absolution
(2003)		 Black Holes and Revelations
(2006)
Singles from Absolution
  1. "Stockholm Syndrome"
    Released: 14 July 2003
  2. "Time Is Running Out"
    Released: 8 September 2003
  3. "Hysteria"
    Released: 1 December 2003
  4. "Sing for Absolution"
    Released: 17 May 2004
  5. "Apocalypse Please"
    Released: 23 August 2004
  6. "Butterflies and Hurricanes"
    Released: 20 September 2004

Absolution is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Muse. It was released on 15 September 2003 in Japan, 22 September 2003 in the United Kingdom by East West Records and Taste Media and 23 March 2004 in the United States by Warner Bros. Records. The album followed up on Origin of Symmetry's diverse musical tendencies and elaborate sound, while also having a more focused and consistent theme and aesthetic throughout. Absolution has a noticeably darker and heavier tone musically, with a lyrical focus on the theological and apocalyptic concepts.

The album reached number one in the UK Albums Chart. It also yielded the band's first top 10 single hit, with "Time Is Running Out" peaking at number 8 in the UK Singles Chart. In 2009, it was voted by Kerrang! as the second-best album of the 21st century thus far. (Muse's previous album, Origin of Symmetry, and their subsequent release, Black Holes and Revelations, also appeared in the top fifty).[1]

Title

In April 2004, Muse frontman Matt Bellamy stated "I think the absolution is not necessarily a religious word: "It has meanings of purity (absolute), but it's not necessarily talking from a Christian or any particular religious point of view. I think it's just suggesting that the act of making music is a way of understanding things."[2]

Writing and composition

The band spent much of 2002 recording Absolution with producer Rich Costey.[3] The album was recorded in studios in both Los Angeles and London.[3] Bellamy said that the band made a "conscious decision" to "get together in a room and make music", setting aside time to record the album, as previous albums' recording sessions were 'hastily arranged' and rushed.[3]

Absolution is an alternative rock, hard rock,[4] and art rock[4] album. It establishes some of the musical and lyrical themes which would later become Muse's trademarks, such as symphonic rock influences on "Butterflies and Hurricanes", orchestral music influences on "Blackout" and electronic music influences on "Endlessly". Lyrically, the album incorporates themes of fear, mistrust, personal achievement and joy, and a general theme of "things coming to an end".[3] Bellamy said that the beginning of the Iraq War had an effect on their songwriting.[3] These musical influences and lyrical themes were relatively new to Muse's sound and would be further explored on their following albums, in particular their fifth studio album The Resistance.

The b-side and bonus track Fury and future Black Holes and Revelations track "Soldier's Poem"[5] were among discarded material written during the Absolution sessions, with "Fury" being dropped in favour of "The Small Print" due to Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard's preference to the latter song, despite frontman Matt Bellamy intending to include the former on the album's tracklisting.[6]

The track "Blackout" featured an 18-piece orchestra.[7]

Album artwork

Absolution was one of two albums (alongside Black Holes and Revelations) to feature artwork by Storm Thorgerson. According to Dominic Howard, "The artwork can either been seen as people coming down to Earth or leaving the Earth, it's open to interpretation".

Release and promotion

Absolution was released on 23 September 2003 on CD and double vinyl.[8] It was their first album released on the A&E Records label.[8] There were six singles, of which the first, "Stockholm Syndrome", was download only.[8] Because of contractual obligations, the band could not allow the song to be downloaded for free, so the fee was set at $0.99 and it was downloaded more than 20,000 times.[3]

There was also a limited edition release of Absolution that featured a bonus DVD. This DVD contained 40 minutes of 'The making of Absolution' footage, as well as pictures of the band.

The album and each of the singles except "Stockholm Syndrome" were distributed as promotional CDs housed in Anti-Static Bags.

The song "Blackout" features in the 2006 film, Southland Tales and its soundtrack, Southland Tales: Music from the Motion Picture.

Reception

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic72/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[4]
Alternative Press[10]
BBCfavourable[11]
The Guardian[12]
Melodic[13]
NME9/10[14]
Q[15]
Rolling Stone[16]
Sputnikmusic4.5/5[17]
Tiny Mix Tapes[18]

The album was met with positive reviews from critics, holding an average critic score of 72 out of 100 on Metacritic based on 16 reviews.[9] Alternative Press gave it a perfect score and stated: "Absolution's chaotic choruses feel like the triumphant culmination of some earth-shattering undertaking."[10] Drowned in Sound simply called it "A truly elemental opus" and gave it a perfect score as well.[19] Sputnik Music and NME gave a 4.5 stars and a 9/10 to the album, respectively. Both Q and The Guardian gave it four out of five stars with the last stating: "Muse sound like a band who are at the top of their game. Their confidence carries you through the album's excesses."[20] Some critics hailed the album as the most consistent to date, and felt that the album had perfected the sound of the band's previous releases, with Sputnik Music's Critic Tyler Fisher saying: "This is their most cohesive album, it expands on newer sounds and improves on others"[21] However, some critics in America were less enthusiastic, a review from Rolling Stone magazine gave the album three out of five stars rekindling the Radiohead comparisons, while saying, "It's too bad that vocalist Matt Bellamy doesn't bring as much ingenuity to his singing."[10]

In 2005, Absolution was ranked number 345 in Rock Hard magazine's book of The 500 Greatest Rock & Metal Albums of All Time.[22] The album was placed in at No. 23 after a public vote for Q in February 2008 for the Best British Albums of All Time.[23]

Legacy

Absolution was Muse's first album to chart in the US, and is credited with establishing the band a fan base in the country.[3] It was technically the second Muse album to be released in the US, due to a creative dispute Muse had with Maverick Records, which prevented the release of Origin of Symmetry stateside. Absolution reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart and No. 107 on the Billboard 200.[24] Absolution was certified gold by the RIAA in March 2007, becoming the group's first album to be certified in the US.[25] The album also featured the band's first American hits – "Time Is Running Out" and "Hysteria", the former becoming their first UK Top 10 single and eventually went Gold in the US.[26]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Matthew Bellamy, all music composed by Muse.

Original edition
No. Title Length
1. "Intro"   0:22
2. "Apocalypse Please"   4:12
3. "Time Is Running Out"   3:56
4. "Sing for Absolution"   4:54
5. "Stockholm Syndrome"   4:58
6. "Falling Away with You"   4:40
7. "Interlude"   0:37
8. "Hysteria"   3:47
9. "Blackout"   4:22
10. "Butterflies and Hurricanes"   5:01
11. "The Small Print"   3:28
12. "Endlessly"   3:49
13. "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist"   3:11
14. "Ruled by Secrecy"   4:54

Very early initial copies of the CD featured inlay errors, where the songs "Interlude" and "Hysteria" switched places on the track listing. Cover art by Storm Thorgerson and Dan Abbott.

Australian Tour Bonus Disc
No. Title Length
1. "Stockholm Syndrome" (Live) 4:58
2. "New Born"   6:11
3. "Muscle Museum"   4:18
4. "Hysteria"   4:14
5. "Bliss"   4:01
6. "Time Is Running Out"   4:06

This bonus CD is entirely composed of live versions, recorded at the Big Day Out in Sydney, 23 January 2004 for Australian radio station Triple J and broadcast in the radio show "Live at the Wireless".

Personnel

Muse

Production personnel
Additional personnel
  • Audrey Riley – string arrangements
  • Spectrasonic's Symphony of Voices – vocal samples on "Stockholm Syndrome" and "Endlessly"
  • Storm Thorgerson – graphic design
  • Dan Abbott – graphic design
  • Rupert Truman – photography
  • Sean Winstanley – photography
  • Perou – band photography
  • Lee Baker – layout design
  • Sam Winston – typography

Charts and certifications

Weekly charts

Chart (2003) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[27] 3
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[28] 7
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[29] 2
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[30] 12
French Albums (SNEP)[31] 1
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] 11
Irish Albums (IRMA) 3
Italian Albums (FIMI)[33] 4
Japanese Albums (Oricon) 22
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[34] 5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[35] 3
UK Albums (OCC)[36] 1
US Billboard 200[37] 107

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[38] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[39] Gold 50,000^
Italy (FIMI)[40] Gold 50,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[41] Gold 20,000x
United Kingdom (BPI)[42] 3× Platinum 911,850[43]
United States (RIAA)[44] Gold 500,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[45] Platinum 1,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone
xunspecified figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ "Kerrang Readers 50 Best Albums of the 21st Century". Ilxor. Retrieved 24 July 2010.
  2. ↑ "Muse guest program". Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Stout, Gene (6 May 2004). "'Absolution' plows the ground for Muse's U.S. following". Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 4 September 2008.
  4. 1 2 3 DiGravina, Tim. "Muse: Absolution > Review at AllMusic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  5. ↑ "Forums – Muse Interview in French Magazine". Muselive. 1 April 1974. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  6. ↑ "Forums – Live Interview with Tom Kirk – Tomorrow @ 16:30 GMT". Muselive. 1 April 1974. Retrieved 23 March 2012.
  7. ↑ "Innocence and Absolution".
  8. 1 2 3 "Muse (official fansite)".
  9. 1 2 "Absolution Reviews, Ratings, Credits, and More at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  10. 1 2 3 "Critic Reviews for Absolution at Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Smith, Nikki (10 September 2003). "Muse Absolution Review". BBC Music. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  12. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (19 September 2003). "Muse, Absolution". The Guardian (London). ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  13. ↑ Roth, Kaj. "Muse – Absolution". Melodic. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  14. ↑ Martin, Dan (12 September 2005). "Muse : Absolution". NME (United Kingdom). ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  15. ↑ "Absolution – Muse". Q (United Kingdom): 109. October 2003. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  16. ↑ Kemp, Rob (1 April 2004). "Muse: Absolution". Rolling Stone (New York: Straight Arrow). ISSN 0035-791X. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  17. ↑ Fisher, Tyler (15 November 2006). "Muse Absolution". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  18. ↑ Ranta, Alan. "Muse: Absolution". Tiny Mix Tapes. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  19. ↑ Future, Andrew (15 September 2003). "Muse – Absolution / Releases / Releases // Drowned in Sound". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  20. ↑ Alexis Petridis (19 September 2003). "CD: Muse, Absolution". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  21. ↑ "Muse – Absolution (staff review)". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved 17 September 2011.
  22. ↑ [...], Rock Hard (Hrsg.). [Red.: Michael Rensen. Mitarb.: Götz Kühnemund] (2005). Best of Rock & Metal die 500 stärksten Scheiben aller Zeiten. Königswinter: Heel. p. 71. ISBN 3-89880-517-4.
  23. ↑ "NME 100 Greatest British Albums Ever! – 2006". NME's Best 100 Albums. rocklistmusic.co.uk. April 2008.
  24. ↑ "Billboard chart history". Archived from the original on 14 June 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2008.
  25. ↑ "Gold and Platinum Database Search". Retrieved 16 February 2010.
  26. ↑ "Search Results". Gold and Platinum. RIAA. Retrieved 27 January 2008.
  27. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Muse – Absolution" (in German). Hung Medien.
  28. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Muse – Absolution" (in French). Hung Medien.
  29. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Muse – Absolution" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  30. ↑ "Muse: Absolution" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  31. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Muse – Absolution". Hung Medien.
  32. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH.
  33. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Muse – Absolution". Hung Medien.
  34. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Muse – Absolution". Hung Medien.
  35. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Muse – Absolution". Hung Medien.
  36. ↑ "Muse | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart
  37. ↑ "Muse – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Muse.
  38. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  39. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Muse – Absolution". Music Canada.
  40. ↑ Helmut Failoni (12 June 2004). "Dai Korn ai Muse in arrivo due giorni ad alta tensione rock". la Repubblica (in Italian). p. 16. Retrieved 9 July 2012.
  41. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Muse; 'Absolution')". Hung Medien.
  42. ↑ "British album certifications – Muse – Absolution". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Absolution in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  43. ↑ Jones, Alan (15 June 2015). "Official Charts Analysis: Muse's Drones fly to No.1 on sales of 72,863". Music Week. Retrieved 15 June 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  44. ↑ "American album certifications – Muse – Absolution". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  45. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2005". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

External links

Preceded by
Permission to Land by The Darkness		 UK number one album
4–10 October 2003 		Succeeded by
Life for Rent by Dido
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