| Author: Max Raymond (Updated 3rd August) | |
 The Forth Album Theory
Many people are pondering about what the next Muse album will contain. Because of this, I, Max Raymond, author of the Microcuts.net biography and the creator of the Muse Appreciation Scrapbook presents a guide to the possible ideas of album number four!
Known facts:
Almost certain that Rich Costey will produce the next album. He is on top form at the moment. He has produced the phenomenal Mars Volta album 'Frances The Mute' and has re-mixed the Franz Ferdinand download single 'This Fffire.'
Likely facts:
Five new songs have been played on the latter stages of the US tour, the Earls Court gigs and the MTVU Campus Invasion Tour - 'DES,' 'A Crying Shame,' 'Burning Bandits,' 'Debase Masons Grog' and a cover of Lightning Bolt's 'Dracula Mountain.' The band think if they play new songs live they appear as B-sides.
However, their track record testing out songs on the 2002 festival tour (not riffs like the Stockholm Syndrome riff, Butterflies & Hurricanes piano interlude and Falling Away With You jam) were on the album. Apocalypse Please (then known as 'Emergency'), Hysteria ('I Want You Now') and The Small Print ('Action Faust') were all played and made it to Absolution countering the B-sides of Fury ('Get A Grip') and Eternally Missed ('Rusty One'). Their track record for early Origin Of Symmetry tracks is also pretty good. More than half of the tracks were road-tested beforehand.
Also, they said in a short article in the NME in January that they might test out new songs. "What I'd love to do is get a little space in London, like a kind of thing where we can do private gigs to rehearse the songs before we record them. "I think that's a good vibe - getting people on message boards to come, so you get the pressure of a gig. As soon as you play a song in a gig situation you really work out. It really changes your whole concept."
New song lyrical meanings:
But what do the lyrics mean? I had a close look at the lyrics and this is my theory, which may be very inaccurate considering all the different versions that are buzzing around the Muse fansites:
DES: A very hard one this but possible suggestions include religion, war and betrayal.
Crying Shame: A wild guess would about someone who isn't considered good enough to be accepted ('When it's way too late/We'll cleanse the god/And consider you').
Burning Bandits: The last two lines pretty much say it I think ('I'm waiting so patiently/But I'll wait for the truth').
Debase Masons Grog: Not too sure on this either but I reckon religion and betrayal is likely.
Number of songs:
As far as we know, on a Canadian music program called Music Plus, 17 songs had been written for the new album and recently on Channel 4's teletext service, Matt said that whilst he was in Bhutan, he wrote another five. Chris also said in a French magazine recently that four of five have been written other than the new ones with 'some have come on a long way, whilst others are still is the conceptive state and need a lot of work.' This brings together a potential total of 22 songs definite. The prediction is that 11-13 songs will appear on the album, more B-sides (all Absolution singles had a measly three new songs) and some of them will probably be scrapped.
Far-Eastern influence:
As Matt wrote some songs in Bhutan, then there might be a more Far Eastern influence. The only thing that comes close to a Far Eastern influence in Muse's songs recently is the opening percussion sound in Falling Away With You. Far Eastern influence could mean that the new album will have more interesting-sounding percussion and possibly more strings. Possible evidence of this influence is seen in Debase Masons Grog with the bridge after the first chorus, a sort of congo Vietnam feel is evident.
Stripped-down:
In the NME in September, Matt said that they would try and be less bombastic on the next album. Instead, he wanted stripped-down and more minimal and exposed as a three-piece band. This could be a return to good old Showbiz days.
 The Strokes:
Well, we had to get to them at some point. Many fans will know that since September, Matt has been going on about The Strokes, saying that he really liked their music. He said that they have melodies that you've known all your life. He even said he wanted the new songs to sound like that, only heavier. However, this may not be the case. Chris said shortly after that the new stuff doesn't sound like the Strokes and Matt denied in the NME in December.
Citizen Erased II:
One song has been described by Matt in an interview as a seven-minute progressive, arpeggiated nightmare. Notice the word, arpeggiated. This means that we could have a much more lighter version of Citizen Erased, mixed with Bliss and the piano arpeggio in Stockholm Syndrome. Incidentally, in the NME in December, Matt said there was a song that went is even more bombastic than Butterflies & Hurricanes.
Trumpets:
Muse have never used trumpets in their songs and the next album could well be the debut. On Music Plus, they also said that they had a trumpet section in a song lined up and they wanted Flea from the Red Hot Chilli Peppers to play the part. I don't think the guest appearance by Flea is likely somehow.
Another new song:
Apparently, at the Smalls Theatre, Millvale in the USA, Muse played another new song. It was, apparently, an extended version of the piano piece that Matt has played before Sunburn in almost every concert in 2004. Even more interestingly, Matt said it would be the first song off the new album. Since we do not have an audio of this, judgement is reserved for now.
Concept album:
In the NME in December, when NME posed the question of a Muse musical, Matt had this to say; "It would be the story of a lone ranger, some kind of weird futuristic lone ranger type, travelling round the world waiting to save the world from the end of the world and the destruction of everything. It'd be to do with saving the world the world. Definitely."
This suggests that a concept album could be on the cards. And why not? They are so suddenly coming back into music with the worldwide success of Green Day's fantastic punk political album 'American Idiot' seeing Green Day being catapulted into one of the hottest musical acts in the world and UK hip-hop act The Streets releasing 'A Grand Don't Come For Free.'
There are also two interesting links. Firstly, Morgan Nicholls, a person who is a member of The Streets' band and who filled in for Chris in the latter part of the festival circuit last year, could have influenced Muse. Secondly, and more likely, Rich Costey mixed 'Frances The Mute,' an album by the fantastic Mars Volta, which incidentally was a story in album. Rich might pass on these ideas to Muse. Muse also happen to like Green Day and The Streets.
Working titles:
We've already heard of 'DES' and 'A Crying Shame,' but what about 'Church Of The Sub Genius?' In the NME in December, that was a song that Matt said had been named.
Country
One of the more well-known ideas that Muse fans know about is a song that was described by Muse in the NME in December. "One song sounds like Calexio and epic country. It sounds like a man riding a horse playing a trumpet in Mexico and then being shot by bandits. A little bit of Kill Bill." This kind of links to the idea of using a trumpet from earlier on.
More interesting instruments:
Matt suggested two interesting instruments for the recordings of album four. The first is a flamenco which, whilst unusual for a band like Muse, will not be surprising to long-term fans as this instrument was used in Muscle Museum. The other is a Tex-Mex guitar, which is a very Mexican sounding instrument. This would explain the 'epic country' idea earlier on.
Tom Waits:
Tom Waits is a hero of Matt's. He said to the NME that there is a Tom Waits-style idea. This is no surprise as he was interviewed in the NME for their 'Why I Love' feature and he went to Tom Wait's first UK gig in 17 years last year at the Hammersmith Apollo (ironically, Thom Yorke of 'that band' was also there).
Upbeat:
Matt has said that the new album will also be much more upbeat than the apocalyptic sound of Absolution. Matt said to MTV, "[Depression] is the beginner's emotion. I find it more of a challenge to explore different sides of your personality apart from just the downside." He is also trying to channel his emotion into writing new songs with a positive vibe, looking to "draw on things like optimism and hope."
However, this may or may not happen as Matt explains. "It's much easier to write dark songs than uplifting ones, or it is for me. I've always had periods of my life where I've felt optimistic, but I haven't been able to express that in music without sounding cheesy." This is also reflected in the lyrics for DES and A Crying Shame
 The Tornadoes:
The Tornadoes were a band that Matt's father was in. They made instrumental music and were the first British band to have a number 1 in the US. Matt said to Q magazine in January that he wanted to create Tornado style songs that were "two and a half minute explosions of pure joy."
There have never been any real instrumental songs on any of Muse's albums (not counting Forced In and The Gallery from Hullabaloo). They have done something like this before in the shape of Minimum, a B-side off the Muscle Museum vinyl. This also links to a the more upbeat sound that Matt wants to create.
Franz Ferdinand:
Another unlikely influence is Franz Ferdinand. Muse have praised the band for a while and Matt said in Q magazine last year when describing Franz Ferdinand's debut album 'Franz Ferdinand' as his album of 2004 that "they're combining dance music and rock music in a really cool way, without samples or sequencers. It's something we're interested in trying." This could also link to the fact that Rich Costey re-mixed 'This Fffire' as a download release and I think that the Franz Ferdinand influence may appear on album four.
Disco!
Matt said in an interview last year to Q, "I think the combination of guitar rock and full-on '70s disco is ready to be exploited properly," he says. "Like Night Fever, but heavy. Or Billy Jean. A little bit rock guitar, a little bit disco." .The fact the Muse will probably go to New York to record some of it might give this statement some backing. This would make sense because the Lightning Bolt cover they did kind of fits in as disco funk rock for the new millennium, or "Shronk" music (NME journalists are stopping the press as we speak).
Cryptology
In February this year, the album title 'Cryptology' popped up quite rapidly but Tom Kirk denies this. However, it may have influenced Muse. This is Chris talking in a French magazine about using anagrams: 'It stemmed from the title of one of the new songs we played 'Codebreak Shy Outsider', which was an anagram of 'Des is our keyboard tech', which gave us the idea to organise a sort of treasure hunt. Because we did this off the top of our heads, we had to rack our brains to find a prize, so we gave away bikes, which you can ride round the campus on.' Matt also said to an eager fan that he wanted the new album to be a great big treasure hunt with lots of codes. It could well happen folks.
Conclusion:
This is what the vision of the album could be based on the evidence:
NAME: Cryptology
PRODUCER: Rich Costey
CURRENT TRACKS: DES, A Crying Shame, Pee Candle (no arguments please), New Song IV, Dracula Mountain (the Lightning Bolt cover), Debase Mason's Song
All the songs in the line-up sound less world-ending and than Absolution except for DES and more upbeat, like Matt said to MTV last year. These new songs tie in well with my theory as it does to my tracklisting. Here was my original tracklisting:
1. Piano Interlude
2. Green Day Inspired Punk (possible single)
3. DES (possible single)
4. Flamenco/Tex-Mex
5. Tornadoes Inspired Instrumental
6. Strokes Inspired
7. A Crying Shame (possible single)
8. Epic Country
9. Far-East
10. Showbix II
11. Citizen Erased II
12. Franz Ferdinand Inspired (possibly single)
13. Cover Of 'Dracula Mountain' by Lightning Bolt
14. Church Of The Sub Genius
15. Tom Waits Inspired Acoustic
 But as the tour in America went on, it became more apparent that some of the new songs were matching my predictions. Here is my updated tracklising:
1. Piano Interlude
2. Green Day Inspired Punk (possible single)
3. DES (possible single)
4. Flamenco/Tex-Mex
5. Tornadoes Inspired Instrumental
6. Pee Candle (possible single)
7. A Crying Shame (possible single)
8. Epic Country
9. Debase Mason's Grog
10. Showbiz II
11. Citizen Erased II
12. Franz Ferdinand Inspired (possibly single)
13. Cover Of 'Dracula Mountain' by Lightning Bolt
14. Church Of The Sub Genius
15. Tom Waits Inspired Acoustic
Showbiz II, in my opinion, will be the 'exposed three-piece' number, whilst there will be almost certainly be a more Western influence and some instrumentals. Chris has also said that the album should come in April 2006, with Matt hinting in April at a worldwide release this time around.
I must also state that this is a theory. This is not fact.
Sources: NME, The Fly, Q magazine, MTV, Music Plus, Muse Rock, Micro Cuts |
| 1525 views |
| By Crazy Bobbles - Posted Monday 2nd May 1:16am | |
| Ok, same for the Cryptology page, people can comment on this page and submit your own input to what the new album will sound like |
| By rooobbie lincoln - Posted Monday 2nd May 7:23pm | |
| this is the greatest muse site ever |
| By Vernon - Posted Friday 20th May 5:38pm | |
| ...This is tad over the top anit it lol i could turn out nothing like this...never know... |
| By Crazy Bobbles - Posted Wednesday 8th June 1:33pm | |
Hehe, NOW i found out where people are getting all the rumours of Muse's next album from...
This 4th album section is only a THEORY, trying to predict what the next album is going to be like, not exactly THE album, as for the date, i have not a clue |
| By Susan - Posted Tuesday 14th June 2:44am | |
| 4 Real! This site is awesome!!! Congruts |
| By - - Posted Tuesday 14th June 12:48pm | |
| Get a life. Geez, its interesting, and I really appreciate your effort, but seriously. You're nuts. |
| By Dead Star - Posted Friday 17th June 12:27am | |
| Nice theorys you got there. |
| By jon - Posted Sunday 3rd July 11:00am | |
so you think the next album is going to be full of ripped off and cliched ideas?
wow, I sure hope none of this will turn out to be true |
| By Johanne - Posted Tuesday 5th July 6:40pm | |
| Is that sure ???? |
| By Crazy Bobbles - Posted Thursday 7th July 5:02pm | |
| Section updated |
| By Black Ego Box - Posted Monday 11th July 3:15pm | |
To jon:
Just because there inspired by a band dosen't mean it's a rip off.
I downloaded the songs and they sound good. |
| By Nathan - Posted Tuesday 12th July 11:28pm | |
| i really really hope that all those theorys above r untrue, that is NOT the MUSE we know and crave |
| By Anonymous - Posted Thursday 14th July 4:12pm | |
Sounds interesting to me...I'm sure it'll be grand  . Very interesting Theories... |
| By blazed - Posted Friday 15th July 7:06pm | |
I agree with the post above mine. This was very interesting to read, very giving - I'm crap at finding this sort of info, thanks for writing it all together. It's brilliant! =D Looking forward to seeing how much of it turns out to be a fact  |
| By 3 - Posted Sunday 17th July 7:05pm | |
| Where are the updates? i cant seem to find them. But anyway, nice job. |
| By James - Posted Sunday 17th July 10:36pm | |
| If this is true, Muse are taking a good path. Green Day and The Strokes are good, also being combined with Muse would make a class album. Good theories |
| By muse fan_the original - Posted Monday 18th July 9:54pm | |
good work, but april? thats far too long to wait
|
| By me - Posted Wednesday 20th July 1:16am | |
| i saw on a random cd release site that it's going to come out november 8. i don't know what to think about that. |
| By SPEH! - Posted Thursday 21st July 2:59pm | |
| i heard matt bellamy wrote the songs inspired by the music in the area he wrote it.. from different countries and stuff. actually, i read it in an interveiw. good site tho. i like the muse covers. i can play em now. lol. |
| By 3 - Posted Thursday 21st July 9:33pm | |
http://www.viagra4u.info
Viagra, buy viagra, viagra online
Order viagra, cheap viagra |
| By 3 - Posted Sunday 24th July 12:55pm | |
Congratulations on the new layout. Keep it up to date as a celebrity  |
| By Spliced - Posted Wednesday 27th July 3:12am | |
| Why would Flea playing a guest part be so unbelievable, they've toured supporting RHCP in the past. |
| By SilentGod - Posted Sunday 31st July 1:58pm | |
| I think it'd be hillarious to see Matt whip out a trumpet mid-song, and start playing it with expertise. |
| By ledge - Posted Sunday 31st July 9:57pm | |
| erm, excuse me but muse fans are perfectly capable of getting erections, try advertising viagra on a rolling stones fansite mate |
| By shite-talker - Posted Sunday 31st July 11:45pm | |
| yeah i can really se muse doing songs in the style of green day and franz ferdinand! |
| By Mort - Posted Monday 1st August 5:29am | |
| ummm...if they turn out like green day i will scream. I want another origin album. IF THEY SELL OUT I WILL SCREAM ALSO!!! |
| By the wub - Posted Wednesday 10th August 9:39am | |
| Great site, and great theories! There's some good background info on the Church of the Sub Genius at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Church_of_the_SubGenius |
| By hiccup - Posted Wednesday 17th August 12:48pm | |
i agree with mort. fast paced songs are what they're good at, origin of symmetry take 2 would b kwl  |
| By cheese - Posted Thursday 1st September 10:59pm | |
| ok, y are they turning out like greenday? they are nothing like em!!! no way |
| By me - Posted Wednesday 14th September 11:35pm | |
| OHH DEAR, HAVE WE ALL TAKEN OUR STUPID PILLS TODAY, LETS JUST WAIT AND SEE, I'M SURE IT'LL ROCK WHATEVER HAPPENS!!! |
| By Tommy B - Posted Saturday 17th September 12:11am | |
Well, music Tech magazine published in this months edition, and I quote; "November 1st, Muse release new album, produced by Rich Costey who recently produced the Mars Volta's album".
I Think it is a testimony to a great band if Muse decide to go in an obscure but still recognisable direction. If bands didn't do this then we'd all be still listening to Elvis and Buddy Holly. (No offence to those artists, they are good).
Lets just look forward to November first eh?
Cheers
Tommy B |
| By harem grog - Posted Thursday 22nd September 1:22am | |
| i have to wait until april... unless that's not just the states... |
| By crazy bobbles - Posted Sunday 25th September 10:21pm | |
| hey |
| By Crazy Bobbles - Posted Sunday 25th September 10:21pm | |
| hey |
| By awesome man - Posted Thursday 6th October 11:46am | |
| some of this would sound crap, some of this would sound amazing. personally i think muse are heading in a more bombastic region, take DES for example; sounds like a "new" muse sound. |
| By NEW MUSE ALBUM cant WAIT! - Posted Thursday 13th October 10:40pm | |
| Some great predictions but hopefully they don't look towards greenday or fraz ferdinand ect for inspiration as this would be a bad direction, muse in my opinion are a ground breaking band they have since the start been producing music that sounds like what the music of today or the future SHOULD sound like, if they go the route of producing songs in the style of the mentioned bands they would sound like the all the rest. Citizen erased 2 sounds entriging I just can't wait until it comes out, they havent released anything bad yet may they continue |
| By cyrus - Posted Saturday 22nd October 7:44am | |
| ewww greenday..that mean try hard with blakc hair will like em... |
| By Anonymous - Posted Wednesday 26th October 2:43am | |
this page is terrible, all of your information was just stolen straight from us fans on http://invictus.softmeg.com/
So people please stop sucking this guys cock just because he knows how to copy and paste and not give any credit at all to where all this information first appeared.
Also your views are totally wrong, the remix of this fire was terrible compared to the original, frances the mute really aint that good, and i'm not even gonna waste time on the complete sell-outs you say have a fantastic new album you NME worshipper.
EVERYONE GET THE REAL DEAL AND GET IT FIRST
HTTP://INVICTUS.SOFTMEG.COM/
your an insult to muse fans everywhere |
| By RaymondM - Posted Sunday 30th October 10:46pm | |
| In response to the arsehole above, the information I made was conducted from a variety of sources. Muse Rock is one of them but there were other sources I used. |
| By 3 - Posted Thursday 3rd November 2:40pm | |
| Interesting information you have, but more updates will be super. cheers. |
| By superfan - Posted Friday 18th November 10:21pm | |
| ARGH. I do not like what I hear here. Nay to Franz Ferdinand and all of the bands mentioned above. Green Day-inspired? You cant be serious. |
| By [Blocked Ads] - Posted Sunday 20th November 1:10pm | |
Great site, thx very much! Also thx for the links to the songs, especially "Pee Candle". This song will be a single, i think. It's awesome!
& there is nothing wrong with the title, cause it means not olny defecate & evacuate, but also "to look with a half-closed eye, squint". And it's beautiful when light is shining on yours eyelashes... you see beams & they combine your eye & the sourse of light. Inspiration this's great! Don't bother all who don't like FF, Strokes etc. Muse will always be Muse, i'm sure. Matt lives & he has eyes, ears, so they bring him feelings. It's okay! =)
P.S. Sorry for my bad English, i'm from Russia. |
| By Anonymous - Posted Sunday 20th November 3:11pm | |
Apparently there will be a dog on the new album cover(look at the HMV site),this is confirmed by Tom Kirk.Also some songs will are about dog treadment and stuff.Man this is gonna rock!!!
PS sorry for my english ,I'm from Tjetjeny |
| By screenager - Posted Wednesday 7th December 9:57pm | |
great tip offs, but aren't you taking this just a leetle too far? Lets just wait and see- but april's ages away!!!
Buy why, why would these mistroes be fans of greenday? They suck! I'm sure they won't sound anything like them but if they do.....grrrrrrr Anyway, they're one of the most amazing bands in creation, so i'm sure it'll rock. One question though- why are radiohead referred to as 'that band' in this site? They're amazing too, and totally different.I never understood the comparisons between their music but there you go. Can't wait till stars on fire, can't wait can't wait can't wait! |
| By Micro_cuts - Posted Saturday 10th December 10:29pm | |
| where is the muse we know and love? showbiz, origin of symmetry and absolution were awesome, therefore all this stuff said in this site better be bullshit |
| By Muse_Godfather - Posted Saturday 17th December 1:04pm | |
| I know you said no arguments about pee candle, but from what ive heard and read its going to be called Burning Bandits |
| By bob - Posted Saturday 17th December 1:06pm | |
| By Anonymous - Posted Sunday 20th November 3:11pm, are you trying to be saracastic or just an idiot??? dumb shit |
| By callum - Posted Wednesday 28th December 10:41pm | |
good info and a real fun read, made me very excited to see how the album really does turn out ...
HOWEVER...
This is TOTAL guesswork and i find totally unbelievable that the album and its track listing will look anything like what you said.
how can you guess what order the tracks will be in anyway?
fairplay though this is a great site mate. |
| By the frey - Posted Monday 2nd January 8:21pm | |
kind of sad that these guys, inspired by the grunge scene and ethic decided to listen to a bunch of sell-outs for musical direction. if the new muse album is anything like bloody franz ferdinand or the strokes then ill have to burn the new album in disgust. oh and for chrissakes get some new info! i got that NME on the way to the earl's court gig hoping to get some decent info i couldnt find anywhere else... i didnt find it then and i dont see it here. goodnight
ps that guy who knocked the mars volta needs to fuck off and stick to fucking farm animals and leave the music to the big boys |
| By gok22us - Posted Monday 16th January 12:24am | |
| Thank you for taking the time to make this. I enjoyed reading it. Great insight! Lets see how the new album turns out. |
| By 3 - Posted Tuesday 17th January 11:01pm | |
| Good job on your pages. And i like the guestbook option |
| By alex - Posted Wednesday 18th January 11:40am | |
| bare. |
| By Crazy Bobbles - Posted Tuesday 21st March 4:35pm | |
| Testing testing, no more spam...no more |
| By Truth - Posted Wednesday 19th April 7:29am | |
Stupid stuck up wanker. "it became more apparent that some of the new songs were matching my predictions"
Have some modesty at least dude! |
| By diecast - Posted Wednesday 19th April 8:57am | |
"Apparently there will be a dog on the new album cover(look at the HMV site),this is confirmed by Tom Kirk.Also some songs will are about dog treadment and stuff.Man this is gonna rock!!!
PS sorry for my english ,I'm from Tjetjeny"
...LOL. i hope this was a joke post... |
| By the-small-print - Posted Sunday 23rd April 11:15pm | |
WHEN IS THE ALBUM COMING OUT?! APRIL HAS ALMOST GONE NOW AND I WANT MY FREAKIN ALBUM!!!
greenday better not be an influence in any way. they are abominable. and while the strokes kick ass i hope they aren't a major influence. Mars volta and franz influence could be cool though, still hoping that muse will stick to their winning formula |
| By Plug_In_baby - Posted Tuesday 9th May 11:58am | |
| 3rd of July isnt it? I've heard SMBH, the first time I heard it I didnt no what 2 think!! But i'm gettin used to it now!!! Still a massive fan of MUSE!THEY ROCK! BIG TIME!x |
| By Dnevni Horoskop - Posted Thursday 14th December 2:24pm | |
| Dnevni Horoskop |
| By Dnevni Horoskop - Posted Thursday 14th December 2:24pm | |
| http://horoskop.smscentar.com/ |
| By evan - Posted Wednesday 7th March 9:48am | |
| Thanx, they're really cute! Muse owns, btw, FF was my recent music discovery, found at a href="http://mp3rest.com/.html>mp3 song, just got addicted to it! |
