Origin of Symmetry

Origin of Symmetry
Studio album by Muse
Released	17 June 2001
Recorded	2001 at Ridge Farm Studios, Surrey; Real World Studio, Wiltshire; Astoria Studios, Richmond Studios and Abbey Road Studios, London; Sawmills Studio, Cornwall; St. Mary's Church, Bathwick
Genre	Alternative rock, new prog, space rock
Length	51:42
Label	Mushroom
Producer	David Bottrill, John Leckie, Muse
Professional reviews
Allmusic link DPRP link Drowned In Sound link Flak link NME link PopMatters link Q (2002) Sputnikmusic link
Muse chronology
Showbiz (1999) Origin of Symmetry (2001) Hullabaloo Soundtrack (2002)
Singles from Origin of Symmetry
"Plug In Baby" Released: 5 March 2001 "New Born" Released: 5 June 2001 "Bliss" Released: 20 August 2001 "Hyper Music/Feeling Good" Released: 19 November 2001

Origin of Symmetry is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 June 2001 by Mushroom Records.^[1] Recording took place at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey and Real World Studio in Wiltshire, and additional recordings were made at Astoria Studios, Richmond Studios and Abbey Road Studios in London and Sawmills Studio in Fowey, Cornwall. The album was mixed at Sawmills and mastered at Sony Music Studios in London. Origin of Symmetry was produced by David Bottrill, John Leckie (who previously worked on the band's first album, Showbiz) and the band themselves. In the UK it reached #3^[2] and was certified platinum.^[3] The title for the album comes from a concept put forward by Michio Kaku in his book Hyperspace.^[4]

The album was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews and in 2006 earned the spot of 74 on Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums of all Time.^[5]

Origin of Symmetry is seen as a departure from the alternative rock sound of Showbiz, as the band experimented instrumentally throughout the album. Dominic Howard (drums) augmented the standard rock drum kit with various other items of his own, and Matthew Bellamy uses a pipe organ at St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bathwick on "Megalomania". Due to the requirement of a pipe organ, this song is rarely played live by Muse, perhaps the most notable occasions being at Muse's charity gig at the Royal Albert Hall and during the Hullabaloo concert in Paris.

Throughout the album, the bass line is used as the driving force, often with the guitar providing only an extra layer to the song rather than carrying the melody. The bass has distortion and other effects applied to it to achieve a greater weight, allowing the guitar to digress from the main chord progression and play higher notes.

Contents [hide] 1 Controversy 2 Popular culture 3 Track listing 4 Personnel 5 References 6 External links

Controversy

Maverick Records, who previously released Showbiz in the United States, asked the band to remove the falsetto vocals for the album's release, claiming that their presence would discourage radio play. Muse's refusal saw them part ways with the label, meaning that the album was not released in the US until 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Nestlé tried to use the song "Feeling Good" in a coffee commercial, though the band refused to give the company permission to do so^[6]. After using the song anyway, the band successfully sued Nestlé for £500,000, which the band donated to the charity Oxfam.^[7]

Popular culture

"Feeling Good" is a cover of a song originally from a 1965 musical.

Additionally, the song "Space Dementia" has been used for the advertisement of the fragrance Midnight Poison by Christian Dior, released on 2007. The advertisement features Eva Green in a blue dress, directed by Wong Kar Wai.

Fragments of the song "New Born" have been used in an advertisement for Oxfam designed by Tim Burton. The advertisement uses part of the piano intro and the first driving guitar riff.

A fragment of the song "Micro Cuts" has been used for the Italian version of the advertisement of Roberto Cavalli Profumo in 2003, featuring Spanish top model Nuria de la Fuente.

The song "New Born" has been used in the film Haute Tension (also known as Switchblade Romance in the UK and High Tension in the US) and a remix by Paul Oakenfold was used in Dominic Sena's film Swordfish.

The song Feeling Good was used to advertise "Eden", the brand new channel launched on 26 January 2009, that was previously known as UKTV Documentary.

"Feeling Good" is used in the 2009 movie Seven Pounds, starring Will Smith.

American Idol 2009 Finalist Adam Lambert has covered Feeling Good and made the arrangment very similar to the Muse version.

"Plug In Baby" is to be featured in the upcoming Guitar Hero 5 videogame.

Track listing

All songs were written by Matthew Bellamy, except "Feeling Good" by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley.

1. "New Born" – 6:03
2. "Bliss" – 4:12
3. "Space Dementia" – 6:20
4. "Hyper Music" – 3:21
5. "Plug In Baby" – 3:39
6. "Citizen Erased" – 7:19
7. "Micro Cuts" – 3:38
8. "Screenager" – 4:20
9. "Darkshines" – 4:47
10. "Feeling Good" – 3:19
11. "Megalomania" – 4:38

Japanese edition

11. "Futurism" – 3:27
12. "Megalomania" – 4:38

Personnel

Muse Matthew Bellamy – lead vocals, guitars, piano, keyboards, Wurlitzer piano on track 10, pipe organ on track 11, strings arrangement, production, mixing Christopher Wolstenholme – bass, backing vocals, double bass on track 10, vibraphone, production, mixing Dominic Howard – drums, percussion, production, mixing Guest musicians Jacqueline Norrie – violin Sara Herbert – violin Clare Finnimore – viola Caroline Lavelle – cello

Additional personnel David Bottrill – production and engineering on tracks 1, 2, 5 and 9 John Leckie – production and engineering on tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 Ric Peet – engineering on tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 Steve Cooper – additional engineering on tracks 1, 2, 5 and 9 Chris Brown – additional engineering and programming on tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 Mark Thomas – assistant engineering on tracks 2, 4, 5 and 7 Claire Lewis – assistant engineering on tracks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10 and 11 Damon Iddins – assistant engineering Mirek Styles – assistant engineering John Cornfield – mixing Ray Staff – mastering William Eager – artwork