Muse

Young musicians Matthew Bellamy, Christopher Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard organized the Muse trio during their colleage study. Their common prodigy changed several titles untill they decided to stop on Muse. They chose to become professional musicians and leave their native town Teignmouth after they won at the local bands competition. Muse made a big fan base in a few years, giving concerts in London and Manchester. However, it proved to be problematic for them to find a label for the record of their first album in Britain - as Muse was often compared to the British rock scene heroes Radiohead. Nevertheless, in 1998, the trio signed to the Maverick Records. John Leckie, who worked earlier with Radiohead, The Verve, The Stone Roses and some other stars, produced their first attempt. The Showbiz disc had some autobiographic material and a comparatively soft sound.

After the Showbiz release, Muse actively toured all over the world. During the work on their second full-length Origin Of Symmetry the musicians used such unorthodox instruments as the organ and Mellotron, and experimented with the sound. Bellamy’s manner of singing changed as well. The song titled Feeling Good became the lead single from the Origin Of Symmetry, which saw light in 2001. In 2003, Muse successfully sued Nescafe for the unlicensed use of this composition in their advertisement. Muse released the concert record Hullabaloo and the collection of B-side songs Hullabaloo Soundtrack after they recommended themselves as skillful live performers during the Origin Of Symmetry support tour. After it the musicians got down to recording their third creation Absolution. The Absolution album saw light in 2003, and was even more experimental than its predecessor, Origin Of Symmetry. The work was devoted to such themes as the world conspiracy, theology and supernatural. It was represented by such powerful and thoughtful singles as Time Is Running Out, Hysteria, Sing for Absolution, Stockholm Syndrome and Butterflies And Hurricanes.

In July 2004, Muse gave an excellent performance at the Glastonbury festival. Unluckily, Dominic Howard's father died the same evening of a heart attack. Despite of this fact, the musicians went on the Absolution support tour. Soon after it they received the BRIT award. Their album of 2006, Black Holes & Revelations, became the real breakthrough in the world of alternative music. This work gave a handfull of energetic hits - hard Supermassive Black Hole, surprisingly melodic Map Of Problematique, soft Starlight and historical Knights Of Cydonia. The live edition Live From Abbey Road was released the same year. In March 2008, Muse issued a wonderful live full-length H.A.A.R.P., recorded during their powerful performances in London on the Wembley stadium. A new studio record by the British band arrived in the mid 2009. Called The Resistance, it appeared another experimental effort and one more step taken by the musicians towards perfection.