Muse – Origin Of Symmetry (2001)

April 26, 2023

Ah, Muse, Muse, Muse. Blimey. How hard can a band fall off? Why, just ask Muse.

Origin Of Symmetry is a stunning sophomore effort from a promising band who, on their debut, showed a side to them which had a lot of promise, but perhaps conformed to dare I say somewhat regular songwriting for the time. Many have pointed out the similarities to Radiohead, and I don’t take much stock in this, because I love Muse but fucking hate Radiohead (lol).

Origin Of Symmetry is a document of a band perfecting their sound whilst still fairly early in their career, and riding that wave then into full-on commercial success. There’s no doubt that most of the success is reliant on the multi-instrumentalist and vocalist of the band, Matt Bellamy, with his bizarre solos, effects, transitions and of course those instantly recognisable vocals and lyrics. This is not to detract from Dom and Chris, but it is clear who the star of the show is here.

Origin Of Symmetry is one of those rare albums where every song is a banger (I can take or leave the cover of “Feeling Good” but I associate it so much with this era that taking it out feels just as weird as leaving it in). The first half of this thing gives us huge, sing-a-long anthems and the second half treads into darker, sometimes heavier and sometimes more twisted territory. Closing track “Megalomania” is an absolute treat in pomp and bombast, with enormous keyboards and cryptic lyrics howled at the top of Matt’s range. Insanity, in the best possible way.

Honestly, I love this thing. I haven’t heard it for years so I’m gonna go put it on now.