Difference between pages "Popcorn (song)" and "Will of the People (album)"

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{{Songbox |
[[File:WOTP_Art.jpg|thumb|right|Cover art]]
| Name = Popcorn
[[File:WOTP_Monogram.jpg|thumb|right|The album's monogram]]
| Album = [[Resistance (single)|Resistance]] <small>vinyl (2)</small>
[[File:MUSE 2022 2000-696x442.jpg|thumb|right|First WOTP promo pic for Won't Stand Down<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CYb-0PFL5xU/</ref>]]
| Length = 2:25
{{Discobox
| AltTitles = -
| Name = Will of the People<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CbLgvvBqtzI/</ref>
| First = [[Teignmouth Den 2009 - 4th (gig)|4<sup>th</sup> September 2009]]
| Tracks = 10
| Latest = [[Paris Air Productions studios 2009 (gig)|9<sup>th</sup> September 2009]]
| Length = TBA
| Recorded = [[Studio Bellini]], Lake Como and Milan, Italy, 2009
| Recorded = 2021
| Writer = Gershon Kingsley
| Writer = [[Matthew Bellamy]], [[Dominic Howard]], [[Christopher Wolstenholme]]
| Producer = Muse
| Producer = Muse, [[Aleks Von Korff]]
| Chart position = -
| Art = TBA
| Cover = 1
| Publisher = [[Helium 3]], [[Warner Music Group|Warner]]
|Format = TBA
|CatNumber = TBA
| Release = 26th August 2022<ref>https://willofthepeople.muse.mu/</ref>
| Chart = N/A
| Previous = Simulation Theory
| PreviousLink = Simulation Theory (album)
| Next =
| NextLink =
| single1 = Won't Stand Down | image1 = WontStandDown.jpg
| single2 = Compliance | image2 = WOTP_Art.jpg
| Type = album
}}
}}
<flashmp3>http://www.musewiki.org/images/Popcorn.mp3|rightbg=0xDDEEFF|leftbg=0xDDEEFF|bg=0xFFFFFF</flashmp3>
==Description==
A live cover of the synthpop song originally composed by Gershon Kingsley that became popular in the 1970s when it was covered by Hot Butter, first played by Muse at the Seaside Rendezvous concerts in September 2009 as it reminded of them of a rollerdisco they once attended in [[Teignmouth]]. Muse performed at the French show [[Paris Air Productions studios 2009 (gig)|Taratata]]. Muse were interviewed after playing their cover of Popcorn and Bellamy claimed that he 'Thought he would play something especially for them'.


This song was released as a b-side on the [[Resistance (single)|Resistance]] single, but on the [[Official Muse website|muse.mu]] limited edition vinyl and digital B-side bundle only.
== Information ==


==Live==
Matt first hinted at working on new Muse material in an interview with ALT 98.7 FM, backstage at the ALTerEGO Festival in January of 2020, where he said, that the goal for 2020 was to work on new Muse material, allthough the plans were probably halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, as the three were unable to get together due to the lockdowns. Bellamy instead focused on releasing his solo material. Matt also hinted on working on Muse material in a May interview with Zane Lowe, on Beats 1 Radio, saying that he has a few pieces written that are suited for Muse.<ref>https://youtu.be/wGHqxU-63HM?t=292</ref> In an interview with Rolling Stone, also in May, he said that that the idea would be to record the album in 2021 and potentially go on a tour in 2022.<ref>https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/muse-matt-bellamy-interview-coronavirus-quarantine-999208/</ref>


Popcorn was rarely performed and was only played at the first five gigs of The Resistance tour. It was likely performed only for the Seaside Rendezvous gigs and then the following three gigs as some sort of treat to fans at the kickoff of the tour. The likelihood of Popcorn making a return to setlists is very low because of this as well as its status as a b-side. It was the last b-side to be performed live and the only one from The Resistance era to be performed.  
Bellamy confirmed he started writing the new Muse album in an interview with [[The Jaded Hearts Club|The Jaded Hearts Club Band]] for The Sun.<ref>https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/12884819/matt-bellamy-thought-jaded-hearts-club-were-the-beatles/</ref> He also hinted at the band working on the next album in a brief Instagram comment in March 2021.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Muse/comments/lxdvdb/new_album_on_the_way_confirmed/</ref>


[[Popcorn (live) | More here]]
In the interview, Bellamy said the following: ''"I started writing when all the protests and all the chaos were kicking off. It’s a weird thing to say but it suits the music I write. It keeps you a little bit on edge."''


Back to [[Songs]]
Bellamy jokingly said, in an Instagram comment reply on [https://www.instagram.com/p/COBjSGLhFzP/ Dom Howard's Instagram post], that the album would include "emotional gasps and many usages of the word ‘soul’.".
[[Category:B Sides |Popcorn]]
 
[[Category:Songs]]
According to Muse, "''Will of the People was created in Los Angeles and London and is influenced by increasing uncertainty and instability in the world. A pandemic, new wars in Europe, massive protests & riots, an attempted insurrection, Western democracy wavering, rising authoritarianism, wildfires and natural disasters and the destabilisation of the global order all informed Will of the People. It has been a worrying and scary time for all of us as the Western empire and the natural world, which we have cradled us for so long are genuinely threatened. This album is a personal navigation through those fears and preparation for what comes next.''"<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CbLgvvBqtzI/</ref>
 
In an interview with Zane Lowe upon announcing the album on March 17th, 2022, Bellamy said about the album that "''it goes all the way, from metal, to pop, to my first version of an Adele piano-like song, to electronica''", and that the last song, [[We Are Fucking Fucked (song)|We Are Fucking Fucked]] is "''the weirdest, darkest lost B-side of Muse's life''". He also said that [[Kill or Be Killed (song)|Kill or Be Killed]] is "''the best prog metal song they've ever done that could've been on [[Drones (album)|Drones]].''" and that they've made an album that encapsulates their "best of" work. In the same interview, he mentioned that he let Howard take the lead in terms of decisions on this album, jokingly saying that this is why the album process from start to release took so long, since Howard, according to Matt, took time with the creative process.<ref>https://youtu.be/BiD9f59oo1w</ref>
 
== Recording ==
 
In an interview with NME, Bellamy said that he'd like the idea of the band "totally resetting" and going back to their hometown of Teignmouth, Devon to rehearse and record the next album. It appears however, that this was not the case, as the first studio pictures that started to emerge were from Bellamy's studio, located somewhere in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and later sessions took place at [[Abbey Road Studios]]. The first proof of Muse being in the studio was an Instagram post of [https://www.instagram.com/p/CMT4hOxjpeI/ Matt playing a piano], posted in March of 2021, however work likely began earlier.
 
Producer [[Aleks Von Korff]], who previously worked with Muse as an engineer on [[Simulation Theory (album)|Simulation Theory]], and produced Bellamy's solo material - songs like [[Tomorrow's World (Matthew Bellamy song)|Tomorrow's World]], also posted a picture from this L.A. studio, with the wooden Kawai piano. According to him, the studio, named by Von Korff as "The Black Lodge", had been fully built in early 2020.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CX6KyANuNT8/</ref> The studio has previously been seen during the recording sessions for the debut album of Matt's cover band/supergroup [[The Jaded Hearts Club]], aswell as during the recording of [[Simulation Theory (album)|Simulation Theory]].
 
Between April and June 2021, the band took a break from recording, to work on a remix of [[Origin_of_Symmetry_(album)#Origin_of_Symmetry:_XX_Anniversary_RemiXX|Origin of Symmetry]]. In early June, Chris came to L.A. to join Dom and Matt continuing work on the album.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CP6Xo7IjPs1/</ref>
 
In November of 2021, [[Adrian Bushby]] posted a picture of him and Howard at [[Abbey Road Studios]], tracking drums, hinting at the album being partially tracked in there.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBaoDFtHHk/?utm_medium=copy_link</ref> Prior to that, on July 24th, 2021, Muse also posted a picture of Bellamy holding one of his Manson guitars, posing infront of Abbey Road Studios with the caption saying "Good to be back".<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CRtsMriBtpm/</ref> Bellamy also posted a picture of his son, Bing, infront of Abbey Road Studios around that time.<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CTFAGKPjCx5/</ref> This makes the upcoming album the second LP to be (albeit partially) recorded at Abbey Road after 20 years, when [[Origin of Symmetry (album)|Origin of Symmetry]] was recorded at the studios.
 
On December 1st, 2021, Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer at Sterling Sound Studios posted a picture of Bellamy and Howard sitting on a couch, with the entire album likely at the mastering stage during that time. <ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CW9SHCXPtJy/</ref>
 
The album has been, compared to previous releases, recorded in almost complete secrecy, with very few images from the recording sessions themselves, and no real info as to what we might expect from it, up until Matt's snippet of [[Won't Stand Down (single)|Won't Stand Down]] was streamed live on Instagram.
 
== Release ==
 
On December 25th, 2021, Bellamy made up for the lack of a muse.mu Christmas present with a short livestream from his Tesla, on Muse's Instagram profile, showcasing part of [[Won't Stand Down (single)|Won't Stand Down]]. The 60 second stream was then screen-recorded by a few people, with copyright bots deleting the posts, hinting at the song being near its release. Matt's minute-long stream can be listened to [https://www.reddit.com/r/Muse/comments/romrcw/full_60_second_preview_of_new_song_wont_stand/ here]. The then-approaching release of the song was teased once again on Muse's New Years Eve Instagram post, when they wrote a caption saying "Looking forward to WSD. We'll see you on the other side!", before quickly replacing "WSD" with "2022". [[Won't Stand Down (single)|Won't Stand Down]] was subsequently announced a week later, on January 7th, 2022, on Muse's social media<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CYbuFCOKPfv/</ref>, with [https://wontstanddown.muse.mu/ wontstanddown.muse.mu] spotted being online a day earlier. Together with it also came the single artwork and a new promo image of the band. The song was released on January 13th, 2022, on digital platforms.
 
Almost two months later, on March 2nd, 2022, Bellamy posted an Instagram story in which he went over the guitar tuning for Won't Stand Down, while mentioning that a second heavy song will appear on the album.<ref>https://www.reddit.com/r/Muse/comments/t5fv8w/from_matts_instagram_story/</ref>
 
On March 9th, 2022, Muse posted a short, half-minute teaser video on their YouTube, simply titled "MUSE", which depicts statues of the band's heads being torn down by a group of rioters in the middle of a desert, while wearing masks from the Won't Stand Down music video, with a choir of Matts singing the line "The Will of the People", name of the album and song of the same name, with album artwork displayed at the very end of the video.<ref>https://youtu.be/nzHnwHzp9o4</ref>
 
Two days later, on March 11th, 2022, it was discovered by Muse fans that the index code from [https://wontstanddown.muse.mu/api/v1/catalogue/new/ wontstanddown.muse.mu], contains basic album info, including the tracklist and anagrams for each song which will appear on the album. The same day, Muse announced a new song/single, [[Compliance (single)|Compliance]]. The song, and its music video, leaked on March 15th through Vimeo, before being deleted from the platform on the same day. A day later, anagrams from the wontstanddown index code were also resolved, leaking song titles and the tracklist. Compliance's music video was announced together with the album name on March 16th<ref>https://www.instagram.com/p/CbLgvvBqtzI/</ref>.
 
The album's release date has finally been announced, together with the release of [[Compliance (single)|Compliance]], on March 17th, 2022. It is available for pre-ordering via [https://willofthepeople.muse.mu/ willofthepeople.muse.mu] and is set to be released on August 26th, 2022.
 
== "WOTP" Monogram & Artwork ==
 
The monogram (shown in the picture), consisting of letters "W", "O", "T" and "P", first appeared on the single artwork for [[Won't Stand Down (single)|Won't Stand Down]]. It was already speculated at that time, that the monogram might be linked to the album name. The same monogram made appearances throughout the album's release campaign, included and displayed on characters' suits and various other places (like the car bonnet and the wheelchair) throughout Won't Stand Down's music video, aswell as the [[Compliance (single)|Compliance]] music video and promotional photos.
 
The artwork, set somewhere in a post-apocalyptic deserty city (very similar to the post-apocalyptic London, shown on the [[Sing for Absolution (single)|Sing for Absolution]] single artwork), shows demolished large stone statues of the band's heads, with a small group of rioters standing next to them. Each head has graffiti on them, displaying the monograms scattered on each of the heads, aswel as various song names. These include: "''Liberation''" & "''Will of the People''" on Dom's head, "''Kill or Be Killed''" on Matt's head and "''Ghosts''", "''Won't Stand Down''" & "''Euophoria''" on Chris's head. Other words written as graffiti include "''Die''" and "''Fuck off''" on Matt's head, both presumably lines from the songs. Dom's head also includes "''IX''" written on, in Roman numerals, standing for the album being their ninth one. This is also the first artwork since [[Black Holes and Revelations (album)|Black Holes and Revelations]] to not feature the Muse logo or the album name on the art itself, and the second album artwork in a row/second main album artwork alltogether, to feature the bands' faces.
 
== Tracklist ==
 
{{tracklist
|01 = Will of the People
|02 = Compliance
|03 = Liberation
|04 = Won't Stand Down | 04length = 3:29
|05 = Ghosts (How Can I Move On)
|06 = You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween
|07 = Kill or Be Killed
|08 = Verona
|09 = Euphoria
|10 = We Are Fucking Fucked
}}
 
== Will of the People gallery ==
<gallery>
File:WOTP_Art.jpg|Front cover
File:WOTP_CD.png|CD
File:WOTP_Vinyl.png|Vinyl
File:WOTP_CollectorsVinyl.png|Collector's Edition Vinyl
File:WOTP_BluCassette.png|Blue Cassette
File:WOTP_RedCassette.png|Red Cassette
File:WOTP_YelCassette.png|Yellow Cassette
File:WOTP_SignedCassettes.png|Signed Cassette Bundle
File:WOTP_StandardBundle.png|Signed Standard Bundle
File:WOTP_VinylBundle.png|Signed Vinyl Bundle
File:WOTP_DeluxeBundle.png|Signed Deluxe Bundle
</gallery>
 
== Personnel ==
''Incomplete''
 
'''Muse'''
*[[Matt Bellamy]] - Vocals, backing vocals, guitar, keyboards, co-production
*[[Chris Wolstenholme]] - Bass, backing vocals, co-production
*[[Dominic Howard]] - Drums, co-production
 
'''Production'''
*[[Aleks Von Korff]] - Additional production, Engineering, ATMOS Mixing
*[[Adrian Bushby]] - Engineering
*Joe Devenney - Engineering assistant
*Dan Lancaster - Mixing
*Rhys May - Mixing assistant
*Chris Whitemyer - Technical assistant
*Andy Maxwell - Abbey Road assistance
*Tommy Bosustow - Abbey Road assistance
*Chris Gehringer - Mastering
 
'''Art'''
*[[Jesse Lee Stout]] - Creative direction
 
== Ninth album recording gallery ==
<gallery>
File:2021_05_02_AVKVanHalen.jpg | "Might as well! Good way to spend a Friday, chasing one of the all time great synth sounds 🦾" (''video'') (5th February 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CK7TfsWhZl-/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021_16_02_AVKRack.jpg | "One of these kinda days ☺️❤️🍝" (16th February 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CLVKL00B2hg/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021_27_02_AVKMellotron.jpg | "Brought a few toys from home into work 🤗🎹" (27th February 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CLx1Mf6hoSb/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021-12-03_KKawaiAVK.jpg | "ty @kawaipianos for this beauty 🤍 sounding innnnnncredible 👌🏻" (12th March 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CMVDlJJhgc0/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021-12-03_MattExplorers.jpg.png | "Who can name that tune?" (''video'') (12th March 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CMT4hOxjpeI/ Matt's Instagram])
File:2021-06-04_AVKAmps1.jpg | "Havin a blast with the @uaudio OX Amp top box. Making some naaaasty 🤘🏻 things and the OX is coming through in a huge way!..." (6th April 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CNVrZ4yBNmJ/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021-06-04_AVKAmps2.jpg | "Havin a blast with the @uaudio OX Amp top box. Making some naaaasty 🤘🏻 things and the OX is coming through in a huge way!..." (6th April 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CNVrZ4yBNmJ/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021-06-04_AVKAmps3.jpg | "Havin a blast with the @uaudio OX Amp top box. Making some naaaasty 🤘🏻 things and the OX is coming through in a huge way!..." (6th April 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CNVrZ4yBNmJ/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021-12-04_RoxaneBettyDom.jpg | "Being Dom Malkovitch 🎨 @roxannebettycreative" (12th April 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CNlBWLHjCue/ Matt's Instagram])
File:2021-23-04_DomFloyd.jpg | "The producer still needs naps. He wanted to let you know the new album is sounding fat and to hope you are all keeping well and healthy 🙏🤟🏼🥁" (23rd April 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/COBjSGLhFzP/ Dom's Instagram])
File:2021-23-04_AVKBar.jpg | "Old fashioned time at the studio bar after a nice long week of tracking 🥃😌" (23rd April 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/COCFq66BHTW/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021-13-06_StudioDogAVK.jpg | "Studio dog best dog 😍" (13th June 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CQC7TPghyBx/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021-07-24_BellamyAbbeyRoad.jpg | "Good to be back" (24th July 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CRtsMriBtpm/ Muse's Instagram])
File:2021_08_11_BushbyInstagram.jpg | "Drum tracking with @muse at @abbeyroadstudios a couple months back. In my happy place with @domhoward77 and the gang 💕🎵" (8th November 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBaoDFtHHk/ Adrian Bushby's Instagram])
File:2021_24_11_DomDogAVK.jpg | "girl wouldn’t stop chewing on cables, so put her in my lap while working. not the most productive day but probs the cutest.🤍" (24th November 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CWo6DE3vq42/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021_01_12_ChrisGehringerMuse.jpg | "@muse" (1st December 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CW9SHCXPtJy/ Chris Gehringer's Instagram])
File:2021_12_25_AVKStudio1.png | "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (''video'') (25th December 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CX6KyANuNT8/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021 12 25 AVKStudio2.jpg | "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (25th December 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CX6KyANuNT8/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021 12 25 AVKStudio3.jpg | "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (25th December 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CX6KyANuNT8/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021 12 25 AVKStudio4.jpg | "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (25th December 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CX6KyANuNT8/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2021 12 25 AVKStudio5.jpg | "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (25th December 2021; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CX6KyANuNT8/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2022_01_10_AVKWSDBassScreen.png | "THURSDAY! 1.13 #wontstanddown @muse 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻" (''video'') (10th January 2022; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CYiXIHfrqOM/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2022_01_10_AVKWSDWahs.jpg | "THURSDAY! 1.13 #wontstanddown @muse 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻" (10th January 2022; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CYiXIHfrqOM/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2022_02_06_AVKMattMarshall.jpg | "Don’t let your memes be dreams. Also, cabinets def sound better with a few @mansonguitarworks headstock shaped holes in em courtesy of Matt." (6th February 2022; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CZnTUjGPock/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
File:2022_02_07_BellamyGuitarViol.png | "I used this GuitarViol (Kind of half fretted mini cello with a guitar tuning) to record the pizzicato strings for the verse of #wontstanddown Recorded around 12-16 takes to sound orchestral. @muse" (''video'') (7th February 2022; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CZr0AqTJNt2/ Matt's Instagram])
File:2022_02_07_AVKGuitarViol.jpg | "Coupla DPAs, a 122v, some a-ha…and boy you got a stew goin’ 🎻👨🏻‍🍳 Pizz strings on the guitarviol for Won’t Stand Down 🤘🏻" (7th February 2022; [https://www.instagram.com/p/CZsNANIPK6Q/ Aleks Von Korff's Instagram])
</gallery>
 
==References==
<references/>

Revision as of 19:28, 17 March 2022

Cover art
The album's monogram
First WOTP promo pic for Won't Stand Down[1]
Muse album
Name Will of the People[2]
Tracks 10
Total length TBA
Recorded 2021
Writer/composer Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard, Christopher Wolstenholme
Producer Muse, Aleks Von Korff
Art work TBA
Publisher Helium 3, Warner
Format(s) TBA
Catalogue № TBA
Release date 26th August 2022[3]
Chart position N/A
album chronology
Simulation Theory
←
Will of the People[2]
Singles
WontStandDown.jpgWOTP Art.jpg


Information

Matt first hinted at working on new Muse material in an interview with ALT 98.7 FM, backstage at the ALTerEGO Festival in January of 2020, where he said, that the goal for 2020 was to work on new Muse material, allthough the plans were probably halted due to the coronavirus pandemic, as the three were unable to get together due to the lockdowns. Bellamy instead focused on releasing his solo material. Matt also hinted on working on Muse material in a May interview with Zane Lowe, on Beats 1 Radio, saying that he has a few pieces written that are suited for Muse.[4] In an interview with Rolling Stone, also in May, he said that that the idea would be to record the album in 2021 and potentially go on a tour in 2022.[5]

Bellamy confirmed he started writing the new Muse album in an interview with The Jaded Hearts Club Band for The Sun.[6] He also hinted at the band working on the next album in a brief Instagram comment in March 2021.[7]

In the interview, Bellamy said the following: "I started writing when all the protests and all the chaos were kicking off. It’s a weird thing to say but it suits the music I write. It keeps you a little bit on edge."

Bellamy jokingly said, in an Instagram comment reply on Dom Howard's Instagram post, that the album would include "emotional gasps and many usages of the word ‘soul’.".

According to Muse, "Will of the People was created in Los Angeles and London and is influenced by increasing uncertainty and instability in the world. A pandemic, new wars in Europe, massive protests & riots, an attempted insurrection, Western democracy wavering, rising authoritarianism, wildfires and natural disasters and the destabilisation of the global order all informed Will of the People. It has been a worrying and scary time for all of us as the Western empire and the natural world, which we have cradled us for so long are genuinely threatened. This album is a personal navigation through those fears and preparation for what comes next."[8]

In an interview with Zane Lowe upon announcing the album on March 17th, 2022, Bellamy said about the album that "it goes all the way, from metal, to pop, to my first version of an Adele piano-like song, to electronica", and that the last song, We Are Fucking Fucked is "the weirdest, darkest lost B-side of Muse's life". He also said that Kill or Be Killed is "the best prog metal song they've ever done that could've been on Drones." and that they've made an album that encapsulates their "best of" work. In the same interview, he mentioned that he let Howard take the lead in terms of decisions on this album, jokingly saying that this is why the album process from start to release took so long, since Howard, according to Matt, took time with the creative process.[9]

Recording

In an interview with NME, Bellamy said that he'd like the idea of the band "totally resetting" and going back to their hometown of Teignmouth, Devon to rehearse and record the next album. It appears however, that this was not the case, as the first studio pictures that started to emerge were from Bellamy's studio, located somewhere in Santa Monica, Los Angeles, and later sessions took place at Abbey Road Studios. The first proof of Muse being in the studio was an Instagram post of Matt playing a piano, posted in March of 2021, however work likely began earlier.

Producer Aleks Von Korff, who previously worked with Muse as an engineer on Simulation Theory, and produced Bellamy's solo material - songs like Tomorrow's World, also posted a picture from this L.A. studio, with the wooden Kawai piano. According to him, the studio, named by Von Korff as "The Black Lodge", had been fully built in early 2020.[10] The studio has previously been seen during the recording sessions for the debut album of Matt's cover band/supergroup The Jaded Hearts Club, aswell as during the recording of Simulation Theory.

Between April and June 2021, the band took a break from recording, to work on a remix of Origin of Symmetry. In early June, Chris came to L.A. to join Dom and Matt continuing work on the album.[11]

In November of 2021, Adrian Bushby posted a picture of him and Howard at Abbey Road Studios, tracking drums, hinting at the album being partially tracked in there.[12] Prior to that, on July 24th, 2021, Muse also posted a picture of Bellamy holding one of his Manson guitars, posing infront of Abbey Road Studios with the caption saying "Good to be back".[13] Bellamy also posted a picture of his son, Bing, infront of Abbey Road Studios around that time.[14] This makes the upcoming album the second LP to be (albeit partially) recorded at Abbey Road after 20 years, when Origin of Symmetry was recorded at the studios.

On December 1st, 2021, Chris Gehringer, mastering engineer at Sterling Sound Studios posted a picture of Bellamy and Howard sitting on a couch, with the entire album likely at the mastering stage during that time. [15]

The album has been, compared to previous releases, recorded in almost complete secrecy, with very few images from the recording sessions themselves, and no real info as to what we might expect from it, up until Matt's snippet of Won't Stand Down was streamed live on Instagram.

Release

On December 25th, 2021, Bellamy made up for the lack of a muse.mu Christmas present with a short livestream from his Tesla, on Muse's Instagram profile, showcasing part of Won't Stand Down. The 60 second stream was then screen-recorded by a few people, with copyright bots deleting the posts, hinting at the song being near its release. Matt's minute-long stream can be listened to here. The then-approaching release of the song was teased once again on Muse's New Years Eve Instagram post, when they wrote a caption saying "Looking forward to WSD. We'll see you on the other side!", before quickly replacing "WSD" with "2022". Won't Stand Down was subsequently announced a week later, on January 7th, 2022, on Muse's social media[16], with wontstanddown.muse.mu spotted being online a day earlier. Together with it also came the single artwork and a new promo image of the band. The song was released on January 13th, 2022, on digital platforms.

Almost two months later, on March 2nd, 2022, Bellamy posted an Instagram story in which he went over the guitar tuning for Won't Stand Down, while mentioning that a second heavy song will appear on the album.[17]

On March 9th, 2022, Muse posted a short, half-minute teaser video on their YouTube, simply titled "MUSE", which depicts statues of the band's heads being torn down by a group of rioters in the middle of a desert, while wearing masks from the Won't Stand Down music video, with a choir of Matts singing the line "The Will of the People", name of the album and song of the same name, with album artwork displayed at the very end of the video.[18]

Two days later, on March 11th, 2022, it was discovered by Muse fans that the index code from wontstanddown.muse.mu, contains basic album info, including the tracklist and anagrams for each song which will appear on the album. The same day, Muse announced a new song/single, Compliance. The song, and its music video, leaked on March 15th through Vimeo, before being deleted from the platform on the same day. A day later, anagrams from the wontstanddown index code were also resolved, leaking song titles and the tracklist. Compliance's music video was announced together with the album name on March 16th[19].

The album's release date has finally been announced, together with the release of Compliance, on March 17th, 2022. It is available for pre-ordering via willofthepeople.muse.mu and is set to be released on August 26th, 2022.

"WOTP" Monogram & Artwork

The monogram (shown in the picture), consisting of letters "W", "O", "T" and "P", first appeared on the single artwork for Won't Stand Down. It was already speculated at that time, that the monogram might be linked to the album name. The same monogram made appearances throughout the album's release campaign, included and displayed on characters' suits and various other places (like the car bonnet and the wheelchair) throughout Won't Stand Down's music video, aswell as the Compliance music video and promotional photos.

The artwork, set somewhere in a post-apocalyptic deserty city (very similar to the post-apocalyptic London, shown on the Sing for Absolution single artwork), shows demolished large stone statues of the band's heads, with a small group of rioters standing next to them. Each head has graffiti on them, displaying the monograms scattered on each of the heads, aswel as various song names. These include: "Liberation" & "Will of the People" on Dom's head, "Kill or Be Killed" on Matt's head and "Ghosts", "Won't Stand Down" & "Euophoria" on Chris's head. Other words written as graffiti include "Die" and "Fuck off" on Matt's head, both presumably lines from the songs. Dom's head also includes "IX" written on, in Roman numerals, standing for the album being their ninth one. This is also the first artwork since Black Holes and Revelations to not feature the Muse logo or the album name on the art itself, and the second album artwork in a row/second main album artwork alltogether, to feature the bands' faces.

Tracklist

  1. Will of the People
  2. Compliance
  3. Liberation
  4. Won't Stand Down – 3:29
  5. Ghosts (How Can I Move On)
  6. You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween
  7. Kill or Be Killed
  8. Verona
  9. Euphoria
  10. We Are Fucking Fucked

Will of the People gallery

  • Front cover

  • CD

  • Vinyl

  • Collector's Edition Vinyl

  • Blue Cassette

  • Red Cassette

  • Yellow Cassette

  • Signed Cassette Bundle

  • Signed Standard Bundle

  • Signed Vinyl Bundle

  • Signed Deluxe Bundle

Personnel

Incomplete

Muse

Production

  • Aleks Von Korff - Additional production, Engineering, ATMOS Mixing
  • Adrian Bushby - Engineering
  • Joe Devenney - Engineering assistant
  • Dan Lancaster - Mixing
  • Rhys May - Mixing assistant
  • Chris Whitemyer - Technical assistant
  • Andy Maxwell - Abbey Road assistance
  • Tommy Bosustow - Abbey Road assistance
  • Chris Gehringer - Mastering

Art

Ninth album recording gallery

  • "Might as well! Good way to spend a Friday, chasing one of the all time great synth sounds 🦾" (video) (5th February 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "One of these kinda days ☺️❤️🍝" (16th February 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Brought a few toys from home into work 🤗🎹" (27th February 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "ty @kawaipianos for this beauty 🤍 sounding innnnnncredible 👌🏻" (12th March 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Who can name that tune?" (video) (12th March 2021; Matt's Instagram)

  • "Havin a blast with the @uaudio OX Amp top box. Making some naaaasty 🤘🏻 things and the OX is coming through in a huge way!..." (6th April 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Havin a blast with the @uaudio OX Amp top box. Making some naaaasty 🤘🏻 things and the OX is coming through in a huge way!..." (6th April 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Havin a blast with the @uaudio OX Amp top box. Making some naaaasty 🤘🏻 things and the OX is coming through in a huge way!..." (6th April 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Being Dom Malkovitch 🎨 @roxannebettycreative" (12th April 2021; Matt's Instagram)

  • "The producer still needs naps. He wanted to let you know the new album is sounding fat and to hope you are all keeping well and healthy 🙏🤟🏼🥁" (23rd April 2021; Dom's Instagram)

  • "Old fashioned time at the studio bar after a nice long week of tracking 🥃😌" (23rd April 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Studio dog best dog 😍" (13th June 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Good to be back" (24th July 2021; Muse's Instagram)

  • "Drum tracking with @muse at @abbeyroadstudios a couple months back. In my happy place with @domhoward77 and the gang 💕🎵" (8th November 2021; Adrian Bushby's Instagram)

  • "girl wouldn’t stop chewing on cables, so put her in my lap while working. not the most productive day but probs the cutest.🤍" (24th November 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "@muse" (1st December 2021; Chris Gehringer's Instagram)

  • "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (video) (25th December 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (25th December 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (25th December 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (25th December 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Spent the last year and a half in this space after putting it all together in the summer of 2020. ⁣As this Christmas is pretty much the first full break I’ve had since then - been nice to scroll back and reflect on things! Feelin grateful 🙌🏻 Happy Holidays y’all 🙂" (25th December 2021; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "THURSDAY! 1.13 #wontstanddown @muse 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻" (video) (10th January 2022; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "THURSDAY! 1.13 #wontstanddown @muse 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻" (10th January 2022; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "Don’t let your memes be dreams. Also, cabinets def sound better with a few @mansonguitarworks headstock shaped holes in em courtesy of Matt." (6th February 2022; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

  • "I used this GuitarViol (Kind of half fretted mini cello with a guitar tuning) to record the pizzicato strings for the verse of #wontstanddown Recorded around 12-16 takes to sound orchestral. @muse" (video) (7th February 2022; Matt's Instagram)

  • "Coupla DPAs, a 122v, some a-ha…and boy you got a stew goin’ 🎻👨🏻‍🍳 Pizz strings on the guitarviol for Won’t Stand Down 🤘🏻" (7th February 2022; Aleks Von Korff's Instagram)

References

  1. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CYb-0PFL5xU/
  2. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CbLgvvBqtzI/
  3. ↑ https://willofthepeople.muse.mu/
  4. ↑ https://youtu.be/wGHqxU-63HM?t=292
  5. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/muse-matt-bellamy-interview-coronavirus-quarantine-999208/
  6. ↑ https://www.thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/12884819/matt-bellamy-thought-jaded-hearts-club-were-the-beatles/
  7. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Muse/comments/lxdvdb/new_album_on_the_way_confirmed/
  8. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CbLgvvBqtzI/
  9. ↑ https://youtu.be/BiD9f59oo1w
  10. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CX6KyANuNT8/
  11. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CP6Xo7IjPs1/
  12. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CWBaoDFtHHk/?utm_medium=copy_link
  13. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CRtsMriBtpm/
  14. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CTFAGKPjCx5/
  15. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CW9SHCXPtJy/
  16. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CYbuFCOKPfv/
  17. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Muse/comments/t5fv8w/from_matts_instagram_story/
  18. ↑ https://youtu.be/nzHnwHzp9o4
  19. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CbLgvvBqtzI/
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