反动之音 (2009)

The Resistance is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Muse, released on 14 September 2009 through Warner Bros. Records and Muse's Helium-3 imprint. It was produced by the band, recording from September 2008 to May 2009 at their studio in Como, Italy. The Resistance mixes rock with orchestral and electronic music, with lyrics influenced by politics and more oppressive subjects. It includes a three-part 13-minute symphony, "Exogenesis".

The album was promoted with the singles "Uprising", "Undisclosed Desires", and "Resistance". "Exogenesis: Symphony" was released on vinyl for Record Store Day. The Resistance Tour comprised 30 shows.

The Resistance received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its concept, instrumentation, influences and vocals, although some found it overblown and clichéd. At the 53rd Annual Grammy Awards, it won the award for Best Rock Album. It is Muse's most successful album, with more than five million copies sold worldwide. It reached number one in 19 countries and the top five in the United States and several others. It was certified platinum in countries including the UK and US.

Recording

On 22 May 2008, NME reported that Muse had begun writing songs for their new album. The band released three videos of recording footage, including a session in a lavatory. In a Twitter update on 23 June, Muse said the album was complete, with only mastering left to complete in New York. The album was mixed by Mark Stent at Muse's studio in Como, Italy.

At the 2010 Music Producers Guild, Bellamy thanked the producer Rick Rubin "for teaching us how not to produce", which some sources took to mean Muse had fired Rubin from the Resistance sessions. Bellamy said his comment had been misconstrued and that Muse had never worked with Rubin; instead, he said Muse had been inspired by stories of his "hands-off" production style.

Composition

The Resistance has been described as featuring art rock, progressive rock, space rock, alternative rock, and arena rock. Bellamy cited the 1949 dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell as an influence on the lyrics and themes.

"Uprising" was inspired by the electronica band Goldfrapp and 1970s and 1980s glam rock. For "I Belong to You", Chris Wolstenholme, played an acoustic bass guitar processed with an Akai Deep Impact bass synthesiser pedal. "Undisclosed Desires" was influenced by contemporary R&B and the 1980 David Bowie song "Ashes to Ashes", and features slap bass. Bellamy noted that it was the first Muse song with no guitar or piano.

The Resistance includes a three-song suite, "Exogenesis", described by Bellamy as "a story of humanity coming to an end and everyone pinning their hopes on a group of astronauts who go out to explore space and spread humanity to another planet". Eventually the astronauts "realise that it is just one big cycle, and recognise that unless humanity can change it will happen all over again". The suite features an orchestra of more than 40 musicians.

Promotion and release

Muse announced the title The Resistance on their Twitter page on 22 May. The first song was announced as "United States of Eurasia" on the Muse website, deciphered by fans from a picture of a piece of sheet music held by Bellamy in a photo uploaded on the Twitter page.

On 16 June 2009, Muse announced that the album would be released on 14 September 2009. "Uprising" was released as the first single. "Undisclosed Desires" was uploaded to Muse's official website for streaming by website members on 9 September. From 10 September, the album was made available to stream free through the Guardian website.

The Resistance was released on iTunes as one of the first iTunes LPs. It contains the album as well as added extras such as animated artwork and behind the scenes videos. A remix of "I Belong to You" was included on the soundtrack to New Moon, the second film in the Twilight film series.

As well as the CD, CD+DVD, LP, and download versions, Muse released a box set containing the CD+DVD, LPs, a USB stick containing the album with a bespoke media player, and an art print. A special version of the box set, limited to 5,000 copies, was also produced, containing a DVD with a 5.1 surround sound mix of The Resistance; this mix also includes a longer version of "Unnatural Selection".

Tour

On 4 and 5 September 2009, Muse performed a pair of homecoming concerts, "A Seaside Rendezvous", in their hometown of Teignmouth, Devon. They supported U2 on the North American leg of their 360° Tour in late 2009. In June 2009, Muse confirmed the dates for a European leg of the Resistance Tour, which would comprise 30 shows. Tickets for the UK arena dates, both pre-sale and general sale, sold out within minutes.