Black Holes and Revelations (2006)

Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Muse. It was released on 3 July 2006 through Warner Bros. Records and Helium-3. It was produced by Rich Costey over four months in London, Milan, New York City, and southern France.

The album saw a change in style for Muse, with influences including Depeche Mode, Millionaire, Lightning Bolt, Sly and the Family Stone, and music from southern Italy. Like their previous albums, it features political and dystopian themes, with lyrics covering topics such as political corruption, alien invasion, revolution and New World Order conspiracies, as well as more conventional love songs.

Black Holes and Revelations entered the charts at number one in five countries, including the UK, and in the top 10 in several other countries, including the US. It was certified quadruple platinum in the UK and platinum in the US. "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Knights of Cydonia" entered the top 10 of the UK singles chart, while "Starlight", "Map of the Problematique" and "Invincible" reached the top 25. As of 2018, Black Holes and Revelations had sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide.

Black Holes and Revelations received positive reviews and appeared on several lists of the year's best albums. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize and appeared in the 2007 version of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Recordings from the Black Holes and Revelations tour were released on the 2008 live album HAARP.

Recording

Muse's third album, Absolution (2003), brought them mainstream exposure in the United States. Muse spent about two weeks writing and rehearsing for their next album at Studio Miraval, an old château in southern France. The producer Rich Costey, who had also worked on Absolution, joined them two weeks later.

The songwriter, Matt Bellamy, said Muse wanted to be free from distractions so that they could focus and be absorb different influences. The bassist, Chris Wolstenholme, said writing and recording was more relaxed than previous albums, as the band had no deadline. The group wanted to create a more personal album than Absolution. However, progress was slow and they had difficulty deciding which songs to work on. The group moved to New York City, where Bellamy spent time in clubs and learnt to DJ, influencing the dance elements of "Supermassive Black Hole" and "Map of the Problematique".

Bellamy used guitar amps including a Vox AC30 and a Ampeg V4. Muse took a more active role in using studio technology, having previously left its use to engineers. Costey wanted to capture Bellamy's "personality" as a guitarist, recording the sound of his fingers and plectrum on the strings. Hoping to change their working style, they purchased old synthesisers including a Buchla 200e and set aside time to learn to use them.

The bulk of recording was completed at Avatar and Electric Lady Studios in New York City. The album was finished at a studio in Italy, where Bellamy spent several weeks recording vocals. Costey estimated that the album took about four months to record, including mixing at Townhouse Studios, London.

Music

On "Take a Bow", Muse wanted to blend classical, electronic and rock music. It opens with string arpeggios inspired by Philip Glass, backed by a Moog synthesiser. The "Map of the Problematique" riff was written on keyboard; at Costey's encouragement, Bellamy recreated it on guitar by splitting the guitar signal into three audio signals, which were processed with pitch shifters and synthesisers. "Assassin", influenced by the noise rock band Lightning Bolt, began as a long progressive rock song with a "huge" piano break before Muse trimmed it. "Supermassive Black Hole", a mixture of dance beats and guitar, was influenced by Bellamy's visits to clubs in New York City and the Belgian band Millionaire. Critics likened it to Prince.

Muse recorded the "Starlight" melody using two pianos at different octaves and layered samples of prepared piano. "Soldier's Poem" was written for Absolution, but rewritten with new lyrics and an arrangement inspired by "Can't Help Falling in Love" by Elvis Presley. The drummer, Dominic Howard, said Muse had planned to record it with a "massive, epic" approach, but decided to use a small studio with vintage equipment and few microphones. He described it as a "real highlight", with "some of the most amazing vocals I've ever heard Matt do".

"Knights of Cydonia" features mariachi trumpet and a "galloping" drumbeat and ends with a guitar solo. It was inspired by surf rock and the 1962 single "Telstar" by the Tornados, which featured Bellamy's father, George Bellamy. Bellamy said that the title "acknowledged that this is a bit funny, particularly when we are pushing the epic side of the band to almost comical levels ... There's a lot of freedom in being able to laugh at yourself." "City of Delusion" and "Knights of Cydonia" were influenced by Bellamy's interest in flamenco guitar.