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Drama Kings

Muse Become the Reigning Heads of Operatic Rock

by Kathleen Wilson

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MUSE Exuberant music.

Sun May 9, Neumo's, 8 pm, $10.77.

When you're interviewing the creator of an album as large-sounding as Muse's latest release, Absolution, the best initial approach is to just throw it out on the table and call frontman Matt Bellamy's newest record "over the top." It's possibly more over the top than what Queen might conceivably have done if time had transported them from just after A Night at the Opera into the year 2004. A slightly more cautious advance could also have been employed at the outset of our conversation, but luckily, Bellamy accepted the blunt-opinion method with a delighted laugh, full with agreement. "Of course I wouldn't be insulted by your calling it over the top," he says, "because it is."

Huge with piano, Absolution is a modern-day version of what Chopin, Liszt, or many other composers of the Romantic era were attempting to do before the turn of the 20th century. More so than past eras, composers from the Romantic period created music that they themselves would perform for live audiences. Muse certainly has a lot in common with that time in history, and piles on a gigantic load of electric guitars to boot. "I'd only be worried if some people might perceive it as a bit above the station of what a rock band should attempt," Bellamy explains. "Whether that be trying to combine a piano concerto with a Queen track... I understand that people might think we've stepped over the line of what's expected from a band, but it's just something that comes naturally."

Bellamy further explains that he likes powerful music "whether it be rock or that of the Romantic era and that early modern spectacular music that was going on in the 1800s to the turn of the 20th century."

When writing something on such a grand scale as Absolution, does songwriter Bellamy have to disassociate himself from his audience in order to keep his ability to pile it on unchecked? "To be honest, of course I appreciate very much that we have an audience and that people like our music," he says, "but at the same time, that has no impact whatsoever on the music that we make." (His bandmates include bassist Chris Wolstenholme and drummer Dominic Howard.)

Absolution, by definition, is the remission of sin and the relief of blame, making way for acceptance and forgiveness. Absolution the album, says Bellamy, is about the act of giving over to what can't be controlled, and just going with it while leaving open the possibility of enjoying what's happening at the same time. The track titled "Sing for Absolution" ends with calls for acceptance, but its message is mixed, and most of the songs on the record remain similarly transposed. "Sing for absolution/I will be singing/and falling from your grace/our wrongs/remain unrectified/and our souls won't be exhumed." So things are good--no, actually they're bad, but really, who gives a shit, is what Bellamy seems to be saying.

But then "Falling Away with You" seems almost hopeful by comparison: "So I'll love whatever you've become/and forget the reckless things we've done/I think our lives have just begun." Compared to the full-blast guitar assault of what has come before, "Falling Away with You" is pretty and sweet until keyboards begin swirling and Bellamy releases his robust, now-less-positive outlook, while the song becomes increasingly powerful and evocative. It should be depressing as all hell, essentially, but the exuberance of the strength and enthrallment of the songwriter's relationship with just how far he can go with the song musically is astounding and a feat at which to marvel. Not many bands these days would attempt to pull off such an operatic endeavor.

Following a brief intro, Absolution kicks off with the mood-setting "Apocalypse Please," which Bellamy feels sets the stage for the rest of the album. He points out that some day, sooner or later, the world is going to end, and the rest of the songs are more along the lines of how that end might affect each of us on a personal level to get everyone thinking.

"Live," says Bellamy, "expect to see an edgier, full-on rock version of the songs, much more raw and honest and exposed. I think the audience will be surprised at how the songs on the record can be just as huge when played with just guitars and some keyboards."

kathleen@thestranger.com

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