Absolution (album)
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| Absolution | |||||||||||
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| Studio album by Muse | |||||||||||
| Released | September 21, 2003 (UK) September 28, 2003 (AU) March 23, 2004 (U.S.) |
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| Recorded | 2003 | ||||||||||
| Genre | Alternative rock Progressive rock |
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| Length | 52:19 | ||||||||||
| Label | Mushroom 5046685872 (UK) 5046751112 (AU re-release) |
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| Producer | Rich Costey, John Cornfield, Muse, Paul Reeve | ||||||||||
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Absolution is the third studio album by English alternative rock band Muse. It was released on September 21, 2003[1] in the UK and almost six months later on March 23, 2004 in the U.S. by Taste Music Limited. The album yielded the band's first big American hits - "Time Is Running Out" and "Hysteria", the former becoming their first UK Top 10 single. Unlike previous albums, the recording and releasing of Absolution was not subject to constraining schedules, allowing the band to take as much time as they felt necessary to refine and alter their songs.
As with their previous albums, Absolution is mostly targeted at the "alternative rock and hard rock" audiences,[2] and has a strong apocalyptic tone (that is typical of the genre) and theme- with different songs representing different stages of the end of the world. Apocalypse Please, for example, may be about the Rapture while Time is Running Out may be about natural disasters occuring en masse. Ruled by Secrecy may refer to the "Antichrist" theory. [3]
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[edit] Chart information
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This section does not cite any references or sources. (April 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
The album debuted at No. 1 in the UK charts, and soon after, reached No. 1 in the French charts. Within weeks of release it reached the top 5 in twelve countries, the top 10 in fifteen countries and the top 20 in twenty countries. Due to the long delay between the UK version and U.S. version releases, Absolution remained popular worldwide for an unusually long time, and saw the release of 5 singles (and 1 charity special download "Apocalypse Please"). Absolution sold 71,597 in its first week in the UK and has gone on to sell over 600,000 (in the UK), making it double platinum. It has also gone platinum in Europe as of April 2005 with sales over 1,000,000 in the continent. The album has sold 513,000 in the United States as of April 2007 making it Muse's first album to go gold there. It has also sold over 2.5 million worldwide as of April 2007.
The album reached #1 on the Top Heatseekers chart and #107 on the Billboard 200 in the USA. It was their first album to chart in the US.[4]
[edit] Track listing
All lyrics written by Matthew Bellamy, all music written by Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard, and Chris Wolstenholme, except where noted.
- "Intro" – 0:22
- "Apocalypse Please" – 4:12
- "Time Is Running Out" – 3:56
- "Sing for Absolution" – 4:54
- "Stockholm Syndrome" – 4:58
- "Falling Away with You" – 4:40
- "Interlude" – 0:37
- "Hysteria" (Bellamy/Wolstenholme) – 3:47
- "Blackout" – 4:22
- "Butterflies and Hurricanes" – 5:01
- "The Small Print" – 3:28
- "Endlessly" – 3:49
- "Fury" (bonus track between "Endlessly" and "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" on Japanese release) – 5:02
- "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" – 3:11
- "Ruled by Secrecy" – 4:54
Initial copies of the CD featured inlay errors, where the songs "Interlude" and "Hysteria" switched places on the track listing.
[edit] Limited edition UK bonus DVD
- "The Making of Absolution" documentary
(Also Hysteria and Interlude positions are switched on the tracklisting, yet this is not the case on the album)
[edit] Australian Tour Bonus Disc
- "Stockholm Syndrome" – 7:14
- "New Born" – 6:11
- "Muscle Museum" – 4:18
- "Hysteria" – 4:14
- "Bliss" – 4:01
- "Time Is Running Out" – 4:06
This bonus CD is entirely composed of live versions, recorded at the Big Day Out in Sydney, January 23, 2004 for Australian radio station Triple J and broadcasted in the radio show "Live at the Wireless".
[edit] Personnel
- Matthew Bellamy – lead vocals, guitars, piano, synthesizers
- Chris Wolstenholme – backing vocals, bass guitar, synthesizers on "Hysteria"
- Dominic Howard – drums, percussion
- Paul Reeve – backing vocals, vocal samples
[edit] Charts
[edit] Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | UK Albums Chart | 1 |
| 2004 | Top Heatseekers | 1 |
| 2005 | The Billboard 200 | 107 |
[edit] Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Stockholm Syndrome" | UK Downloads Chart | 31 |
| 2003 | "Time Is Running Out" | UK Singles Chart | 8 |
| 2003 | "Hysteria" | UK Singles Chart | 17 |
| 2004 | "Sing for Absolution" | UK Singles Chart | 16 |
| 2004 | "Apocalypse Please" | UK Downloads Chart | 10 |
| 2004 | "Butterflies and Hurricanes" | UK Singles Chart | 14 |
| 2004 | "Time Is Running Out" | Modern Rock Tracks | 9 |
| 2005 | "Hysteria" | Modern Rock Tracks | 9 |
| 2005 | "Stockholm Syndrome" | Modern Rock Tracks | 31 |
[edit] References
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008) |
- ^ Muse website. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
- ^ Tim DiGravina. Muse - Absolution. mp3.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
- ^ Richard T. Williams. Muse - Absolution. PopMatters. Retrieved on 2007-04-21.
- ^ Billboard chart history. Retrieved on 2008-06-10.
[edit] External links
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