Muse have no shortage of bangers, including from their newest album ‘The Wow! Signal’, which NME hailed as their best efforts in two decades. From that album comes the powerful single ‘Cryogen’, which frontman Matt Bellamy has placed above some of Muse’s biggest hits in a blind-ranking for NME. What songs were bested by ‘Cryogen’? Find out in the video below.
Ahead of the band kicking off their UK and European arena tour this Thursday (November 12), NME caught up with Bellamy to discuss a myriad of topics, including the band’s latest album ‘The Wow! Signal’. He also agreed to rank five of Muse’s songs in order of greatness without knowing what track would come up next.
The first song we named was ‘Cryogen’ off ‘The Wow! Signal’. Bellamy gave it a very high ranking, saying he “always loves the new songs the most”, and said that the track “is different”, and “sounds a little bit like early Muse as well”.
The next song presented to Bellamy was ‘Supermassive Black Hole’, which was their “first attempt” at a “Prince” and “funk” vibe, a “singing lead vocal in falsetto”. Bellamy doesn’t think the song is “worthy” of the top spot, though, even if it’s “number one in terms of streaming”. Up next was their iconic 2003 track ‘Time Is Running Out’, which he recalled as their “first big breakthrough tune in America” and “a little bit influenced by ABBA”.
The fourth song Bellamy blind-ranked was ‘Madness’, off the band’s 2012 album ‘The 2nd Law’. Bellamy hailed the track as “one of the best songs I’ve ever written”, but acknowledged that “the fans don’t love it because it’s not heavy. It doesn’t have a riff, it’s not crazy, it’s not extreme, it’s not prog.” Despite that, the frontman ranked the song high on his list.
‘Plug In Baby’ was the fifth and final song up for consideration. “That is one of our biggest live tunes, it’s one of the best guitar riffs I’ve ever written,” Bellamy said, but argued that “the lyrics could’ve been better”.
Watch the video below to see how Bellamy blind-ranked all those songs – and let us know if you agree with his choices:
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Muse are due to kick off their UK and European arena tour this Thursday (November 12) with two shows at the Co-op Live in Manchester, followed by two dates at The O2. Other stops on the tour include Berlin, Milan, Paris, Amsterdam and more. The Devon trio will be supported by Boston rock outfit Dead Poet Society throughout the trek until early December.
Last month, it was announced that the band’s European run would be extended through January, with new stops in Lisbon, Bordeaux, Lyon, Madrid and Valencia. A support act for these new dates has yet to be announced. They’ve also recently been announced to headline BST Hyde Park and Leeds’ Roundhay festival next year.
Want more Blind Rankings? Check out our videos with Johnny Marr, Jarvis Cocker and Brandon Flowers.
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