Absolution (album)
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2008-07-14T23:47:09Z
222.152.96.147
{{Infobox Album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name = Absolution
| Type = studio
| Artist = [[Muse (band)|Muse]]
| Cover = Muse_-_Absolution_Cover_UK.jpg
| Released = [[September 21]] [[2003]] <small>([[United Kingdom|UK]])</small><br />[[September 28]] [[2003]] <small>([[Australia|AU]])</small> <br />[[March 23]] [[2004]] <small>([[United States|U.S.]])</small><br />
| Recorded = [[2003]]
| Genre = [[Alternative rock]]<br>[[Progressive rock]]
| Length = 52:19
| Label = [[Mushroom Records|Mushroom]]<br /><small>5046685872 (UK)</small><br /><small>5046751112 (AU re-release)</small>
| Producer = [[Rich Costey]], [[John Cornfield]], [[Muse (band)|Muse]], Paul Reeve
| Reviews =
*[[Allmusic]] {{rating-5|3}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:4dd8vwrqa9qk link]
*[[Drowned In Sound]] (10/10) [http://www.drownedinsound.com/articles/7998.html link]
*''[[NME]]'' (9/10) [http://www.nme.com/reviews/muse/7168 link]
*''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' {{rating-5|4}} <small>(Oct. 2003, p.109)</small>
*''[[The Guardian]]'' {{rating-5|4}} [http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,12102,1044617,00.html link]
*''[[Rolling Stone]]'' {{rating-5|3}} [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/5175533/absolution link]
| Last album = ''[[Hullabaloo Soundtrack]]''<br />(2002)
| This album = '''''Absolution'''''<br />(2003)
| Next album = ''[[Absolution Tour]]''<br />(2005)
{{Singles
| Name = Absolution
| Type = Studio
| single 1 = [[Stockholm Syndrome (song)|Stockholm Syndrome]]
| single 1 date = [[14 July]], [[2003]]
| single 2 = [[Time Is Running Out]]
| single 2 date = [[8 September]], [[2003]]
| single 3 = [[Hysteria (song)|Hysteria]]
| single 3 date = [[1 December]], [[2003]]
| single 4 = [[Sing for Absolution]]
| single 4 date = [[17 May]], [[2004]]
| single 5 = [[Apocalypse Please]]
| single 5 date = [[23 August]], [[2004]]
| single 6 = [[Butterflies and Hurricanes]]
| single 6 date = [[20 September]], [[2004]]
}}
}}
'''''Absolution''''' is the third [[studio album]] by [[England|English]] [[alternative rock|alternative]] [[rock band]] [[Muse (band)|Muse]]. It was released on [[September 21]], [[2003]]<ref name=muse>{{cite web|title=Muse website|url=http://www.muse.mu/index.php|accessdate=2007-04-21}}</ref> in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] and almost six months later on [[March 23]], [[2004]] in the [[United States|U.S.]] by Taste Music Limited. The album yielded the band's first big American hits - "[[Time Is Running Out (Muse Song)|Time Is Running Out]]" and "[[Hysteria (song)|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.
==Background==
==Writing and composition==
The band spent much of 2002 recording the album with producer Rick Costey.<ref name="nwsource">{{cite web|url=http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/pop/172255_muse07.html|title='Absolution' plows the ground for Muse's U.S. following|publisher=Seattle PI|accessdate=2008-06-29|author=Gene Stout|date=2008-05-07}}</ref> The album incorporates themes of fear, mistrust, personal achievement and joy.<ref name="nwsource" /> Bellamy said that the beginning of the [[Iraq War]] had an effect on their songwriting.<ref name="nwsource" />
As with previous albums, the band was compared to [[Radiohead]] and one reviewer called Bellamy's vocals a "[[Thom Yorke]] vocal impersonation".<ref name="amg">{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:4dd8vwrqa9qk|title=Absolution review|author=Tim DiGravina|accessdate=2008-06-29|publisher=[[Allmusic]]}}</ref>
==Release==
{{refimprove|section|date=April 2008}}
The first release from the album was download-only single "[[Stockholm Syndrome (song)|Stockholm Syndrome]]".<ref name="nwsource" />
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.<ref name="billboardchart">{{cite web|url=http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/retrieve_chart_history.do?model.chartFormatGroupName=Albums&model.vnuArtistId=119054&model.vnuAlbumId=601768|title=Billboard chart history|accessdate=2008-06-10}}</ref>
==Critical reception==
==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 (song)|Stockholm Syndrome]]" – 4:58
# "Falling Away With You" – 4:40
# "Interlude" – 0:37
# "[[Hysteria (song)|Hysteria]]" (Bellamy/Wolstenholme) – 3:47
# "Blackout" – 4:22
# "[[Butterflies & 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.
===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)
===Australian Tour Bonus Disc===
#"[[Stockholm Syndrome (song)|Stockholm Syndrome]]" – 7:14
#"[[New Born]]" – 6:11
#"[[Muscle Museum]]" – 4:18
#"[[Hysteria (song)|Hysteria]]" – 4:14
#"[[Bliss (Muse song)|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]]".
==B-Sides==
"The Groove" - 2:38<br />
"Fury" - 5:02<br />
"Eternally Missed" - 6:04
==Personnel==
*[[Matthew Bellamy]] – [[lead vocals]], [[guitars]], [[piano]], [[synthesizers]]
*[[Chris Wolstenholme]] – [[backing vocals]], [[bass guitar]], [[synthesizers]] on "[[Hysteria (song)|Hysteria]]" and "[[Time Is Running Out]]"
*[[Dominic Howard]] – [[drums]], [[percussion]]
*[[Paul Reeve]] – [[backing vocals]], [[vocal samples]]
==Chart positions==
===Album===
{|class="wikitable"
! Year
! Chart
! Position
|-
| 2003
| UK Albums Chart
| 1
|-
| 2004
| Top Heatseekers
| 1
|-
| 2005
| The Billboard 200
| 107
|-
|}
===Singles===
{|class="wikitable"
! 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 & 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
|-
|}
==References==
{{refimprove|date=April 2008}}
<references/>
==External links==
*[http://muse.mu Official Muse website]
*[http://www.musewiki.org/Absolution_%28album%29 Absolution on MuseWiki]
*[http://board.muse.mu/showthread.php?t=15849&highlight=influences+absolution List of interviews]
{{Muse}}
[[Category:Muse albums]]
[[Category:2003 albums]]
[[Category:Albums with cover art by Storm Thorgerson]]
[[Category:Albums produced by John Cornfield]]
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