Muse announce new album ‘Will Of The People’ and release song ‘Compliance’
Frontman Matt Bellamy said the new record is inspired by the "increasing uncertainty and instability in the world"
Muse have announced they will return with their anticipated ninth studio album, ‘Will Of The People’, on August 26, 2022.
The news comes with the arrival of latest single ‘Compliance’, following January’s comeback track ‘Won’t Stand Down’ – their first new music since 2018’s ‘Simulation Theory’.
“’Will Of The People’ was created in Los Angeles and London and is influenced by the increasing uncertainty and instability in the world, frontman Matt Bellamy said in a statement.
“A pandemic, new wars in Europe, massive protests and riots, an attempted insurrection, Western democracy wavering, rising authoritarianism, wildfires and natural disasters and the destabilization of the global order all informed ‘Will Of The People’,” he continued.
“It has been a worrying and scary time for all of us as the Western empire and the natural world, which have cradled us for so long are genuinely threatened. This album is a personal navigation through those fears and preparation for what comes next.”
The accompanying video, shot in Poland and inspired by the film ‘Looper’, follows three children who destroy their future selves to escape an oppressive world.
Listen to ‘Compliance’ and watch the video below.
Muse hinted at a new album last week in a dramatic preview video that featured a ‘Will Of The People’ chant, and an album-sized art teaser.
Speaking about the inspiration behind ‘Compliance’, Bellamy said: “‘Compliance’ is about submission to authoritarian rules and reassuring untruths to be accepted to an in-group. Gangs, governments, demagogues, social media algorithms & religions seduce us during times of vulnerability, creating arbitrary rules and distorted ideas for us to comply with.
“They sell us comforting myths, telling us only they can explain reality while simultaneously diminishing our freedom, autonomy and independent thought. We are not just coerced, we are herded, frightened and corralled to produce a daily ‘2 minutes of hate’ against an out-group of their choosing and to turn a blind eye to our own internal voice of reason & compassion. They just need our Compliance.”
‘Will Of The People’ is available to pre-order here.
Will of the People tracklist:
1. ‘Will Of The People‘
2. ‘Compliance‘
3. ‘Liberation‘
4. ‘Won’t Stand Down‘
5. ‘Ghosts (How Can I Move On)‘
6. ‘You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween‘
7. ‘Kill Or Be Killed‘
8. ‘Verona‘
9. ‘Euphoria‘
10. ‘We Are Fucking Fucked‘