Origin of Symmetry

Origin of Symmetry has been described as alternative rock,{{cite web |first=Lauren |last=Vinyard |date=2013 |title=Muse – Origin of Symmetry |url=http://puluche.com/reviews/muse-origin-of-symmetry-95/ |access-date=22 August 2016 |work=puluche |archive-date=25 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825180019/http://puluche.com/reviews/muse-origin-of-symmetry-95/ |url-status=dead }} progressive rock,{{cite web |last=Philip |first=Tom |date=19 December 2018 |title=Muse Found Solace in Escaping Reality on Their New Record |url=https://www.gq.com/story/muse-found-solace-in-escaping-reality-on-their-new-record |access-date=13 September 2019 |website=GQ}} space rock{{cite web |author=Trendell, Andrew |date=17 July 2014 |title=Happy Birthday Muse's Origin of Symmetry: The Tracks Ranked |url=http://www.gigwise.com/photos/92703/1/happy-birthday-muses-origin-of-symmetry-the-tracks-ranked |access-date=17 March 2015 |website=Gigwise}} and hard rock.{{cite web |author=Raper, Dan |date=19 July 2006 |title=Muse: Black Holes & Revelations |url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/muse-black-holes-revelations/ |access-date=17 March 2015 |website=PopMatters}} Muse developed it during their tour for their debut album, Showbiz. "Feeling Good", a cover, was written for Broadway by Anthony Newley and Leslie Bricusse in 1964, and first recorded by Nina Simone for her 1965 album I Put a Spell on You.{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2016/mar/02/nina-simone-10-of-the-best|title=Nina Simone – 10 of the best|last=Allen|first=Jeremy|date=2 March 2016|website=The Guardian|access-date=19 April 2018}}

The album title derives from the 1994 book Hyperspace by the theoretical physicist Michio Kaku, which suggests the title The Origin of Symmetry for a future book about the discovery of supersymmetry, a reference to On the Origin of Species. According to the Muse songwriter, Matt Bellamy: "Everyone's been writing about the origin of life so now they'll start looking at the origin of symmetry; there's a certain amount of stability in the universe and to find out where it originates from would be to find out if God exists."{{cite web|url=http://www.rocketbabydolls.com/rocksoundjuly.html |title=English Articles |work=archive.is |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020324163543/http://www.rocketbabydolls.com/rocksoundjuly.html |archive-date=24 March 2002 }} Whereas the Showbiz lyrics had "wallowed in heartbroken angst", Bellamy's lyrics moved to "sci-fi surrealism".

After completing the Showbiz tour, Muse recorded "Plug In Baby", "Bliss", "New Born" and "Darkshines" with the producer David Bottrill, forming the "backbone" of Origin of Symmetry. To capture their live energy, Muse recorded together as a band, with some overdubs.{{cite web |last=Price |first=Andy |date=2021-04-21 |title=The genius of… Origin of Symmetry by Muse |url=https://guitar.com/review/album/the-genius-of-origin-of-symmetry-by-muse/ |access-date=2021-06-05 |website=Guitar.com |language=en-GB}}

After Bottrill departed to work on the Tool album Lateralus, Muse enlisted John Leckie, who had produced Showbiz. They recorded in Sawmills in Fowey, Cornwall; Ridge Farm Studio in Surrey; Real World Studios in Box, Wiltshire; and David Gilmour's Astoria houseboat studio on the Thames. While they were working in Real World Studios, they went to a church in Bath to record a church organ for "Megalomania".

Having mainly recorded Showbiz with a Gibson Les Paul guitar, Bellamy recorded Origin of Symmetry using a custom Manson guitar equipped with a built-in Fuzz Factory, a fuzz distortion effect. It was the first of many collaborations between Bellamy and Manson.

Origin of Symmetry was released on 18 June 2001. It was originally scheduled for release in the United States through Maverick Records, which had also released Showbiz. However, Muse left Maverick when they demanded Bellamy rerecord the album with less falsetto, and it was not released in the US until 2005.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1wIe3FI6TI0C&q=Origin+of+Symmetry+maverick&pg=PA53|title=Spin Sep 2009|date=September 2009|access-date=5 July 2011}}

{{Music ratings

| rev1 = AllMusic

| rev1score = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/origin-of-symmetry-mw0000464449|title=Origin of Symmetry – Muse|publisher=AllMusic|access-date=12 May 2011|last=Carlson|first=Dean}}

| rev2 = Drowned in Sound

| rev2score = 10/10{{cite web|url=http://drownedinsound.com/releases/2607/reviews/1116-muse-origin-of-symmetry?search|title=Album Review: Muse – Origin of Symmetry|work=Drowned in Sound|date=19 May 2001|access-date=12 May 2011|last=Adams|first=Sean|archive-date=11 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121011080538/http://drownedinsound.com/releases/2607/reviews/1116-muse-origin-of-symmetry?search|url-status=dead}}

| rev3 = Hot Press

| rev3score = 8/12{{cite journal|url=https://www.hotpress.com/music/origin-of-symmetry-1351361|title=Origin of Symmetry|journal=Hot Press|date=21 June 2001|access-date=2 June 2015|last=Tyaransen|first=Olaf|url-access=subscription}}

| rev4 = The Independent

| rev4score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite news|title=Muse: Origin of Symmetry (Taste)|work=The Independent|date=17 June 2001|last=Price|first=Simon}}

| rev5 = The List

| rev5score = 4/5{{cite journal|url=https://archive.list.co.uk/the-list/2001-06-07/114/|title=Muse: Origin of Symmetry (Mushroom)|journal=The List|issue=415|date=7 June 2001|access-date=13 April 2017|last=Northmore|first=Henry|page=112}}

| rev6 = NME

| rev6score = 9/10{{cite journal|url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/5220|title=Muse : Origin of Symmetry|journal=NME|date=12 June 2001|access-date=12 May 2011|last=Morton|first=Roger|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131211221932/http://www.nme.com/reviews/5220|archive-date=11 December 2013|url-status=dead}}

| rev7 = Pitchfork

| rev7score = 8.3/10{{cite web|last=Monroe|first=Jazz|date=11 July 2021|title=Muse: Origin of Symmetry album review|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/muse-origin-of-symmetry/|access-date=12 July 2021|website=Pitchfork|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711104650/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/muse-origin-of-symmetry/|url-status=live}}

| rev8 = Q

| rev8score = {{Rating|5|5}}{{cite journal|title=Muse: Origin of Symmetry|journal=Q|issue=179|date=August 2001|last=Wilkinson|first=Roy}}

| rev9 = Stylus Magazine

| rev9score = C

| rev10 = Sunday Herald

| rev10score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite news|url=https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-19043582.html|title=Muse: Origin of Symmetry (Mushroom)|work=Sunday Herald|date=17 June 2001|access-date=2 June 2015|last=Waters|first=Colin|url-access=subscription|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181120123646/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-19043582.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 November 2018}}

}}

Origin of Symmetry received mainly positive reviews. Roy Wilkinson of Q praised it as an "astonishing record... where extra-terrestrial fascinations meet the classical world's more unhinged impulses", adding that "comparisons with Radiohead that dogged Muse's early career now seem all but obsolete". Roger Morton of NME called the album a "reinvention of grunge as a neo-classical, high gothic future rock, full of flambéed pianolas and white-knuckle electric camp ... It's apparent that Muse can handle their brutal arias." Q named Origin of Symmetry one of the 50 best albums of 2001,{{cite journal|date=December 2001|title=The Best 50 Albums of 2001|journal=Q|issue=185|pages=60–65}} while Kerrang! named it the ninth-best.{{cite web|title=Kerrang! Lists|url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/kerrang.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060216032059/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/kerrang.html|url-status=usurped|archive-date=16 February 2006|access-date=2012-09-29|work=Kerrang!}}

The Guardian{{'}}s Betty Clarke panned Origin of Symmetry as "unbelievably overblown, self-important and horrible".{{cite news|url=http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,,734530,00.html|title=Muse: Origin of Symmetry (Taste Media/Mushroom Records)|work=The Guardian|date=15 June 2001|access-date=2 June 2015|last=Clarke|first=Betty|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527163849/http://arts.guardian.co.uk/fridayreview/story/0,,734530,00.html|archive-date=27 May 2008}} The Stylus critic Tyler Martin felt that Muse were "very good at their craft", but that "the constant overplaying of everything waters it all down immensely".{{cite web|url=http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/muse/origin-of-symmetry.htm |title=Muse – Origin of Symmetry – Review |work=Stylus Magazine |date=1 September 2003 |access-date=5 November 2016 |last=Martin |first=Tyler |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208045123/http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/muse/origin-of-symmetry.htm |archive-date=8 December 2015}}

In 2006, Q named Origin of Symmetry the 74th-greatest album of all time.{{cite web|title=Q Greatest Albums of All Time|url=http://www.timepieces.nl/Top100's/2006Qreaders.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111020204335/http://www.timepieces.nl/Top100%27s/2006Qreaders.html|archive-date=20 October 2011|access-date=12 May 2011}} In 2008, Q readers voted it the 28th-best British album. Kerrang! named it the 20th-best British rock album and the 13th-best album of the 21st century.{{cite web|title=Muse Message Board Lists|url=http://board.muse.mu/archive/index.php/t-63823.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329012431/http://board.muse.mu/archive/index.php/t-63823.html|archive-date=29 March 2012|access-date=2012-09-29|work=Kerrang!}} For its 10th anniversary, Muse performed Origin of Symmetry in its entirety at the Reading and Leeds Festivals on 26 August and 28 August 2011.{{cite web |title=Muse to play 'Origin of Symmetry' in full at Reading And Leeds Festivals |url=http://www.nme.com/news/muse/55776 |work=NME}}

In a retrospective review, Natalie Shaw of BBC Music wrote that Origin of Symmetry "shows a band with the drive and unfettered ambition to create a standalone marvel which not only awakens the ghosts and clichés from prog's pompous past, but entirely adds its own voice". He said that many elements of the band's later albums, such as Black Holes and Revelations (2006), could be traced back to the album.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/69cg |title=Review of Muse – Origin of Symmetry |publisher=BBC Music |year=2011 |access-date=29 September 2012}} The author Amy Britton argued that on Origin of Symmetry Bellamy "progressed [his band]'s sound so much that he earned a new title – this generation's guitar hero," highlighting "Plug In Baby" and "New Born".{{Cite book |title=Revolution Rock: The Albums Which Defined Two Ages |first=Amy |last=Britton |publisher=AuthorHouse |year=2011 |page=306}} In a retrospective review in 2021, the Pitchfork critic Jazz Monroe wrote: "Muse were playing melodrama as teenage realism, an extremely, ridiculously honest noise ... By combining goth vulnerability with sci-fi scale and hard-rock drama, [Origin of Symmetry] captures a paradox of young romance: on one hand, Bellamy sounds wracked with despair, but he proclaims his heartbreak with the glee of an ecstatic preacher."

On 6 December, 2019, Origin of Symmetry was remastered and reissued as part of the Origin of Muse boxset, alongside Showbiz, demos, live performances and other material.{{cite magazine |last=Kreps |first=Daniel |date=7 September 2019 |title=Muse Mark 20th Anniversary of 'Showbiz' With 'Origin of Muse' Box Set |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/muse-showbiz-origin-of-muse-box-set-881374/ |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=8 September 2019}} On 18 June 2021, the album's 20th anniversary, Muse released a remixed and remastered version, Origin of Symmetry: XX Anniversary RemiXX.[https://www.muse.mu/news/origin-symmetry-xx-anniversary-remixx-322326 "ORIGIN OF SYMMETRY: XX ANNIVERSARY REMIXX"]. Accessed in 5 June 2021. A collaboration with the producer Rich Costey, who worked on several later Muse albums, it features a "more open, dynamic and less crushed sound".{{cite web |date=2021-05-20 |title=Muse announce 20th anniversary 'Origin of Symmetry' remix album |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/muse-announce-20th-anniversary-origin-of-symmetry-remix-album-with-new-version-of-citizen-erased-2944718 |access-date=2021-05-20 |website=NME |language=en-GB}} The new mixes also restore elements that were originally muted or obscured, such as string sections on "Space Dementia", "Citizen Erased" and "Megalomania", and a harpsichord on "Micro Cuts". The album features new cover artwork by Sujin Kim. The Pitchfork critic Jazz Monroe described the reissue as "definitive ... even more colossal and timeless".

{{Track listing| all_writing = Matthew Bellamy, except "Feeling Good" by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley{{Cite AV media notes |title=Origin of Symmetry |others=Muse |date=2001 |type=CD liner notes |publisher= Taste Media}}

|headline = Original release

|title1 =New Born

|length1=6:03

|title2 =Bliss

|length2=4:11

|title3 =Space Dementia

|length3=6:20

|title4 =Hyper Music

|length4=3:21

|title5 =Plug In Baby

|length5=3:38

|title6 =Citizen Erased

|length6=7:21

|title7 =Micro Cuts

|length7=3:38

|title8 =Screenager

|length8=4:20

|title9 =Darkshines

|length9=4:46

|title10=Feeling Good

|length10=3:18

|title11 =Megalomania

|length11=4:39

|total_length= 51:35

}}

• Most streaming services place "Feeling Good" as the eighth track, between "Micro Cuts" and "Screenager", and include "Futurism" as the 12th track. The Japanese and XX Anniversary RemiXX editions place "Futurism" as the 11th track, before "Megalomania".

Personnel adapted from Origin of Symmetry. liner notes

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

Muse

• Matthew Bellamy – lead vocals, guitars, keyboards; string arrangement, production, mixing
• Chris Wolstenholme – bass guitar, backing vocals, vibraphone; double bass (track 10); production, mixing
• Dominic Howard – drums, percussion; production, mixing

{{col-end}}

Guest musicians

• Jacqueline Norrie – violin
• Sara Herbert – violin
• Clare Finnimore – viola
• Caroline Lavelle – cello

Additional personnel

• David Bottrill – production and engineering (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 9)
• John Leckie – production and engineering (tracks 3, 4, 6–8, 10 and 11)
• Ric Peet – engineering (tracks 3, 4, 6–8, 10 and 11)
• Steve Cooper – additional engineering (tracks 1, 2, 5 and 9)
• Chris Brown – additional engineering and programming (tracks 3, 4, 6–8, 10 and 11)
• Mark Thomas – assistant engineering (tracks 2, 4, 5 and 7)
• Claire Lewis – assistant engineering (tracks 3, 4, 6–8, 10 and 11)
• Damon Iddins – assistant engineering
• Mirek Styles – assistant engineering
• John Cornfield – mixing
• Ray Staff – mastering
• William Eagar – artwork

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-2}}

{{col-end}}

{{certification Table Top}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Australia|award=Platinum|certyear=2010|relyear=2001}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Belgium|artist=Muse|title=Origin of Symmetry|award=Gold|certyear=2001|relyear=2001}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Germany|artist=Muse|title=Origin of Symmetry|award=Gold|type=album|relyear=2001|certyear=2023|access-date=25 February 2023}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Italy|artist=Muse|title=Origin of Symmetry|award=Gold|certyear=2016|relyear=2001|access-date=10 December 2018|id=952|note=sales since 2009}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Netherlands|artist=Muse|title=Origin of Symmetry|award=Gold|certyear=2001|relyear=2001}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=Switzerland|artist=Muse|title=Origin of Symmetry|award=Gold|certyear=2002|relyear=2001}}

{{certification Table Entry|type=album|region=United Kingdom|artist=Muse|title=Origin of Symmetry|award=Platinum|number=2|certyear=2013|certmonth=7|relyear=2001|id=4926-2056-2}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true}}

Notes

{{Notelist}}

References

{{Reflist}}

• [http://muse.mu/ Muse official site]

{{Muse}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2001 albums

Category:Muse (band) albums

Category:Albums produced by John Leckie

Category:Albums produced by David Bottrill