Psycho (Muse song)

{{Infobox song

| name = Psycho

| cover = Psycho - Muse.jpg

| alt =

| type = promotional single

| artist = Muse

| album = Drones

| A-side = Dead Inside

| released = 12 March 2015

| recorded =

| studio = The Warehouse Studio, Vancouver, British Columbia{{cite web|url=https://matterofsound.wordpress.com/2014/10/19/muse-are-finish-with-the-first-session-of-the-new-album/ |title=Muse are finished with the first session of the new album! |publisher=Matter of Sound |date=19 October 2014 |access-date=3 April 2015}}

| venue =

| genre =

| length =

{{Duration|m=5|s=16}} (album version)
{{Duration|m=5|s=29}} (radio edit)

| label =

| writer = Matthew Bellamy

| producer =

Robert John "Mutt" Lange
Muse

| misc = {{External music video|{{YouTube|UqLRqzTp6Rk|"Psycho"}}

}}

"Psycho" is a song by the English rock band Muse from their seventh studio album Drones, released on 12 March 2015 as a promotional single and the first from the album.{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqLRqzTp6Rk |title=Muse - Psycho [Official Lyric Video] |publisher=YouTube |date=12 March 2015 |access-date=22 March 2015}} It was later featured as the B-side to the official lead single later that month, "Dead Inside".

Composition

Critics have described "Psycho" as a hard rock{{cite web|last1=Hawk|first1=Jesse|title=TRACK REVIEW: "Psycho" by Muse|url=http://b-sides.tv/reviews/20150318-track-review-psycho-by-muse|website=B-Sides.tv|access-date=12 April 2015|date=18 March 2015|quote=The vocals sound eerily familiar in the bulk of the song when compared to previous hits, such as Uprising (possibly the bands biggest hit, and most well-renowned song); however, the instrumentals on this track are of a heavier rock sound than Muse has gone to before.}} and glam rock{{cite web|last=Beaumont |first=Mark |url=https://www.nme.com/reviews/muse/16092 |title=NME Reviews – Muse – 'Drones' |work=NME |date=27 May 2015 |access-date=27 May 2015}} song with elements of nu metal.{{cite news |url=http://www.fuse.tv/2015/06/muse-radiohead-queen-inspirations-influences#7 |title=Muse's Muses: 9 of the British Band's Funky, Heavy, Wacky Influences |author=Dionne, Zach |work=Fuse |date=June 8, 2015 |access-date=August 29, 2016}} The song's main riff has been "in and out of [the band's] live set" for quite some time, and the song was described by the NME as "sixteen years in the making." The famous "0305030 03055" riff, as known by its place in the live-outro to "Stockholm Syndrome", where its name comes from how it is viewed on tabbed-sheet music.

The song wanted to sample audio from the movie Full Metal Jacket, but they weren't able to get permission, so the military drill heard in the song is a reproduction.{{cite web|title=Muse Wiki |url=https://www.musewiki.org/Drill_Sergeant_(song)#cite_note-1 |access-date=17 June 2023}}

Replying to a fan question on his Twitter account, Matthew Bellamy referred to the song's explicit lyrics as "too offensive for radio".{{cite web|title=Matthew Bellamy Tweet|url=https://twitter.com/MattBellamy/status/572609126779379713 |date=2 March 2015 |publisher=Twitter |access-date=24 March 2015}} Zach Dionne of Fuse said that the song's guitars recall Marilyn Manson's "'90s goth-stompers" like "The Beautiful People".

Release

On 28 February 2015, Matthew Bellamy announced the track on his Twitter account, along with a link to an article about brainwashing later confirmed to be related to the album's narrative.{{cite web|title=Matthew Bellamy Tweet|url=https://twitter.com/MattBellamy/status/571814756853551104 |date=28 February 2015 |publisher=Twitter |access-date=24 March 2015}} On 8 March 2015, Muse uploaded a short clip of them mixing the track on their Instagram account.{{cite web|title=Muse Instagram Video|url=https://instagram.com/p/z--_HynXX9/ |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/iarchive/s/instagram/z--_HynXX9 |archive-date=24 December 2021 |url-access=registration|date=8 March 2015 |publisher=Instagram |access-date=24 February 2015}}{{cbignore}} Four days later, "Psycho" was released as a preorder bonus track along with the album announcement.{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/muse/83411 |title=iTunes accidentally reveal new Muse album pre-order info |date=11 March 2015 |magazine=NME |access-date=24 March 2015}} On the same day, a lyric video for the song was released on the band's official YouTube channel.

Critical reception

In their review of the song, music magazine NME described the song as a "back-to-basics," "raw, sleaze-slathered" track featuring "sharp-toothed riffs." The magazine praised the song's directness. Referring to comments made by the band prior to the album's recording, they said that "Bellamy had talked about wanting to 'strip back' on 'Drones' as they finished 'The 2nd Law', their bombastic, dubstep-womp-addled sixth album," concluding that "by Muse's standards, 'Psycho' achieves that: for the first time in 11 years, the track sounds like three men in a room, bashing thunderously at their instruments, wringing the most eviscerating noise they can from them, as opposed to the out-of-this-world force of recent albums. Gone is the otherworldly science-fiction grandeur we've come to expect from the trio. In its place, is something a little more human, and grounded in reality. ... Muse appear to be re-emerging a tauter, more direct and fury-fuelled band than on their last few albums."{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/muse-psycho-track-review-matt-bellamy-and-co-supercharge-a-16-year-old-riff-for-back-to-basics-new-s |title=Muse 'Psycho' Track Review: Matt Bellamy And Co Supercharge A 16-Year-Old Riff For Back-To-Basics New Sound |date=12 March 2015 |magazine=NME |access-date=24 March 2015}}

Praising Bellamy's vocal delivery, the review also detected "a malevolence ... not seen from him in forever." Referring to the song's lyrics in comparison to the band's previous albums, the review likened the track's content to the music: "the anger's more direct than ever. No space lizard allegories. No space-age philosophising or profound eco warnings ... In their place: an expletive-laden, no-bullshit desert-rock firecracker about the maddening nature of modern society." Speculating about the track's connection to Bellamy's personal life, the review suggested that "the snarl he wraps around lyrics like 'love, it will get you nowhere,' meanwhile, will no doubt have some fans wondering how his breakup with partner Kate Hudson might have impacted his psyche while making this record."

Lyric video

As confirmed by the band's video director Tom Kirk on his Twitter account, the visual concept of the lyric video for the song is influenced by Brice Frillici's SEKDEK project.{{cite web|title=Tom Kirk Tweet|url=https://twitter.com/Nowherethomas/status/576465667320221696 |date=13 March 2015 |publisher=Twitter |access-date=24 March 2015}}

In their review of the song, NME described the lyric video as "packed with drill sergeants screaming into the screen, urging you to become a militarized 'killing machine', as the band perform in darkness", "hammer[ing] home [the track's political] bluntness".

Track listing

{{tracklist

|headline = CD single[https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dead-Inside-Psycho-Muse/dp/B00VSKJNV8/ Dead Inside / Psycho (Explicit) Single]

|title1 = Dead Inside

|length1 = 4:23

|title2 = Psycho

|length2 = 5:28

}}

Charts

=Weekly charts=

scope="row"\|Finland Digital Songs (Billboard){{cite web\|url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2015-03-28/finland\|title=Finland Digital Songs : Mar 28, 2015\|publisher=Billboard biz\|url-access=subscription \|access-date=21 March 2015}} \|10
class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;" ! scope="col"\| Chart (2015) ! scope="col"\| Peak Position
{{single chart\|Australia\|44\|artist=Muse\|song=Psycho\|rowheader=true\|access-date=21 March 2015}}
{{single chart\|Austria\|56\|artist=Muse\|song=Psycho\|rowheader=true\|access-date=29 March 2015}}
{{single chart\|Flanders\|38\|artist=Muse\|song=Psycho\|rowheader=true\|access-date=21 March 2015}}
{{single chart\|Wallonia\|10\|artist=Muse\|song=Psycho\|rowheader=true\|access-date=21 March 2015}}
{{single chart\|France\|13\|artist=Muse\|song=Psycho\|rowheader=true\|access-date=21 March 2015}}
{{single chart\|Ireland3\|78\|artist=Muse\|rowheader=true\|access-date=25 January 2020}}
scope="row"\|Italy (FIMI){{cite web\|url=http://www.fimi.it/classifiche#/category:digital/id:2004\|publisher=Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana\|language=it\|access-date=2 November 2018\|title=Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 11 (dal 2015-03-09 al 2015-03-15)}} \|70
scope="row"\|Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard){{cite web\|url=https://www.billboard.com/biz/charts/2015-03-28/mexico-ingles\|title=Mexico Ingles Airplay : Mar 28, 2015\|publisher=Billboard biz\|url-access=subscription \|access-date=21 March 2015}} \|20
{{single chart\|Dutch100\|58\|artist=Muse\|song=Psycho\|rowheader=true\|access-date=March 21, 2015}}
scope="row"\|Scotland (Official Charts Company){{cite web\|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/scottish-singles-chart/20150315/41\|title=15 March 2015\|publisher=Scottish Singles Chart\|access-date=21 March 2015}} \|33
{{single chart\|Spain\|25\|artist=Muse\|song=Madness\|rowheader=true}}
{{single chart\|Switzerland\|13\|artist=Muse\|song=Psycho\|rowheader=true\|access-date=21 March 2015}}
scope="row"\|UK Singles (Official Charts Company){{cite web\|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/charts/singles-chart/20150315/7501\|title=15 March 2015\|publisher=UK Singles Chart\|access-date=21 March 2015}} \|55
{{single chart\|Billboardrocksongs\|18\|artist=Muse\|song=Psycho\|rowheader=true\|access-date=21 March 2015}}

Certifications

{{Certification Table Entry|region=Italy|type=single|title=Psycho|artist=Muse|award=Gold|relyear=2015|certyear=2017|id=4976|access-date=13 November 2017}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=New Zealand|type=single|title=Psycho|artist=Muse|award=Gold|relyear=2015|certyear=2024|source=radioscope|access-date=28 December 2024}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|type=single|title=Psycho|artist=Muse|award=Silver|relyear=2015|certyear=2019|id=14872-2056-1|access-date=18 June 2019}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}