HEAVY MUSIC HISTORY: Origin of Symmetry – Muse

It’s 2001. The new millennium is a time of revival, renewal, and the excitement of advancement and renovation is electrifying. At least for one young British band who are about to change the course of their career forever. MUSE already had a foot in the door: with the release of their 1999 debut record Showbiz, they found themselves touring around the United Kingdom and playing across the water in the United States alongside the biggest bands at the time, and the biggest bands to be.

This led to their signing with Madonna’s label Maverick Records for their American distribution; a move that many US-based labels hesitated on. The only way was up as it came time for the Teignmouth trio to begin working on their highly anticipated sophomore selection.

Origin of Symmetry would end up being a major step forward in terms of creativity and musical experimentation for MUSE. Wanting to divert away from the melancholic indie expectations set by their debut, this meant changing the way they worked. The band never hid that much of their inspiration for this record came from the use of recreational drugs; the consumption of marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms is what led the band to “exploring new territory”, as vocalist Matt Bellamy said. However, as their inebriation would cost them concentration in the studio, he concluded that they were “certainly not good” for completing recordings.

The theme for the record was science, space, and the future. The title came from the writings of physicist Michio Kaku looking at the discovery of super-symmetry from the book Hyperspace; a study that Bellamy found fascinating to a great level. “There’s a certain amount of stability in the universe,” he explained. “To find out where it originates from would be to find out if God exists.”

Origin of Symmetry would end up being both a visual and audio masterpiece, incorporating their astronomic themes and ultra-philosophical subject matters in every aspect of its final result. Some of the most iconic MUSE music videos came from this record; from the high-speed outer-space epic for Bliss, to the bedroom mini-movie for Plug-In Baby, to the horror-like facial distortions in the visualiser for their cover of Feeling Good. Each video focuses on one corner of what the record is about: the vastness of space, the unknown of the future, and the true faces of humanity. As separate entities, these visuals may be confusing and in a way concerning to the everyday audience. However, when combined with the sounds of the track listing and the physical album’s artwork, there were a dedicated few who grew as infatuated with the otherworldly concepts as the band themselves. This is what took Origin of Symmetry from just being another Y2K-era album to a full-on phenomenon.

The lasting impact of the album is one that could be considered a slow burn, especially in the United States. Due to disagreements between Bellamy and Maverick Records regarding making the singles “radio friendly” for an American audience leading to a parting of ways, Origin of Symmetry did not see an official American release until over four years later, in the summer of 2005. While this hindered their success across the pond, in their native of the United Kingdom, they were on route to grow bigger, stronger, and even weirder. From their lack of touring to promote the record, they let it all speak for itself; and with the assistance of a megaphone, it spoke echoes through the airwaves. It seems even in space, everyone can hear MUSE play.

25 years on, Origin of Symmetry is reflected as an example of the risk and payoff of not just musical experimentation, but using music as the foundation for a whole multi-layered piece of art. It was the beginning of what MUSE was to become as the years and decades roll on; the start of their own millennium.

This was not only the origin of symmetry. This was the origin of MUSE.

Origin of Symmetry was originally released on 18 June, 2001 via Taste Media.

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