Black Holes and Revelations

Black Holes and Revelations
Studio album by Muse
Released 3 July 2006 (2006-07-03)
Recorded August – December 2005
Studio
Genre
Length 45:28
Label
Producer
Muse chronology
Absolution
(2003)		 Black Holes and Revelations
(2006)		 HAARP
(2008)
Singles from Black Holes and Revelations
  1. "Supermassive Black Hole"
    Released: 19 June 2006
  2. "Starlight"
    Released: 4 September 2006
  3. "Knights of Cydonia"
    Released: 27 November 2006
  4. "Invincible"
    Released: 9 April 2007
  5. "Map of the Problematique"
    Released: 18 June 2007

Black Holes and Revelations is the fourth studio album by English rock band Muse, released on 3 July 2006 in the United Kingdom. It gets its title from a line in the song "Starlight", which is the second track on the album. Recording was split between New York and France, and it was the first time Muse had taken a more active role in the album's production. The album was a change in style from Muse's previous albums, and the band cited influences that included Depeche Mode, Millionaire, Lightning Bolt, Sly and the Family Stone, and music from southern Italy.[3]

Black Holes and Revelations was placed at number 34 in a public vote conducted by Q for "The Best British Albums of all time" in February 2008. The album also spawned Supermassive Black Hole, Muse's most successful single in the UK to date hitting no.4 on the charts.

Like their two previous albums, Black Holes and Revelations has political and science-fiction undertones, with the lyrics covering topics as varied as political corruption, alien invasion, revolution and New World Order conspiracies as well as more conventional love songs.

Background and recording

Muse's previous album, Absolution, was released in 2003 to critical acclaim. Absolution had brought the band mainstream exposure in the United States for the first time.[4]

The band retired to an old château in France to write for a new album.[3] Lead singer Matthew Bellamy said that this was because the band wanted to be free from distractions so that they could "concentrate, spend time and be surrounded by different musical influences".[3] The album was partially recorded in the same studio in France as Pink Floyd's album The Wall, of which fact bassist Chris Wolstenholme said it was a "great feeling to know that something big had been done [there]".[5] However, the band found recording there very slow and had difficulties deciding which songs to include on the album.[3] They travelled to New York to finish the recording.[3]

Wolstenholme considered writing and recording for Black Holes and Revelations more relaxed than it had been for previous albums, as the band did not have a deadline to work to.[5] It was the first time they had learned about the technology in the studio, having previously left the use of it to the sound engineers.[5] Bellamy said that this was the first time Muse made an album without being concerned about how they would play it live.[6]

"Soldier's Poem", stood out as being "quite unlike anything [they'd] ever done before".[7] Drummer Dominic Howard said they were originally going to record it with a "massive, epic" approach, but then decided to strip it down and record it in a small studio with vintage equipment and a few microphones.[7] Muse were pleased with the result and Howard described it as a "real highlight", describing the vocals as "some of the most amazing vocals I've ever heard Matt do".[7]

Lyrical content

Black Holes and Revelations was said by some reviewers to carry a political message.[8] The album begins with the track "Take a Bow", which is an "attack on an all but unnamed political leader", incorporating lyrics such as "Corrupt, you corrupt and bring corruption to all that you touch".[8] These themes are carried through the album in the tracks "Exo-Politics" and "Assassin".[8] The album often touches on controversial subject matters, such as "The New World Order conspiracy, unjustifiable war, abusive power, conspiratorial manipulation and populist revolt,"[9] and is influenced by the conspiracy theories that the band are interested in.[7] Matt Bellamy stated that he finds "the unknown in general a stimulating area for the imagination",[9] and this interest is reflected throughout the album, which features alien invasion (in "Exo-Politics")[6] and rebellious paranoia (particularly during "Assassin").[8] The album also includes more emotional themes, including regret, ambition,[8] and love.[10]

The title, taken from lyrics in "Starlight", is explained by Bellamy in his September 2006 interview for Q magazine: "Black holes and revelations – they're the two areas of songwriting for me that make up the majority of this album. A revelation about yourself, something personal, something genuine of an everyday nature that maybe people can relate to. Then the black holes are these songs that are from the more ... unknown regions of the imagination."[11]

Artwork

The sleeve's designer Storm Thorgerson said: "This design was executed on location in Bardenas… The central motif came from 'galloping' horses ('Knights of Cydonia', 'Invincible') and from the biblical allusion to horsemen, namely the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, now represented in contemporary mode."[12]

Release

The album was released on 3 July 2006 in the UK, followed by releases in the US, Australia, Taiwan and Japan. The album was also available as a limited edition CD/DVD combination, that featured videos and live renditions of the band playing "Supermassive Black Hole", "Knights of Cydonia" and "Starlight". In addition, the album was re-released in the USA on vinyl LP on 18 August 2009. The album received double platinum certification in the UK on 22 December 2006[13] and triple platinum on 6 December 2010. Singles were released in both the UK and the US, though they were released in different orders in each country. All singles excepting "Map of the Problematique" were available on vinyl LP, CD, DVD (containing the music video for the single) and as a digital download.

In the UK, the first single from the album was "Supermassive Black Hole" and it was released prior to the album, on 19 June 2006. The single reached number four in the UK Singles Chart, making it the highest charting single in the UK for the band to date. The single was followed by "Starlight", "Knights of Cydonia", "Invincible" and "Map of the Problematique", the only one of which to reach the top 10 was "Knights of Cydonia" at number ten. The album itself charted at number one for two straight weeks in the UK album chart, with the band's largest sales up to that point.[14]

The first single released in the U.S. was "Knights of Cydonia", on 13 June 2006, which peaked at number 10 on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart. It was followed by "Starlight" and "Supermassive Black Hole". "Starlight" was their most popular single in the U.S. at that point, reaching number two on the Modern Rock Tracks.[15] The album became Muse's first top ten entry in the U.S., debuting at number nine.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic75/100[16]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[17]
Blender[18]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[19]
The Guardian[20]
Los Angeles Times[21]
NME9/10[22]
Pitchfork Media4.2/10[23]
Q[24]
Rolling Stone[25]
Spin[26]

Black Holes and Revelations was met with positive reviews from critics. Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating based on a range of reviews from mainstream critics, aggregated the album's average review score to 75 out of 100, based on 32 reviews.[16] The album received top ratings from Observer Music Monthly,[27] Q,[24] E! Online,[28] and Alternative Press.[29] Planet Sound named Black Holes and Revelations their Album of the Year for 2006 and the album was placed third in the NME Albums of the Year list for 2006,[30] as well as being named Q's second-best album of the year.[31] The album also received a Mercury Prize nomination. It was featured in the updated 2007 version of the music reference book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, edited by Robert Dimery. The album was named as one of Classic Rock‘s 10 essential progressive rock albums of the decade.[1]

In contrast, several critics called the album "overblown", including RTÉ's Bill Lehane,[32] NME's Anthony Thornton,[22] and Rolling Stone's Christian Hoard.[25] Hoard went on to describe "Knights of Cydonia" and "City of Delusion" as "ridiculous", but concluded that it was "surprising" that the album worked.[25] The A.V. Club's Noel Murray, on the other hand, gave the band credit for reworking themselves, but called the album a "nightmare" and gave it a D+.[33] The album also garnered some crossover appeal, with Oakland hip hop group Zion I releasing a notable remix of "Knights of Cydonia" in 2008.[34]

Commercial reception

The album sold 115,144 copies in its first week in the UK,[35] which was more than the first week sales of Muse's previous album, Absolution. The album is also a BPI triple platinum album, and was nominated for a Mercury Prize.[13] It has sold 1,060,765 copies in the UK as of June 2015.[36]

Five singles were released in the UK, of which three were released in the US. A world tour followed the release of the album that included dates in the UK, the US, Canada, Australia and most of Europe and Asia.[37]

Tour

See caption.
Acrobats suspended from giant white balloons float above the audience in the first, sellout night of Muse's Wembley gigs

In July 2006 the band announced that they would be going on their "biggest ever tour" in support of the album.[38] The first shows included the Leeds and Reading Carling Weekend festivals, followed by a tour that visited most of the world's major continents.[38] The tour saw them travelling over most of the world, including countries such as the UK, most of Europe, the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, China and Korea.[37] Some dates that were booked to play in support of My Chemical Romance in the USA were cancelled after members of both bands were affected by food poisoning.[39] The USA stretch of the tour included dates at Madison Square Garden and a headlining slot at Lollapalooza.[40]

The biggest concert of the tour was the two nights that they played in the new Wembley Stadium on 16 and 17 June 2007. They were the first band to sell-out the newly built stadium and play there.[41] The show incorporated extensive special effects that included huge satellite dishes, "futuristic" antennas, giant white balls and thousands of lights.[41] The encore featured two acrobats that floated high above the crowd suspended on floating white balloons.[41] Footage of the latter concert was released on DVD whilst a live CD album contained a selection of recorded tracks from the two nights. Both discs were released as a joint package under the title HAARP.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Matt Bellamy.

No. Title Length
1. "Take a Bow"   4:35
2. "Starlight"   3:59
3. "Supermassive Black Hole"   3:29
4. "Map of the Problematique"   4:18
5. "Soldier's Poem"   2:03
6. "Invincible"   5:00
7. "Assassin"   3:31
8. "Exo-Politics"   3:53
9. "City of Delusion"   4:48
10. "Hoodoo"   3:43
11. "Knights of Cydonia"   6:06

Tracks featured on limited edition DVDs

A longer and heavier version of "Assassin", dubbed the "Grand Omega Bosses Version" was also recorded and is available on the vinyl issue of "Knights of Cydonia" single.

In the media

"Take a Bow" was featured on an episode of Top Gear, when Richard Hammond tested the Noble M15. The song also featured prominently in the second released trailer for Watchmen and a John Debney's orchestrated remix of the song was used in the second trailer for the 2016 Universal/Columbia/Legendary Pictures/MGM co-production film The Jungle Book while the original version will be used for the film's TV spots and featurette.[42] "Knights of Cydonia" was featured as a playable track in Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock and Rocksmith 2014 and "Assassin" was featured as a playable track in Guitar Hero World Tour. "Knights of Cydonia" was also featured in a trailer for Series 5 of the TV show Merlin, as well featured in the launch trailer for the videogame Halo 5: Guardians. "Assassin" was also featured in the Torchwood episode entitled "Combat". "Supermassive Black Hole" was featured at the start of the Series 6 Doctor Who episode, "The Rebel Flesh", in the baseball scene of the film Twilight, in the season 2 episode of Supernatural, "Hunted" and EA Sports game, FIFA 07. "Map of the Problematique" was featured in trailer for The Tourist.

Personnel

Muse
Additional personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2006) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[43] 1
Austrian Albums Chart[44] 4
Belgian Albums Chart[45] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[46] 2
European Albums Chart[47] 1
Finnish Albums Chart[48] 3
French Albums Chart[49] 2
German Albums Chart[50] 4
Irish Albums Chart[51] 1
Italian Albums Chart[52] 2
Japanese Albums Chart[53] 11
New Zealand Albums Chart[54] 6
Norwegian Albums Chart[55] 6
Polish Albums Chart[56] 41
Portuguese Albums Chart[57] 17
Swiss Albums Chart[58] 1
scope="row" UK Albums (OCC)[14] 1
US Billboard 200[59] 9

Year-end charts

Chart (2006) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[60] 26
Chart (2007) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[61] 117
Chart (2008) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[62] 165
Chart (2009) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[63] 151
Chart (2010) Position
UK Albums (OCC)[64] 149

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Australia (ARIA)[65] Platinum 70,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[66] Platinum 100,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[67] Gold 15,000[67]
France (SNEP)[68] 3× Platinum 300,000*
Germany (BVMI)[69] Gold 100,000^
Ireland (IRMA)[70] Platinum 15,000^
Italy (FIMI)[71] Platinum 80,000*
Japan (RIAJ)[72] Gold 100,000^
Mexico (AMPROFON)[73] Gold 30,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[74] Gold 7,500^
Norway (IFPI Norway)[75] Gold 20,000*
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[76] Platinum 30,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[77] 3× Platinum 1,060,765[36]
United States (RIAA)[78] Platinum 1,000,000^
Summaries
Europe (IFPI)[79] 2× Platinum 2,000,000*

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

Single releases

Title Release date UK Singles
Chart 		Billboard Modern
Rock Tracks
"Supermassive Black Hole" 19 June 2006 (UK) 4 6
"Starlight" 4 September 2006 (UK) 13 2
"Knights of Cydonia" 27 November 2006 (UK) 10 10
"Invincible" 9 April 2007 (UK) 21
"Map of the Problematique" 18 June 2007 (UK) 18

References

  1. 1 2 Classic Rock, February 2010, Issue 141.
  2. ↑ Perry, Andrew (18 June 2006). "Muse, Black Holes and Revelations". The Observer. Retrieved 17 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Talia Soghomonian. "Muse – Intergalacticists Stride Our World". musicOMH. Archived from the original on 10 May 2007. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
  4. ↑ Drew Beringer (18 July 2006). "Muse – Black Holes and Revelations". AbsolutePunk.net. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  5. 1 2 3 "Interview with Muse". TNT Down Under. 9 August 2007. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 1 July 2008.
  6. 1 2 Jacqui Swift (23 June 2006). "Muse: Close encounters". The Sun. Retrieved 23 October 2006.
  7. 1 2 3 4 James Hurley. "Interview – Muse". MSN. Archived from the original on 9 November 2007. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Michael Schmitt. "Muse – Black Holes and Revelations". music emissions. Retrieved 16 April 2007.
  9. 1 2 Neil McCormick (6 July 2006). "Messages from Mars". London: The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  10. ↑ Mike Diver. "Black Holes and Revelations". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 9 March 2007. Retrieved 13 April 2007.
  11. ↑ Mitchell, Ben (September 2006). "The Q Interview". Q (242): 56–60.
  12. ↑ Classic Rock 2010 calendar
  13. 1 2 "The BPI – Certified Awards". BPI. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 16 August 2007.
  14. 1 2 "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  15. ↑ "Billboard Chart Database". Billboard. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  16. 1 2 "Reviews for Black Holes & Revelations by Muse". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  17. ↑ Wilson, MacKenzie. "Black Holes and Revelations – Muse". AllMusic. Retrieved 28 May 2015.
  18. ↑ Lynskey, Dorian (August 2006). "Muse: Black Holes and Revelations". Blender. New York (50): 108. Archived from the original on 17 February 2007. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  19. ↑ Hermes, Will (14 July 2006). "Black Holes and Revelations". Entertainment Weekly. New York (886). Retrieved 5 October 2011.
  20. ↑ Simpson, Dave (30 June 2006). "Muse, Black Holes and Revelations". The Guardian. London. ISSN 0261-3077. OCLC 60623878. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  21. ↑ Ward, Alie (9 July 2006). "Call it a split decision". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  22. 1 2 Thornton, Anthony (30 June 2006). "Muse: Black Holes & Revelations". NME. London. ISSN 0028-6362. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  23. ↑ Ubl, Sam (5 July 2006). "Muse: Black Holes and Revelations". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  24. 1 2 "Muse: Black Holes and Revelations". Q. London (241): 106. August 2006.
  25. 1 2 3 Hoard, Christian (24 July 2006). "Muse: Black Holes and Revelations". Rolling Stone. New York. ISSN 0035-791X. Archived from the original on 10 July 2008. Retrieved 22 July 2008.
  26. ↑ Raftery, Brian (August 2006). "Confessions of a Drama Queen". Spin. New York. 22 (8): 81. Retrieved 26 June 2016.
  27. ↑ Perry, Andrew (18 June 2006). "Muse, Black Holes and Revelations". The Observer. London. Archived from the original on 12 January 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  28. ↑ "Critic Reviews for Black Holes & Revelations - Metacritic". Metacritic.
  29. ↑ Karan, Tim (8 September 2006). "English mood masters hit their peak (and valley).". Alternative Press. Cleveland. ISSN 1065-1667. Archived from the original on 20 October 2006. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  30. ↑ "NME Albums Of The Year 2006.". NME. 2006. Retrieved 5 August 2007.
  31. ↑ "Q Magazine Albums Of The Year 2006" (January 2007 (246)). Q Magazine. 2006: 126.
  32. ↑ Lehane, Bill (4 August 2006). "Muse – Black Holes and Revelations". Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  33. ↑ Murray, Noel (19 July 2006). "Muse: Black Holes and Revelations". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 21 July 2008.
  34. ↑ VoodooChild. "That's That...: Zion I vs. Muse – "Fight For Your Right RMX"". Thatsthatish.com. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  35. ↑ "The Official UK Charts Company: All the No. 1's – Black Holes and Revelations". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 16 July 2008.
  36. 1 2 Jones, Alan (15 June 2015). "Official Charts Analysis: Muse's Drones fly to No.1 on sales of 72,863". Music Week. Intent Media. Retrieved 15 June 2015. (subscription required (help)).
  37. 1 2 "Muse Tour Dates 2007". microcuts.net. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
  38. 1 2 "Muse announce their biggest ever tour". NME. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
  39. ↑ "Food poisoning halts Muse tour". BBC. 2 May 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
  40. ↑ "Muse storm Madison Square Garden". NME. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  41. 1 2 3 "Muse play Wembley Stadium mega gig". NME. 16 June 2007. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
  42. ↑ "Watchmen - Movie Trailers - iTunes". Trailers.apple.com. 6 March 2009. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  43. ↑ "Australian Album Charts". australian-charts.com. Archived from the original on 9 March 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  44. ↑ "Austrian Album Charts". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  45. ↑ "Belgium Album Charts". ultratop.be. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  46. ↑ "Netherlands Album Chart". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  47. ↑ "European Albums: Week of July 22, 2006". Billboard.com. Retrieved 23 September 2011.
  48. ↑ "Finland Album Chart". finnishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 8 March 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  49. ↑ "lescharts.com - Muse - Black Holes & Revelations". lescharts.com. Retrieved 13 November 2011.
  50. ↑ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche". musicline.de. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  51. ↑ "Top 75 Artist Album, Week Ending 6 July 2006". chart-track.com. Retrieved 11 November 2009.
  52. ↑ "Italy Album Chart". italiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 21 March 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  53. ↑ "ミューズのCDアルバムランキング、ミューズのプロフィールならオリコン芸能人事典-ORICON STYLE". Oricon.co.jp. Retrieved 27 February 2013.
  54. ↑ "New Zealand Albums Chart". charts.org.nz. Archived from the original on 16 April 2012. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  55. ↑ "Norway Album Chart". norwegiancharts.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  56. ↑ "OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart - sales for the period 11.03.2013 - 17.03.2013". OLiS. Retrieved 5 September 2013.
  57. ↑ "Portugal Album Chart". portuguesecharts.com. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  58. ↑ "Switzerland Album Chart". swisscharts.com. Archived from the original on 7 March 2009. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  59. ↑ "Billboard Album Chart". Billboard. Archived from the original on 12 August 2007. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
  60. ↑ "End of Year Charts: 2006" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 10 August 2011.
  61. ↑ "End of Year Charts: 2007" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  62. ↑ "End of Year Charts: 2008" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  63. ↑ "End of Year Charts: 2009" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  64. ↑ "End of Year Charts: 2010" (PDF). UKChartsPlus. Retrieved 30 September 2015.
  65. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2007 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  66. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – Muse – Black Holes and Revelations". Music Canada.
  67. 1 2 "Muse" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  68. ↑ http://www.snepmusique.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Certifications_Albums_2013.pdf
  69. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (Muse; 'Black Holes and Revelations')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  70. ↑ "Irish album certifications – Muse – Black Holes and Revelations". Irish Recorded Music Association.
  71. ↑ "Italian album certifications – Muse – Black Holes and Revelations" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Select Album e Compilation in the field Sezione. Enter Muse in the field Filtra. The certification will load automatically
  72. ↑ "Japanese album certifications – ミューズ – ブラック・ホールズ・アンド・レヴァレイションズ" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Select 2014年1月 on the drop-down menu
  73. ↑ "Certificaciones – Muse" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas.
  74. ↑ "New Zealand album certifications – Muse – Black Holes and Revelations". Recorded Music NZ.
  75. ↑ "Norwegian album certifications – Muse – Black Holes and Revelations" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  76. ↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards (Muse; 'Black Holes and Revelations')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  77. ↑ "British album certifications – Muse – Black Holes and Revelations". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Black Holes and Revelations in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  78. ↑ "American album certifications – Muse – Black Holes and Revelations". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
  79. ↑ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 2011". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.

External links

Preceded by
Liberation Transmission by Lostprophets		 UK number one album
9–22 July 2006 		Succeeded by
Razorlight by Razorlight

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