Matt Bellamy says Slipknot and Rage Against The Machine influenced new Muse album
“It turns out these metal players are absolute geniuses.”
Image: Suhaimi Abdullah/Getty
Matt Bellamy has spoken out about the unlikely sources of inspiration behind Muse’s new album, saying that his admiration towards Rage Against The Machine and his son’s love of Slipknot made him take a more aggressive approach to songwriting.
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In a new interview with Zane Lowe, frontman Matt Bellamy has implied that his fondness for Rage Against The Machine made him want to pursue a more aggressive and politically-dominated route in his latest album.
“[In Will Of The People] we’ve learned from, in my opinion, the best. I’ve seen Rage Against the Machine fifteen times. I just saw them twice this weekend. It was unbelievable. I even got a look from Morello. I was very happy with that,” Bellamy states when asked who he sees as a source of inspiration. “He was playing Calm Like a Bomb, and I think he might know it’s my favourite song, and he gave me a wave. I was like, ‘Tom Morello waved at me!’”
Released today (August 26), Muse fans are expected to see a much heavier approach to songwriting than in the band’s earlier discography. No longer confined to an alternative, indie rock blueprint, Bellamy describes how his son’s love of Slipknot also ended up seeping into the new release – inferring that this is what inspired the album’s heavier tracks, Won’t Stand Down and Kill Or Be Killed.
“[It comes from] my son, Bing, who’s really gotten into like Slipknot and stuff like that. Hearing that stuff blasting on the way to school most mornings, that really kind of got into the album a little bit,” he explains. “That was what was refreshing about it. It was nice to actually find something that we weren’t good at, do you know what I mean, and actually try and get really good at. Because metal… it turns out these metal players are absolute geniuses.”
Will Of The People is Muse’s ninth studio album, although not the first time that the members have taken a more socially-aware approach to their lyrics. In 2015, the band’s album Drones explored a similar concept, with Bellamy’s lyrics, in particular, showcasing his anxieties about the rapid development of technology.
Will Of The People is out today via Warner Records. Find the full interview with Bellamy below.