(MUSE) 5 Classic Riffs

Total Guitar
December 2003 (Issue 117) 

With the new Muse album, Absolution, kicking serious arse, now's a good time to look back at the five defining riffs from their back catalogue. 

 Matt Bellamy has proved to be one of the most innovative British guitarists to emerge in recent times. The frequent comparisons with Radiohead have been hard to shake off, but as the five examples we've chosen here clearly demonstrate, it's not a very fair criticism. Certainly, Bellamy's voice shares the passion of Thom Yorke's, but that's where the similarities end. 

 These five riffs show a range of influences; Hyper Music features a Hendrix-like freak-out, while Plug In Baby has a Bach-inspired intro, and Muscle Museum has some Greek folk music thrown in for good measure. All the songs come from Muse's second album, Origin Of Symmetry, which was released in July 2001, except Muscle Museum, which can be found on their 1999 debut, Showbiz. All of these songs, bar Hyper Music, were either top 30 or top 20 hits, demonstrating there is still a place in the pop mainstream for well crafted, intelligent guitar-based music.

 Through the clever use of effects, Muse create a very big sound for a power trio, while simultaneously retaining a very live feel. Muscle Museum is a case in point; what initially sounds like two guitars is most certainly Bellamy's Roland VG-8 guitar synthesizer, with the clean guitar panned left and the VG-88 octave up signal panned right, modelling a mandolin. Bellamy also thickens his guitar sound with octave-down pitch shifts from his Boss Octivider, as heard on both Plug In Baby and New Born. But what sometimes sounds like fuzz guitar (eg, in Hyper Music and New Born) is bassist Chris Wolstenholme splitting his signal into a clean and fuzz sound.

 Bellamy also throws in the odd diminished chord (New Born) hinting at his classically-trained past* and proving that he isn't afraid to break the mould and push his guitar to the limit.

Bellamy's gear

 The fact that Bellamy uses a VG-88, with it's almost infinite sound and modelling capabilities, means there is no typical Bellamy sound or setting. Matt has also used a variety of amps over the years to accommodate his wide tonal range, although he almost always uses a Marshall rig live, more recently switching the amp's distortion with Z.Vex Fuzz Factory, Electro-Harmonix Big Muff and a Boss OD-2R units. Other effects he uses include a Digitech Whammy pedal and a Line6 delay modeller. His main guitars are custom-built Manson models, that are fitted with all sorts of unique effects and gadgets, including his guitar synth pick up. 

Notes
"Classically-trained past": See Origin of Symmetry interview

Link to all Muse articles

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