Muse's Dominic Howard - Supermassive Sounds

Modern Drummer
March 2007 - Volume 31 • Number 3

After touring for most of 2004 and 2005 in support of their breakthrough release, Absolution, southpaw* drummer Dominic Howard and his bandmates in British rockers Muse spent six months sequestered in a studio in southern France, putting together Black Holes And Revelations. It's the group's most dynamic and diverse record to date.
 This time around, the band dove into new musical territory, including experimenting with various electronic instruments. Says Dom, "We had a lot of synths, drum machines, and vintage gear in the studio, so a lot of the tracks were born out of messing around with those instruments."
 For his parts, the drummer approached each track individually. "The process in the studio is trial and error," Dom admits. "It was never: Let's set up a drumkit, get sounds, and record twelve tracks. It was a lot of messing around, changing mics and drums, and the moving kits to different parts of the room."
 For some of the songs, the drum parts weren't finalized until the band flew to New York for additional tracking. "It was hard to finish until we got to New York," Dom recalls. "That's when the beats on tunes like 'Starlight' changed. That song went through loads of different grooves, but it wasn't until the glam vibe turned up that it made sense."
 When asked about the programmed drum sound at the start of "Starlight," Dom explains, "The kit at the start is muted down, but it's still live. We're also clapping along, which gives the impression that it's sampled."
 On stage, the drummer has expanded his five-piece acrylic Tama kit with a Roland SPD sampler in order to reproduce "Supermassive Black Hole," the album's most electronic-sounding song. "I'm running triggers for that one," says Dom. "I've sampled the sounds from the record, and I mix them with the live kit."
 Dom also controls many of the MIDI sequences that supplement Muse's live show, requiring him to lock in with a click track. "I never used to be able to play with a click," he admits. "But it's easy to lose your mind on stage, and the click makes you focus on keeping it cool."

(Michael Dawson)

Notes
"Southpaw": He is left handed.

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