Stereogum Home

 

June 9, 2006

New Muse - "Knights Of Cydonia"

Reader Mike writes in:

What's up! Just wanna say I love your site, and that some Muse fans managed to record Knights of Cydonia off of KROQ last night. I have it saved to my site if you wanna download it and put it on stereogum.
Radio rip? I'll do you one better. Here's a clean stream: WIN | QT

Mixed reaction to "Supermassive Black Hole." What do you think of this one?

Posted at 6:46 PM
Tags:




49 Comments

Lasers, horses, epic!

Posted by: fred at 06/09/06 10:39 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I love it, then again I think the new album is fab. Not that I've downloaded the leaked version. No. Never. Completely wrong.

Posted by: sean at 06/09/06 11:12 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Well, Muse has really pushed the envelope this time. If you already do not like Muse then stop reading therefore stop listening. From a true fan's point of view, I would have to say that this album is indeed a "rock opera". It is their most political endeavor to date. "Knights of Cydonia" is definately not the most appropriate track off the album to debut on the radio. This song will not help Muse sell records, which is the label's own fault. Don't get me wrong, from what I have heard of the album itself in addition to the song (K.O.C.)....I like it. I think I just got my hopes up for another earth-shattering Muse record, and yet....and instead I feel Muse fans will have to settle for an enjoyable concept album.

Posted by: Ryan at 06/09/06 11:22 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I was really unsure about Supermassive Black Hole but this song has put Muse to justice. Now to find that leak everyone's talking about... Wait, what did I say? Nothing about a leak, that's for sure.

http://www.musictimes.com.au

Posted by: Music Times at 06/09/06 11:33 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

weird choice for the first US single, but a cool song for sure

Posted by: bill at 06/10/06 1:16 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

2006 is a great year for previously relatively staid artists going batshit fucking insane and creating the best music of their careers. Hopefully Muse follows the trend.

Posted by: G3K at 06/10/06 3:15 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Didn't like Supermassive Black Hole at all, but this track is friggin' AWESOME. Go Muse!

Posted by: Thijs at 06/10/06 3:58 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Muse went stale when they released 'Origin...'. This new album sounds... different.

Posted by: Andrew at 06/10/06 7:33 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I didn't like Supermassive Black Hole at all when I first heard it, but now that I've heard the album I've totally changed my mind. Hearing the song in context helped it make sense, and I think this album is really strong. That is, if you're a Muse fan. I'm not so sure that folks who haven't heard them or haven't liked them before will be all that moved.

That being said, I'll be buying this as soon as it comes out. I'm really impressed.

Posted by: anonyme at 06/10/06 10:34 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

i kind of got a "Barracuda" feel from it...
anyone else?

Posted by: drewseph_4 at 06/10/06 11:11 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Me Gusta

Posted by: dude at 06/10/06 11:40 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Um, it's okay. Maybe it'll have to grow on me...

Posted by: aja at 06/10/06 1:05 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I hated...well I still do hate Supermassive Black Hole, and I think that this song could be a hell of a lot shorter. Or at least written better or something.

This song should've been more Queen (like it was at the end) and less Rush. So basically take out the first 2:30.

Posted by: kevin at 06/10/06 4:06 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Another huge dissapointment.
The songs are terribly weak and lacking something important that made me like Muse from the very beginning.

Screams sell out to me.
To all of those 'tru fans4eva', this is my opinion and I'm allowed to have it.

Posted by: Lea at 06/10/06 7:24 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

umm...did Roy Thomas Baker produce this? (sarcasm)

Posted by: sam at 06/10/06 7:58 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

every time someone says "sell out" an angel loses it's wings and falls to it's death.

did not like supermassive black hole, but this is sort of cool.

Posted by: Alex at 06/10/06 10:00 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Wow!! Way to go Muse, this song is really great!

Posted by: zach at 06/10/06 10:30 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

this is a supermassive piece of shit.

Posted by: whoa at 06/11/06 11:04 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Not in a million years could I understand how THIS sound could be considered selling out.

Posted by: cooper at 06/11/06 11:25 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

nobody else thinks it sounds just like this ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTKL8MNH95Q

Posted by: That Guy Who Does Apache at 06/11/06 4:48 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

"nobody else thinks it sounds just like this ?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eTKL8MNH95Q"

best music video ever?

Posted by: Alex at 06/11/06 6:15 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

WOW- The first half does sound like Barracuda, and a mix of Andreas Vollenweider/Transsiberian Orchestra. Ha. I hear ELO, Iron Maiden and Mars Volta, too...wow, they played this on KROQ? The last half of the opus rules.

Great live show, though...and very loud.

Posted by: Frank at 06/11/06 7:41 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

WOW! It really DOES sound exactly like that Apache video posted above! Check it out! That aside, I think the song is movingly cool with a GREAT message and excellent lyrics.

Posted by: James at 06/12/06 12:14 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

holy shit it actually sounds almost exactly as the video above, tommy seebach's "apache"!!

hey the song is real good, the beat is like you imagine galloping on a horse!! WTWF

Posted by: mode7 at 06/12/06 1:48 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Yeah I can so hear the Trans-Siberian Orchestra vibe coming through. But the Apache video - I'd rather not. I found the horse sounds combined with the lasers really wierd and sort of unneeded

http://www.musictimes.com.au

Posted by: Music Times at 06/12/06 4:35 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I guess they listened to Queen II...alot!
What a rip.

I still love the band though.
They're even better live.

Posted by: rogerthat at 06/12/06 12:29 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

This song is great. Very epic. The lyrics make me feel like it's the end of the world, and I think that's what they were going for.
The Barracuda-esque guitar, the trumpets, the crazy falseto, the anthem like chord progression, and the intense harmony all work to make this a masterpiece.
That Apache video is fucking hilarious btw. People should check it out.

Posted by: Nathan at 06/12/06 8:24 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Brilliant! Epic band, epic sound. No music is to everyone's taste. But Muse are to my taste. And I'm exceptionally happy that they are. The album is sounding great. Supermassive is also a class track - sexy, funky and fun.

Posted by: Stevie at 06/13/06 9:04 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I liked Supermassive Black hole.... But this is much better. I luv this band and they are always coming with great music.

Posted by: spikerpunker at 06/13/06 11:12 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Um.... this song is pretty wierd. Y did they deciede that this would be the US release? I still like it better than Supermassive Black Hole though. It's awsome. I hope all the other songs on the album get better and better.

Posted by: Amelia at 06/13/06 11:19 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

u r the best!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: juan pablo at 06/14/06 12:20 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

The album rocks!!

Posted by: Lee at 06/14/06 6:21 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

AWESOME!!!!!!!! I love that song and I love "Supermassive Black Hole". Can't wait for the new album. I just pre-ordered it on iTunes ;-)

Posted by: John Q at 06/14/06 12:11 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

AWESOME!!!!!!!! I love that song and I love "Supermassive Black Hole". Can't wait for the new album. I just pre-ordered it on iTunes ;-)

Posted by: JohnQ at 06/14/06 12:12 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I love the new album, and love Supermassive Black Hole (although I hated it before I heard the entire album).

However, this is probably my least favorite track off the album, and even though it was on KROQ, I don't think it'll be their single.

Too long and probably the least commercial-friendly track off the album. My prediction is Starlight.

Posted by: ** at 06/14/06 6:22 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!!!!

Please don't let this be anything like the rest of the album. God, Supermassive black hole, now this crap, what the hell is up with the first 2 minutes of this song, no wait, the whole song? TERRIBLE! Ive been a muse fan from the start but this is crap. Damn it

Posted by: Mike at 06/14/06 8:47 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

How can you say that this song will not sell records? This song has the ability to give those hope who have almost lost hope.

No-one's going to take me alive
The time has come to make things right
You and I must fight for our rights
You and I must fight to survive

In a way, yes I can see how it can be depressing, but guess what, the truth is sometimes. Now are we going to do something about it, or sit here and deny it, creating our own destruction?

This band hase the power to move people, I applaud thee.


Posted by: Jess at 06/15/06 1:53 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

The wife and I are going to see these guys live in Phoenix next month. She's not much into prog-space-rock weirdness but I think she's going to have the musical experience of a lifetime. I hear they're ending their live shows with K.O.C. I can't wait for this show, it's gonna ROCK!!!

Posted by: A.M. at 06/15/06 9:28 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I can honestly say that there are less than 20 songs in my heart of hearts I can remember exactly where I was when I heard it as if I was in awe of its truly compelling power as pure art or at least commerce-as-significance perspective.

But I think this may be up there if it hits big. That there truly is nothing else like it on the radio right now, nor has there been in a mighty long time - I'm 40 and I'm struck by it. This could be tipping point in ways we have yet to fathom.


Or at the very least, a lost classic of "River Deep Mountain High" proportion.

Posted by: OCB at 06/15/06 11:53 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I've been a Muse fan for a long time, and I love the fact that they're taking the Muse sound/flavour in new and interesting directions. I can't express the vibe that Supermassive and Knights give me. Wow.

Also, you guys should look Cydonia up, as in the place on Mars...as in the place on Mars with the pyramid that geologists are saying could not have appeared naturally...and the huge human-like faced mountain. These guys (Muse) know some interesting things ;)

Posted by: Ryan S. at 06/16/06 12:37 AM | Reply
Score = 1 Vote up Vote down

Ahhhhhhh I like muse. until this. Its forgettable, its been done before, its midless.
I wanted a Kid A

I used to like coldplay until X and Y too

Posted by: Tim K at 06/18/06 7:08 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Very epic, a masterpiece. Muse are are genious's for the simple fact that each album they make seems more and more dramatic and epic than the last! They also have a talent for trying out everything under the sun that is against the mainstream and making work in a serious way.

If any other band made a song with a western style (with trumpets and horses etc) i think it would sound hilariously bad lol!!

Posted by: anon at 06/18/06 7:28 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

I love all of Muse's cd's. Supermassive Black Hole toke some time to grow on me.
But there is definitely some thing about koc. It's got a deferent sound to it then the rest of muse's songs.
That's what sets them apart from the rest there sound is unique and they never false to surprise. 10 out of 10

Posted by: K at 06/18/06 10:47 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

It's nice to see, and hear, that Muse are still doing something better than any other band in the world. That is creating huge rifts between their various fanbases.

;)

I personally thought the track was immensely over the top, and brilliant.

God bless Muse.

Posted by: Rob at 06/20/06 8:15 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

This track is simply great. FX ARE appropriate for a place like Cydonia. Read a bit! Contextualize yourself. A song is about music, emotions, and metaphors.. leading to creative writing and composing.

Graphical depiction is awesome in there. It's totally blasting Goldorak's theme off.

Since "Bliss" they maintained the arpeggios in the background and just keep doing it! I don't care if they build it using Fruity Loops or - they still have to "think" of it!

The ending riffs are Matt's doing and grounds us to Muse's original sound.

Again, like in most of Muse songs, they are a lot of classical music progressions and key shifting.

Another new "dimension" in both KOC and SMBH: Voice Harmonies. In the previous albums, at the most (except maybe for Megalomania) they were topping two voices on their tracks: Matt's normal pitch and Matt's crazy high pitch. Now they've added a lot of voices.. enhancing and accentuating the overall voice melody.

They are musicians and story tellers.

Posted by: xCrimson at 06/21/06 1:07 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Such a fantastic track, one of their best, and most releiving after the dissapointing "super massive black hole".

fantatstic.

mikish23@hotmail.com

Posted by: mike pettitt at 06/22/06 7:21 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

For anyone who does not like the beggining can suck my fucking cock. There jamming out and it\\\'s amazing. Appreciate the music and don\\\'t complain. No cares for your whining shit, respect the music, if you have anything to say keep it to yourself. And stop fucking using sell out, listen to their style from the beggining. It\\\'s like no other.

Posted by: Mike at 06/23/06 1:40 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

It's very average. It's not bad. It carries a cool rhythm. Has some interesting effects. This isn't a band that's bringing much innovation though. The first half sounds like The Flaming Lips with a faster pulse. The second half sounds like an above average Queen track. My problem is with the vocalist. I can't take Bellamy seriously. I don't buy it. What is he fighting to survive? Who's trying to kill him? Just what does he want to set right? I completely don't understand where the lyrics come from. They only work in making the song more epic and offering a break from the noise.

7 out of 10

It's maybe a little better than Supermassive Black Hole.

Posted by: Scott at 06/23/06 4:03 PM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

eh, i am not so much a fan of the new album. muse's older stuff was way better, i think.

Posted by: grave at 01/27/07 1:56 AM | Reply
Score = 0 Vote up Vote down

Leave a comment


Staff

  • Founder/Editor-In-Chief: Scott Lapatine
  • Executive Editor: Amrit Singh
  • Senior Writer: Brandon Stosuy

Info

Contact

Get Flash to see our mp3 player. Here are our mp3s: Cold Cave - Life Magazine (»)
Pants Yell! - Cold Hands (»)
Bill Quick - Take Me Away (»)
Fool's Gold - Surprise Hotel (Wallpaper's Mariah Mashup) (»)
Air - Sing Sang Sung (Black Moth Super Rainbow Remix) (»)
Avi Buffalo - What's In It For (»)
Vampire Weekend - Horchata (»)
Small Black - Kings Of Animals (»)
Max Tundra - Which Song (Passion Pit Remix) (»)
Cold Cave - Theme From Tomorrowland (»)
Tegan And Sara - Hell (»)
Jeff The Brotherhood - Bone Jam (»)
Mount Eerie - Wind's Dark Poem (»)
Tigercity - Fake Gold (»)
Yeasayer - Ambling Alp (»)
Drink Up Buttercup - Even Think (Andrew W.K. Remix) (»)
Florence And The Machine - You've Got The Love (The xx Remix) (»)
Cold Cave - The Laurels of Erotomania (»)
Jookabox - Phantom Don't Go (»)
Jookabox - You Cried Me (»)

Progress Report logo
Commercial Appeal logo
Premature Evaluation logo
Band to Watch logo
Quit Your Day Job logo
The Outsiders logo
The 'Gum Drop logo