Origin of Symmetry

about this album

Origin of Symmetry is the second studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, released on 17 June 2001 by Mushroom Records. Recording took place at Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey and Real World Studio in Wiltshire, and additional recordings were made at Astoria Studios, Richmond Studios and Abbey Road Studios in London and Sawmills Studio in Fowey, Cornwall. The album was mixed at Sawmills and mastered at Sony Music Studios in London. Origin of Symmetry was produced by David Bottrill, John Leckie (who previously worked on the band's first album, Showbiz) and the band themselves. In the UK it reached #3 and was certified platinum. The title for the album comes from a concept put forward by Michio Kaku in his book Hyperspace. The album was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews and in 2006 earned the spot of 74 on Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Albums of all Time. Origin of Symmetry is seen as a departure from the alternative rock sound of Showbiz, as the band experimented instrumentally throughout the album. Dominic Howard (drums) augmented the standard rock drum kit with various other items of his own, and Matthew Bellamy uses a pipe organ at St Mary the Virgin's Church, Bathwick on "Megalomania". Due to the requirement of a pipe organ, this song is rarely played live by Muse, perhaps the most notable occasions being at Muse's charity gig at the Royal Albert Hall and during the Hullabaloo concert in Paris. Throughout the album, the bass line is used as the driving force,

tracks

more from Muse

Black Holes and Revelations

Absolution

The Resistance

Showbiz

The 2nd Law

Drones