September 7, 1999 - Muse and Showbiz

Two weeks after my last release a new band joins my library when Muse released their debut album "Showbiz" on September 7, 1999. But who are Muse? They are a three-piece alternative rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, England consisting of Dominic Howard (drums, percussion), Chris Wolstenholme (bass) and frontman Matthew Bellamy (lead vocals, guitars, keyboards). Muse are listed as alternative rock but they have quite a wide range from soft and slow and melancholic to some solid hard rock. Bellamy has a one of a kind voice as well, let's dive in and see what Muse is all about! 

The album kicks off with "Sunburn" and Bellamy plays some pretty sweet piano right from the get-go. This sweet piano drives the whole song and Bellamy sings nicely overtop in a high voice and as he can only do he holds some long notes and can go pretty high when he goes full falsetto. Wolstenholme adds some nice bass to the chorus and after a couple rounds Bellamy even delivers a pretty epic guitar solo! He wraps up the song with some new piano that is just as awesome as the main riff and this was one hell of a introduction to Muse, I really liked this one! Up next is "Muscle Museum" and Wolstenholme plays a simple but catchy bass riff, Howard adds a nice drum beat and Bellamy plays some offbeat and pretty cool guitar overtop that all combines for a nice, smooth main riff. Bellamy sounds great singing overtop, and he just has such a nice voice, he sounds great pretty much all the time, but he matches the mood well on this one, especially in the louder, harder chorus where Bellamy holds some nice long notes, and hits some super high other notes. The guitar in the chorus is pretty good as well and after the second chorus he Bellamy segues nicely into another pretty epic guitar solo that takes us to the end of the track. Another pretty cool song! Track 3 is "Fillip" and eventually they kick into a nice fast-paced riff with some cool guitar. Bellamy leads a solid hard rock verse and chorus and after a couple rounds things slow right down as Bellamy plays some epic piano in the background of a space-y new riff and he sings great in his high falsetto as well. They also ramp nicely out of this slow part back into the fast main riff and these three guys seem perfectly in tune with each other and this makes another pretty cool tune! The next track is "Falling Down" and it has a super slow pace, but Howard plays some nice light drums and Bellamy plays some solid slow guitar to lead the way. His verse matches the slow mood perfectly and Bellamy does a great job at singing in a bit of a hushed voice but still sounding great as he holds lots of long notes. Bellamy adds some nice piano to the second verse and his voice is easily the highlight of this one as he hits all kinds of crazy and long notes with his wonderful voice. For a slow song, it really was quite good! Track 5 is "Cave" and Bellamy kicks it off with a pretty catchy main guitar riff, Wolstenholme plays some fittingly catchy and cool bass and Howard plays some solid drums to complete this nice rockin' riff. Bellamy sounds great as usual in the verse and the chorus sounds pretty good as well as my head keeps bangin'. After the next round the mood quiets and Bellamy plays some cool piano that nicely sets the stage for a loud and epic finish to this one. Nothing even resembling a weak song yet! Up next is the title track "Showbiz" and it starts quiet but they nicely build things up as the song progresses. The whole first verse and chorus is pretty mellow but things start ramping up in the second verse and are full rock out by the second chorus with some pretty cool guitar by Bellamy. There's a decent guitar solo that fits the mood pretty perfectly before Bellamy oohs and ahhs nicely overtop as they close things out, finishing with one hell of a high note. Track 7 is "Unintended" and it's pretty much all Bellamy as he leads the way with a light but decent guitar riff and he masterfully sings overtop in his amazing voice. I still like this slow, sappy song less than the harder rock ones, but where a lot of bands fall flat with their ballads, Bellamy can carry things by himself with his beautiful voice and it's still a solid tune even though it might be the album's weakest yet. The next track is "Uno" and the guitars are turned up again as we hear a distorted and cool intro before they settle into a nice main riff with some pretty cool bass by Wolstenholme and some great lead guitar by Bellamy as well. Things quiet down for the verse as Bellamy takes over with some smooth vocals but the bass is still pretty cool and the nice heavier part turns out to be a cool chorus riff. The quiet-to-loud dynamic sounds great on this song and both parts are pretty good, making this another pretty good song! Track 9 is "Sober" and it's got a nice upbeat main riff that is pretty catchy and Bellamy sounds good as usual holding some long notes. The chorus riff is pretty sweet with some cool guitar and bass and Bellamy sings the whole thing in a very high falsetto. The middle section is hard to describe in words but Bellamy plays a crazy distorted guitar that sounds really cool and the way everything else nicely comes in and out makes this part pretty sweet. They finish it off with a nice final chorus and this one was a real banger! Up next is "Escape" and it's a much slower song with Howard playing the lightest drum beat and Bellamy playing some slow, light guitars along with some pretty good layered vocals so we hear several Matthew's. All of a sudden they snap into a nice heavier riff and this continues for most of the song with Bellamy playing some nice guitar and sounding pretty awesome leading the way on vocals. I love how this great riff came out of nowhere and they nicely segue back to the quiet opening part to finish things off. Track 11 is "Overdue" and it's got a pretty good rockin' opening, but things settle down for a quieter but still cool verse. The loud guitars return as they head towards the chorus and things sound pretty good there as well before they hit reset and do it all again. They jam out the chorus a few too many times but it's a short and still decent song. The album wraps up with "Hate This & I'll Love You" and Bellamy plays some cool keyboards, then adds some light guitar and some nice singing overtop before the rhythm section falls in to complete this interesting main riff. The chorus is louder and pretty good as well and Bellamy hits some super high notes and hits that falsetto with such ease. The chill vibe continues in a nice long instrumental part that isn't flashy but sounds solid until Bellamy returns with more super high notes and he closes the song out with some cool final piano.

That is the end of "Showbiz" and I thought it was a pretty fantastic debut album by this British trio. Even their weakest sing was still solid and most of the album is well above average, mostly thanks to Matthew Bellamy. There is some cool bass for sure and the drumming is good, but it's the guitars, keyboards, and especially the phenomenal vocals of Matthew Bellamy that make Muse such a unique and interesting draw. I can't wait to hear more from Muse in the future, what a debut!