Absolution (album)

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Absolution
Studio album by Muse
Released	September 28, 2003 (AU) September 29, 2003 (UK) March 23, 2004 (U.S.)
Recorded	2003
Genre	Alternative Rock Progressive Rock
Length	57:13
Label	Mushroom 5046685872 (UK) 5046751112 (AU re-release)
Producer(s)	Rich Costey, John Cornfield, Muse, Paul Reeve
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link CokeMachineGlow (66%) link musicOMH.com (Positive) link Drowned In Sound (10/10) link NME (9/10) link Q Magazine (Oct. 2003, p.109) The Guardian link Rolling Stone link
Muse chronology
Hullabaloo Soundtrack (2002)	Absolution (2003)	Black Holes and Revelations (2006)

Absolution is the third studio album by English rock band Muse. It was released on September 29, 2003 in the UK and almost six months later on March 23, 2004 in the U.S. by Taste Music Limited. The album yielded the band its first big American hit in "Time Is Running Out".

Unlike previous albums, the recording and release of Absolution was not subject to constraining schedules, allowing the band to take as much time as they felt necessary to refine and alter their songs.

The album debuted at No. 1 in the UK charts, and soon after, reached No. 1 in French charts. Within weeks of release it reached the top 5 in twelve countries, the top 10 in fifteen countries and the top 20 in twenty countries. The album reached #107 in the United States. Due to the long delay between the UK version and U.S. version releases, Absolution remained popular in charts for an unusually long time, and saw the release of 5 singles (and 1 charity special download "Apocalypse Please"). Absolution sold 71,597 in its first week in the UK and has gone on to sell over 600,000 (in the UK), making it double platinum. It has also gone platinum in Europe as of April 2005 with sales over 1,000,000 in the continent. The album has sold 513,000 in the United States as of April 2007 making it Muse's first album to go gold there.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Limited edition UK bonus DVD 1.2 Australian bonus disc 2 Personnel 3 Singles 4 Charts 4.1 Album 4.2 Singles

[edit] Track listing

All lyrics written by Matthew Bellamy, All music written by Matthew Bellamy, Dominic Howard, and Chris Wolstenholme, except where noted.

1. "Intro" – 0:22
2. "Apocalypse Please" – 4:12
3. "Time Is Running Out" – 3:56
4. "Sing for Absolution" – 4:54
5. "Stockholm Syndrome" – 4:58
6. "Falling Away with You" – 4:40
7. "Interlude" – 0:37
8. "Hysteria" (Bellamy/Wolstenholme) – 3:47
9. "Blackout" – 4:22
10. "Butterflies and Hurricanes" – 5:01
11. "The Small Print" – 3:28
12. "Fury" (Japan Bonus Track) – 5:02
13. "Endlessly" – 3:49
14. "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" – 3:11
15. "Ruled by Secrecy" – 4:54

Initial copies of the CD featured inlay errors, where the songs "Interlude" and "Hysteria" switched places on the track listing.

[edit] Limited edition UK bonus DVD

1. "The Making of Absolution" documentary

[edit] Australian bonus disc

1. "Stockholm Syndrome" – 7:14
2. "New Born" – 6:11
3. "Muscle Museum" – 4:18
4. "Hysteria" – 4:14
5. "Bliss" – 4:01
6. "Time Is Running Out" – 4:06

This bonus CD is entirely composed of live versions, recorded at the Big Day Out in Sydney, January 23, 2004 for Australian radio station Triple J and broadcasted in the radio show "Live at the Wireless".

[edit] Personnel

• Matthew Bellamy – lead vocals, guitars, piano, synthesizers
• Chris Wolstenholme – backing vocals, bass guitar, synthesizers on "Hysteria"
• Dominic Howard – drums, percussion
• Paul Reeve – backing vocals, vocal samples

[edit] Singles

• "Stockholm Syndrome"
• "Time Is Running Out"
• "Hysteria"
• "Sing for Absolution"
• "Apocalypse Please"
• "Butterflies and Hurricanes"

[edit] Charts

[edit] Album

Year	Chart	Position
2003	UK Albums Chart	1
2004	Top Heatseekers	1
2005	The Billboard 200	107

[edit] Singles

Year	Single	Chart	Position
2003	"Stockholm Syndrome"	UK Downloads Chart	31
2003	"Time Is Running Out"	UK Singles Chart	8
2003	"Hysteria"	UK Singles Chart	17
2004	"Sing for Absolution"	UK Singles Chart	16
2004	"Apocalypse Please"	UK Downloads Chart	10
2004	"Butterflies and Hurricanes"	UK Singles Chart	14
2004	"Time Is Running Out"	Modern Rock Tracks	9
2005	"Hysteria"	Modern Rock Tracks	9
2005	"Stockholm Syndrome"	Modern Rock Tracks	31

Muse
Dominic Howard | Matthew Bellamy | Chris Wolstenholme
Discography
Studio albums: Showbiz | Origin of Symmetry | Absolution | Black Holes and Revelations
Compilations: Hullabaloo Soundtrack
Live DVDs: Hullabaloo Soundtrack | Absolution Tour
Extended plays: This Is A Muse Demo | Muse | Muscle Museum EP | Random 1-8 (Japan only) | Dead Star/In Your World (Japan & France only)
Singles: Uno | Cave | Muscle Museum | Sunburn | Unintended | Plug In Baby | New Born | Bliss | Hyper Music/Feeling Good | Dead Star/In Your World | Stockholm Syndrome | Time Is Running Out | Hysteria | Sing for Absolution | Apocalypse Please | Butterflies and Hurricanes | Supermassive Black Hole | Starlight | Knights of Cydonia | Invincible | Map of the Problematique
Production
John Leckie | Rich Costey | Paul Reeve
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