The 2nd Law

This article is about the Muse album. For the rule of energy transfers upon which this album is based, see Second law of thermodynamics. For other theoretical laws, see Second law.

Datei:The 2nd Law deluxe.jpg

The muse.mu limited edition box set of The 2nd Law, including a CD, DVD, double vinyl, and 3 posters.

The 2nd Law is the sixth studio album by English alternative rock band Muse, which was released throughout most of the world on 28 September 2012, and in North America on 2 October 2012.

Background and development

Muse entered the studio to begin recording their sixth studio album in September 2011, which bassist Christopher Wolstenholme later confirmed in an interview with BBC Radio 1, stating: "September and October, that's when we're going to get into the studio to start writing the new album." In an interview with Billboard on 18 October 2011, the band's manager Anthony Addis revealed that Muse had begun recording their sixth album in London and that he expected it to be released by October 2012. Bellamy jokingly described the album as a "christian gangsta rap jazz odyssey, with some ambient rebellious dubstep and face-melting metal flamenco cowboy psychedelia" on his Twitter account.

In an interview with Kerrang! on 14 December 2011, Wolstenholme stated that the next Muse album would be "something radically different" from their prior releases. He also said that it felt as if the band were "drawing a line under a certain period" of their career with their sixth album. In another interview Chris mentioned that the band had experimented with music and sounds in particular, which makes this album their most experimental piece ever. It was revealed via Muse's publicist Tom Kirk on his Twitter account that composer David Campbell who had worked with acts such as Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Evanescence, Avril Lavigne, Beck and Adele was helping Matt Bellamy compose the album. In an interview in the April 2012 issue of NME, Bellamy said that the band were set to include elements of electronic music, with influences coming from acts such as French house duo Justice and UK electronic rock group Does It Offend You, Yeah?, as well as the inclusion of brass players.

The name "The 2nd Law" references the Second law of thermodynamics, which is quoted in the track "Unsustainable" as follows:

All natural and technological processes proceed in such a way that the availability of the remaining energy decreases. In all energy exchanges, if no energy enters or leaves an isolated system, the entropy of that system increases. Energy continuously flows from being concentrated, to becoming dispersed, spread out, wasted, and useless. New energy cannot be created and high-grade energy is being destroyed.

Writing and composition

"Madness", according to NME, features influences which draw from Queen's "I Want to Break Free" and David Bowie's Scary Monsters and Super Creeps album. Frontman Matt Bellamy has stated that dubstep producer Skrillex was an influence when writing one of the final two tracks on the album – "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable". He also stated that the song "Follow Me" was written about his newborn son, Bingham Bellamy. "Panic Station" features musicians who performed on Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and includes funk rock influences. Bassist Chris Wolstenholme wrote two songs for the album about his battle with alcoholism – "Save Me" and "Liquid State" – and provided lead vocals on both tracks. "Explorers" has been described by Matt Bellamy as "The sound of Meat Loaf and Louis Armstrong making a post-metal track."Vorlage:Fact In a recent interview, Muse reported Nero is helping on the track "Follow Me".Vorlage:Fact

The album marks the first time Muse have received a Parental Advisory label on an album with the inclusion of explicit lyrics in the song "Panic Station".

Release and promotion

On 6 June 2012, Muse released a trailer for their next album, The 2nd Law, with a countdown on the band's website suggesting a 17 September release date. The trailer, which included dubstep elements, was met with mixed reactions from fans. On 9 August, Muse made the album track "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable" available to fans who pre-ordered the album from their online store, and then uploaded the video for the track onto their YouTube channel on 10 August.

The album's cover art, taken from the Human Connectome Project, represents the map of the human brain's pathways, "tracking the circuits in our heads and how we process information with bright, neon colors." The artwork was subsequently utilized by Muse in a social Connectome Project on 21 September 2012. As more fans joined the online project, the album art was built, representing the network of the neurons within the brain. As the album art branched and more fans joined the network, incremental segments of the album track "The 2nd Law: Isolated System" was released.

On 24 September, the album was made available online through official streams in many international markets.

Singles

One of the tracks from the album, "Survival", was the official song of the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The single premièred on BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe show on 27 June along with a prelude.

"Madness" was revealed as the second single by Muse in an interview with NME magazine. Muse announced on their website that "Madness" would be released worldwide on 20 August. It was also announced that the album would be delayed from its initial release date of 17 September to 1 October 2012. On 20 August, it was announced that the song "Madness" would premiere on BBC Radio 1 at 19:30, but the track was leaked online beforehand.

"Panic Station" was announced as the third single from the album on 24 September on XFM, also receiving its first radio play.

Tour

On 7 June 2012, Muse announced a European Arena tour; the first leg of The 2nd Law Tour. The leg included dates in France, Ireland, Spain, Finland and the United Kingdom as well as other countries.

Reception

The 2nd Law received favorable reviews from music critics. On Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 71 based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews." The Guardians Alexis Petridis rated the album four out of five stars, complimenting the band's ambition but finding fault with the album's bombastic tendencies which were also present on their previous albums, stating "no one goes to see a blockbuster for its profundity and deep characterisation. They go for the stunts and the special effects, both of which The 2nd Law delivers." BBC music critic Ian Winwood also gave the album a positive review, highlighting "Supremacy", "Liquid State" and "The 2nd Law: Isolated System", saying that Muse "present themselves in any guise they please". The Telegraphs Helen Brown rated the album four out of five stars, noting the album's eclectic influences and reserving praise for "Madness" in particular. The Observers reviewer also alluded to Muse's bombastic tendencies, saying "Bellamy is not blind to the contradictions of his band's attempts continually to ramp the ludicrousness up to 11; endless growth is, of course, unsustainable. But for now they remain pretty comfortable with the idea of obscene over-inflation. So should we."

The album has been criticized by numerous publications for being too much of a departure from the band's typical rock style and embracing far too many genres and influences. Allmusic rated the album three out of five stars, noting "their excursions into dubstep and dance music on tracks like "Madness" and "Follow Me" feel more like remixes than original songs. Songs like these definitely have the spine of Muse tracks, but the production that's built up around them feels almost alien." Kyle Anderson of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a grade of C+, claiming that "the band goes overboard with Queen-isms" and expressing disappointment at the lack of electronic music elements compared to the band's expectations that the album would be a departure from previous releases.

Personnel

Muse

• Matthew Bellamy – vocals, guitars, keyboards, synthesizers, orchestral arrangements, production, additional mixing (track 6)
• Christopher Wolstenholme – bass, synthesizers, backing vocals, lead vocals (tracks 10 and 11), production
• Dominic Howard – drums, percussion, synthesizers, production

Production personnel

• Tommaso Colliva – additional production, engineering, mixing (track 4)
• Adrian Bushby – additional production, engineering
• Paul Reeve – additional vocal production (tracks 10 and 11)
• Nero – additional production and mixing (track 6)
• Chris Lord-Alge – mixing (tracks 1, 5, 7, 9 and 12)
• Mark Stent – mixing (tracks 2, 8 and 10)
• Rich Costey – mixing (tracks 3, 11 and 13)

Vorlage:Col-2

• Alessandro Cortini – additional synthesizer engineering
• Brendan Dekora – engineering assistance
• Olga Fitzroy – engineering assistance
• Sean Oakley – engineering assistance
• Tom Bailey – engineering assistance
• Ted Jensen – mastering

Additional personnel

• David Campbell – conducting
• Gavin Bond – photography

Charts

Chart (2012)	Peak position
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)	1
Belgian Albums Chart (Wallonia)	1
Irish Albums Chart	2
UK Albums Chart	1

Release history

Country	Date	Format	Label
Australia	28 September 2012	Standard, deluxe, box set, 2 LP	Warner Music
Austria
Belgium
Germany
Finland
Netherlands
Switzerland
Ireland
United Kingdom			Helium 3
Italy	2 October 2012		Warner Music
Canada		Standard, deluxe, 2 LP	Warner Bros.
United States
Sweden	3 October 2012	Standard, deluxe, box set, 2 LP	Warner Music
Japan		Standard, deluxe, box set

See also

• The 2nd Law Tour
• Second law of thermodynamics