Aftermath (Muse song)

2016 single by Muse

"Aftermath"

Single by Muse
from the album  Drones
Released| 11 March 2016
Recorded| 2014
Studio| The Warehouse Studio
(Vancouver, British Columbia)[1]
Genre|

* Progressive rock[2]

Length| 5:48
Label|

* Warner Bros.
* Helium-3

Songwriter(s)| Matthew Bellamy
Producer(s)|

* Robert John "Mutt" Lange
* Muse

Muse singles chronology
| "Revolt"
(2015)  | "Aftermath"
(2016)  | "Reapers"
(2016)

|
|

Music video
"Aftermath" on YouTube

"Aftermath" is a ballad song by English rock band Muse from their seventh album, Drones. It was released as the fourth single from the album on 11 March 2016.

## Background

[edit]

The song is part of a concept album about "the journey of a human, from their abandonment and loss of hope, to their indoctrination by the system to be a human drone, to their eventual defection from their oppressors".[3]

According to Matt Bellamy, this is one of the two songs that talk about love; in 'Aftermath' the protagonist finds love again. The song is said to be the opposite of Dead Inside.[4]

The song has never been performed live and is to date the band's only single release never to have done so.

## Recording

[edit]

While producer Mutt Lange had some input on the arrangement of various songs, this is the only song on the album on which the band allowed him to directly influence the songwriting. In a Radio X interview with the band, Bellamy stated that it was "the first time ever we let somebody sort of say things like 'try playing this note or try playing that note' and I'll go like 'yeah, right'. Normally I'd say like 'sorry, that's not what you do, I do that'". Describing "Aftermath" as "one of the few times I allowed a producer to have some say over a song", this approach was the result of Bellamy's respect for Lange's work with ballads, as he himself stated to not "really know the ballad world". In the same interview, Bellamy revealed that the song started off as a bluesy track before the band allowed Lange to take it into a more "progressive, spacey" and balladesque direction. While sounding "like an 80s ballad", the band consider "Aftermath" "the most experimental moment on the album". According to Bellamy, this was also the song on which the producer "showed his true colors" during recording, telling him to “just jam it up, man, just play it heavy, go for it” and after recording further expressing his approval by adding “listen boys, this is the song".[5]

## Song description

[edit]

NME described the song as an "after-the-battle singalong in the vein of Rod Stewart's version of the Sutherland Brothers' 'Sailing' or, oh yes, Dire Straits' 'Brothers in Arms'".[2]

Bellamy wrote the song after watching the film Fury starring Brad Pitt, being inspired by a particular scene in the movie: “There's a bit in the middle where they go into the apartment, there’s a couple of girls there and you think it’s going to get wrong, things are going to go dark side but they end up having this lovely moment”.[5]

The song starts off with the sound of wind, soon joined by violins and synths. Guitars then make up a Hendrix-style ballad.[6] Later on in the song bass and drums join into the slow rhythm and the song stays quite soft until an all-together ending.

## Music video

[edit]

The music video is directed by Japanese comedian and animator Tekken, who has also previously worked on the music videos of "Exogenesis: Symphony Part 3 (Redemption)" and "Follow Me".[7]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "MUSE ARE FINISH WITH THE FIRST SESSION OF THE NEW ALBUM!". Matter of Sound. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
2. ^ a b Beaumont, Mark (27 May 2015). "NME Reviews - Muse - 'Drones'". NME. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
3. ^ Morris, Andy; Trendell, Andrew (11 March 2015). "Muse announce Drones album and UK Psycho Tour". Gigwise. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
4. ^ "Matt Bellamy, Muse: 'Dead Inside' is about "losing the idea of love"". soundcloud.com.
5. ^ a b Kennedy, John. "INTERVIEW: Muse on their new album, Drones". Radio X. Archived from the original on 2016-04-09. Retrieved 2016-06-03.
6. ^ "Kiosque L'édition du soir Reader". ouest-france.fr.
7. ^ "WATCH: Muse's New Animated Aftermath Video Will Move You To Tears". Radio X. 12 May 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2019.

* v
* t
* e

Muse

* Matt Bellamy
* Chris Wolstenholme
* Dominic Howard

Touring members: Morgan Nicholls (2004, 2006–2022), Daniel Newell (2006–2008), Alessandro Cortini (2009), Dan Lancaster (2022–present)

Studio albums|

* Showbiz
* Origin of Symmetry
* Absolution
* Black Holes and Revelations
* The Resistance
* The 2nd Law
* Drones
* Simulation Theory
* Will of the People

Live albums|

* Hullabaloo Soundtrack
* HAARP
* Live at Rome Olympic Stadium

Extended plays|

* Muse
* Muscle Museum
* Random 1–8

Box sets|

* Origin of Muse

Videos|

* Hullabaloo: Live at Le Zenith, Paris
* Absolution Tour
* HAARP
* Live at Rome Olympic Stadium
* Muse: Drones World Tour
* Muse – Simulation Theory

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"
* "Uprising"
* "Undisclosed Desires"
* "Resistance"
* "Exogenesis: Symphony"
* "Neutron Star Collision (Love Is Forever)"
* "Survival"
* "Madness"
* "Follow Me"
* "Supremacy"
* "Panic Station"
* "Dead Inside"
* "Mercy"
* "Revolt"
* "Aftermath"
* "Reapers"
* "Dig Down"
* "Thought Contagion"
* "Something Human"
* "The Dark Side"
* "Pressure"
* "Won't Stand Down"
* "Compliance"
* "Will of the People"
* "Kill or Be Killed"
* "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween"
* "Ghosts (How Can I Move On)"
* "Unravelling"

Other songs|

* "Citizen Erased"
* "Who Knows Who"
* "United States of Eurasia"
* "The 2nd Law: Unsustainable"
* "Animals"
* "Psycho"
* "The Globalist"
* "Algorithm"

Concert tours|

* Black Holes and Revelations Tour
* A Seaside Rendezvous
* The Resistance Tour
* The 2nd Law World Tour
* Drones World Tour
* Simulation Theory World Tour
* Will of the People World Tour

Related articles|

* Discography
* Awards and nominations
* Songs
* Cryosleep

* Category

Authority control databases |

* MusicBrainz release group

|

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