Matt Bellamy has spoken about the heavier influences that appear on Muse‘s recent album ‘Will Of The People’.
Speaking to Classic Rock magazine about being influenced by bands like Iron Maiden, the Muse frontman said: “Metal has always been around for us.”
“When we were growing up we were listening to bands like Iron Maiden,” he explained. “And though we connected more through Nirvana, Rage Against The Machine and the Smashing Pumpkins, we always had this love for eighties metal. Metallica were also a big one for us, but Iron Maiden were the British band and also felt a bit more punk rock in ways.
“The song ‘Phantom Of The Opera’ [from Iron Maiden’s self-titled debut album] doesn’t feel as bloated or overtly classical as other metal songs. There’s still something quite angry and scary about it. That’s why Maiden are a band we’ve always looked up to.”
Bellamy also spoke about his appreciation for Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen during the interview.
“Yngwie was one of those people I got into in the early nineties when I first started playing. Clearly back then, I thought there was a chance! After a while I realised I simply couldn’t get to where he was, and sort of veered off towards more classical and flamenco guitar styles.
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“Then I started listening to players like Hendrix and Cobain and felt: ‘You know what? I can do chaos. I can’t do this unbelievable technical precision, but what I can do is create a mess.’ So I went down the road of noise, chaos and carnage…. and little elements of the other things stayed with me.”
‘Will Of The People’ was released earlier this year and, according to Bellamy, was “a bit more about what’s actually happening in the world right now.”
Muse are set to hit the road for a 20-date North American headline tour in spring 2023, with support coming from Evanescence (tickets available here) before a summer tour of the United Kingdom, where they’ll be supported by Royal Blood. Tickets for that run of shows are available here.