Muse have released a new single, Compliance, and shared details of their upcoming ninth album, Will Of The People.
The 10-track album, the follow-up to the Devon trio's 2018 set Simulation Theory, is set to emerge on August 26 via Warner Records. The album's first single, Won't Stand Down, was released in January.
Revealing the themes explored on the group's synth-driven new single, frontman Matt Bellamy says, "Compliance is about submission to authoritarian rules and reassuring untruths to be accepted to an in-group. Gangs, governments, demagogues, social media algorithms & religions seduce us during times of vulnerability, creating arbitrary rules and distorted ideas for us to comply with. They sell us comforting myths, telling us only they can explain reality while simultaneously diminishing our freedom, autonomy and independent thought.
"We are not just coerced, we are herded, frightened and corralled to produce a daily ‘2 minutes of hate’ against an out-group of their choosing and to turn a blind eye to our own internal voice of reason & compassion. They just need our Compliance.”
Shot in Poland and directed by Jeremi Durand, the song's creepy, chilling video follows three children wearing masks destroying their future selves in order to escape a dystopian and oppressive world.
Turning his attention to the single's parent album, Bellamy says, “Will Of The People was created in Los Angeles and London and is influenced by the increasing uncertainty and instability in the world. A pandemic, new wars in Europe, massive protests & riots, an attempted insurrection, Western democracy wavering, rising authoritarianism, wildfires and natural disasters and the destabilisation of the global order all informed Will Of The People.
It has been a worrying and scary time for all of us as the Western empire and the natural world, which have cradled us for so long are genuinely threatened. This album is a personal navigation through those fears and preparation for what comes next.”
The tracklist for Will Of The People is as follows:
1. Will Of The People
2. Compliance
3. Liberation
4. Won’t Stand Down
5. Ghosts (How Can I Move On)
6. You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween
7. Kill Or Be Killed
8. Verona
9. Euphoria
10. We Are Fucking Fucked
The album is now available for pre-order.
