Will of the People (album)

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Will of the People
File:Muse - Will of the People.png
Studio album by Muse
Released 26 August 2022 (2022-08-26)
Studio
Genre
Length 37:40
Label
Producer Muse
Muse chronology
Origin of Muse
(2019)		 Will of the People
(2022)
Singles from Will of the People (album)

Will of the People is the ninth studio album by the English rock band Muse, released through Warner Records and Helium-3 on 26 August 2022. Self-produced by the band, it is a genre-hopping album that Matthew Bellamy described as "a greatest hits album – of new songs."[1] "Won't Stand Down", "Compliance", "Will of the People", and "Kill or Be Killed" were released as singles before the album was released, and "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween" was released as a single the same day the album came out.

The album received generally positive reviews and became Muse's seventh consecutive number-one album in the UK.[2] The Will of the People World Tour began in April 2022 and is currently set to conclude in October 2023.[3][4]

Background and recording

About the origins of the album, Matthew Bellamy related that Warner Records requested a greatest hits album from Muse, but, instead, the band decided to make an album that was a "montage" of "all of those types of genres that we’ve touched on in the past" and would feel like "a greatest hits album – of new songs."[1] Warner stated that the album spans multiple genres, describing "Will of the People" as a "glam rocker" and "Kill or Be Killed" as "industrial".[5]

Bellamy said the lyrics on the album were inspired by "the increasing uncertainty and instability in the world [...] 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."[6]

The album was recorded at Bellamy's Red Room studio in Santa Monica, California,[7] as well as at Black Lodge and Abbey Road Studios in London.[8]

Promotion and release

The first snippet from the album was heard on 25 December 2021, when Bellamy briefly livestreamed himself and his 10-year-old son, Bing, listening to the song "Won't Stand Down".[9][10] About two weeks later, Muse announced the song would be released on 13 January 2022, making it their first single since "Pressure" in September 2018.[10] The second single from the album, "Compliance", was released on 17 March, alongside the announcement of the album and its release date of 26 August.[11][12]

The third single from the album was the title track, which was released on 1 June 2022.[3][13] That same month, Muse began the European festival leg of their Will of the People World Tour, on which they played all three of the new singles live, as well as a then-unreleased track from the album, "Kill or Be Killed".[14] On 21 July, "Kill or Be Killed" was released as the album's fourth single.[15][16] On 23 August, Muse announced that a fifth single from the album, "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween", would be released on 26 August, the same day as the release of the album.[17][18]

An Italian-language version of "Ghosts (How Can I Move On)" featuring Elisa was released on 25 November 2022,[19] and a French-language version featuring Mylène Farmer was released two weeks later, on 9 December.[20]

On 1 August 2022, it was announced that Will of the People could be purchased as a non-fungible token (NFT) on the "eco-friendly" Polygon-powered platform Serenade, and that it would be the first album for which NFT sales would qualify for the UK and Australian charts.[21][22] Per The Guardian: "The Muse NFT album will retail for £20 and will be limited to 1,000 copies globally. As both an NFT and a limited-edition format, it is relatively sparse in its offering. Buyers will get a downloadable version of the album – complete with different sleeve – as high-res FLAC files; the members of Muse will digitally sign it and each of the 1,000 buyers will have their names permanently listed on the linked roster of purchasers."[22]

Composition

Musically, Will of the People has been described as glam rock,[23][24] alternative rock,[25] synth-pop,[23] arena rock,[23] hard rock,[26] progressive rock,[26] progressive metal,[26] industrial metal,[24] and electropop.[24]

Critical reception

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Will of the People received generally positive reviews from critics. On Metacritic, it has a normalised score of 71 out of 100 based on 14 mainstream critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[28] Neil Z. Yeung of AllMusic stated that "While Will of the People is not as essential as their 2000s classics, it's a quick, satisfying burst of Muse essentials that cleverly forgoes the hits-compilation graveyard in favor of fresh material that honors both their evolution and dedicated fan base."[29] Emily Swingle of Clash described the album as "a sharp, punchy dose of Muse...[despite] lyrics [that] can feel uninspired."[25] Writing for Classic Rock, Mark Beaumont wrote, "Muse master the wider range of future rock and pop sonics they’ve been toying with for the past decade and refine and define their current sound as neatly as Black Holes & Revelations did for their 2000s period."[30] Emma Wilkes of DIY called the album "A smorgasbord of dystopian-flavoured cringe."[31] Andrew Belt of Gigwise writes, "Will of the People is heavy on doom-laden lyrics...Yet it also finds Muse at the top of their game — and having a ball — across ten distinctive songs."[32]

Commercial performance

In the UK, the album sold 51,500 units in its first week of release, which was enough to make it Muse's seventh consecutive album to top the UK Albums Chart.[38] In the US, with 24,000 album equivalent units, it debuted at number 15 on the Billboard 200, and number 1 on Billboard's Top Alternative Albums and Top Rock Albums charts.[39] As of January 2023, Will of the People has sold over 300,000 units worldwide.[40]

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Matthew Bellamy. 

Will of the People track listing
No. Title Length
1. "Will of the People"   3:18
2. "Compliance"   4:10
3. "Liberation"   3:06
4. "Won't Stand Down"   3:29
5. "Ghosts (How Can I Move On)"   3:36
6. "You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween"   3:00
7. "Kill or Be Killed"   5:00
8. "Verona"   4:56
9. "Euphoria"   3:23
10. "We Are Fucking Fucked"   3:36
Total length:
 37:40

Personnel

Charts

Certifications

Sales certifications for Will of the people
Region Certification Sales/shipments
France (SNEP)[77] Gold 50,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[78] Silver 60,000

xunspecified figures based on certification alone
double-daggersales/streaming figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ 22.0 22.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ 24.0 24.1 24.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ 28.0 28.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  29. ↑ 29.0 29.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ Data taken as a sum of certifications.
  41. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  42. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Muse – Will of the People" (in German). Hung Medien.
  43. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Muse – Will of the People" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  44. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Muse – Will of the People" (in French). Hung Medien.
  45. ↑ "Muse – Chart history" Billboard Canadian Albums Chart for Muse.
  46. ↑ "Czech Albums – Top 100". ČNS IFPI. Note: On the chart page, select 202235 on the field besides the word "Zobrazit", and then click over the word to retrieve the correct chart data.
  47. ↑ "Danishcharts.com – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  48. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Muse – Will of the People" (in Dutch). Hung Medien.
  49. ↑ "Muse: Will of the People" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland.
  50. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  51. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Muse – Will of the People" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts.
  52. ↑ "Top 40 album DVD és válogatáslemez-lista – 2022. 36. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ.
  53. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  54. ↑ "Oricon Top 50 Albums: 2022-09-05/p/2" (in Japanese). Oricon.
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  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ "Charts.org.nz – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  59. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  60. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLIS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry.
  61. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  62. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  63. ↑ "Spanishcharts.com – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  64. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  65. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Muse – Will of the People". Hung Medien.
  66. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  67. ↑ "Muse – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Muse.
  68. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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  76. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  77. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  78. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. Enter Will of the People in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Silver in the field By Award. Click Search
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