As far as landmark albums go, they don’t come much bigger than Absolution. Dismissed initially as Radiohead copyists, this was the record that blasted Muse into the stadium-slaying stratosphere, earning them their first No.1 album and a triumphant but also tragic headline slot at Glastonbury after drummer Dominic Howard’s dad died hours after their performance.
Recorded in a post-9/11 world while an (illegal) war in Iraq was kicking off, Absolution saw Muse get angry as they marched into the 21st century armed with dark anthems fuelled by fear and paranoia. Whether it was the end of the world (Apocalypse Please) or tales of abduction (Stockholm Syndrome) frontman Matt Bellamy sang about, it didn’t matter.
