Grammy Award and Brit Award winners Muse dropped their new album Will Of The People today. Will Of The People arrives accompanied by a horror-themed video for the single You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween.

The song’s pulsating electro-rock and ominous John Carpenter-esque synths are complemented by a suitably spooky video courtesy of director Tom Teller. The video plays with visual references to many classic horror movies, including The Shining, Friday The 13th, Scream It, Poltergeist, Christine, The Running Man, Carrie and Nightmares In The Sky.

Muse - You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween

The album has emerged to widespread critical acclaim for its audacious ambition and reflection of a world in flux. Entirely self-produced by Muse, the 10-track Will of the People album has been previewed by Won’t Stand Down, Compliance, Will Of The People and Kill Or Be Killed. 

Matt Bellamy shared some insight into the artistic intention that drove Will Of The People into existence.

'''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 destabilization 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.”

Muse - Will Of The People

Matching the excellence and versatility of these already released songs, Liberation echoes glam rock in the age of disinformation, while there is an innocence and a purity to the nostalgic electronic textures of Verona. Aside from the haunting piano ballad Ghosts (How Can I Move On), the band’s frenetic energy is palpable with the lightning-bolt rush of Euphoria, while We Are Fucking Fucked brings the curtain down with loud/quiet/loud dynamics and a final burst of insanity.

Muse - Compliance

The record is being released on a variety of formats, one of which is an NFT. That NFT offering is the first album to ever be considered eligible for official charts in Australia and England.  The NFT offering of Will Of The People is available via cryptocurrency firm, Serenade, and will be limited to 1000 copies. Those who secure themselves a copy of the Will Of The People NFT-edition will receive a download of the record, with excusive sleeve art in high-resolution FLAC file format. It will also be digitally signed by Muse and every buyers name will be listen on a permanent roster of purchasers.  

Serenade’s founder, Max Shand, describes the Muse release as “the black T-shirt of NFTs." “What a fan wants is something simple and understandable but that gives them a sense of proximity to an artist and a sense of recognition from other fans.”

While most other NFTs require the purchaser to own a digital wallet, this offering from Muse and Serenade will not require it, as Serenade will create and issue a digital wallet on the purchasers behalf following purchase. If the purchaser already has a digital wallet, they are welcome to use it to purchase via that. 

Speaking to The Guardian, Sebastian Simone the vice president of audience and strategy at Warner Records UK, shared his thoughts on the forward-thinking offering 

"The band have always been at the forefront of technological innovation in their creativity and artistry.” "We wanted to keep it more about the product than about the ancillary experience."

Simone also clarified that it wasn't about trying to impact the chart, but rather giving people more purchasing options and increasing familiarity with the concept. 

 “If you want to make an impact on the chart, there are definitely ways to do that.” "With Muse it’s actually not essential as they are [already] on tens of thousands of pre-orders. We anticipate the No 1 spot to be very clear that week.” "“It will become more widely adopted. "This is going to be the beginning of the door opening."

Muse - Kill Or Be Killed

Will Of The People 

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

 

Will Of The People is now available to purchase HERE in variety of innovative formats.

Listen to Will Of The People