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Muse: Knights Of Cydonia
Would you like to know where Muse got the inspiration for their unique brand of gravity defying space-rock – of course you do, so read on. if you’ve been keeping pace with my blog this week you will recall I have entries for “Plug in Baby” and “Sunburn“… is there a bad Muse song out there?
“Knights of Cydonia”, that blasted track that I can never complete on Guitar Hero III is one of the most epic of Muse’s equally epic catalog of songs. It overflows with a power and genius that few tracks on Earth are able to match. And with Cydonia being the region on Mars famed for the “Martian Face“, some might argue that this song is from a different world. There are also the opening notes that parallel what we heard in Spielberg’s 1977 sci-fi movie, “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. This means something.
Matthew Bellamy’s (frontman of Muse) father was the rhythm guitarist of “The Tornados”, an instrumental rock group from the 1960’s. Why that random bit of knowledge, I hear you ask? Well, it’s not because there will be a quiz after you’ve read this through, it’s because The Tornados had a number one hit in 1962 on both sides of the Atlantic with the song “Telstar” (embedded below). This is important – it was the first #1 in the USA by a British group, and scouted the way for the “British Invasion”. America would never be the same again.
“Telstar” bears an uncanny familiarity with Muse’s “Knights of Cydonia”, and also explains why Muse are so instrumentally good. It is in the band’s genes. In fact, dig deeper into The Tornados catalog and you’ll come across the 1963 western-inspired song “Ridin’ the Wind” (also embedded below). Clearly, Matthew Bellamy is paying a very fitting homage to his father for leading him onto the musical path – and what better way to say thank you then with a song that cries out turn the volume up to eleven?
