Muse are an English rock band from Teignmouth, Devon, which formed in 1994. The band consists of school friends Matthew Bellamy (lead vocals, lead guitar, piano, keyboards, keytar), Christopher Wolstenholme (bass, vocals, keyboards, rhythm guitar, harmonica) and Dominic Howard (drums, percussion, synthesisers, sampling).
Since the release of their 2006 album Black Holes and Revelations, keyboardist and percussionist Morgan Nicholls has performed live with the band. Muse are known for their energetic and extravagant live performances[2][3] and their fusion of many music genres, including space rock, progressive rock, alternative rock, heavy metal, classical music and electronica.[4]
Muse have released six studio albums: Showbiz (1999), Origin of Symmetry (2001), Absolution (2003), Black Holes and Revelations (2006), The Resistance (2009) and The 2nd Law (2012). They have also issued three live albums, Hullabaloo Soundtrack (2002), which is also a compilation of B-sides, Absolution Tour (2005), and HAARP (2008), which documents the band's performances at Wembley Stadium in 2007.[5]
Black Holes and Revelations earned the band a Mercury Prize nomination and a third place finish in the NME Albums of the Year list for 2006.[6] Muse have also won a collection of music awards throughout their history, including five MTV Europe Music Awards, six Q Awards, eight NME Awards, two Brit AwardsΓÇöwinning "Best British Live Act" twice, an MTV Video Music Award, four Kerrang! Awards and an American Music Award. They were also nominated for five Grammy Awards,[7] of which they won Best Rock Album, for their fifth studio album The Resistance (2009).[8] Muse have sold over 15 million albums worldwide.[9]