"Psycho"
Promotional single by Muse
from the album Drones
A-side"Dead Inside"
Released12 March 2015
StudioThe Warehouse Studio, Vancouver, British Columbia[1]
Genre
Length
  • 5:16 (album version)
  • 5:29 (radio edit)
Label
Songwriter(s)Matthew Bellamy
Producer(s)
Music video
"Psycho" on YouTube

"Psycho" is a song by the English rock band Muse from their seventh studio album Drones, released on 12 March 2015 as a promotional single and the first from the album.[2] It was later featured as the B-side to the official lead single later that month, "Dead Inside".

Composition

Critics have described "Psycho" as a hard rock[3] and glam rock[4] song with elements of nu metal.[5] The song's main riff has been "in and out of [the band's] live set" for quite some time, and the song was described by the NME as "sixteen years in the making."[6] The infamous "0305030 03055" riff, as known by its place in the live-outro to "Stockholm Syndrome", where its name comes from how it is viewed on tabbed-sheet music.

The song wanted to sample audio from the movie Full Metal Jacket, but they weren't able to get permission, so the military drill heard in the song is a reproduction.[7]

Replying to a fan question on his Twitter account, Matthew Bellamy referred to the song's explicit lyrics as "too offensive for radio".[8] Zach Dionne of Fuse said that the song's guitars recall Marilyn Manson's "'90s goth-stompers" like "The Beautiful People".[5]

Release

On 28 February 2015, Matthew Bellamy announced the track on his Twitter account, along with a link to an article about brainwashing later confirmed to be related to the album's narrative.[9] On 8 March 2015, Muse uploaded a short clip of them mixing the track on their Instagram account.[10] Four days later, "Psycho" was released as a preorder bonus track along with the album announcement.[11] On the same day, a lyric video for the song was released on the band's official YouTube channel.[2]

Critical reception

In their review of the song, music magazine NME described the song as a "back-to-basics," "raw, sleaze-slathered" track featuring "sharp-toothed riffs." The magazine praised the song's directness. Referring to comments made by the band prior to the album's recording, they said that "Bellamy had talked about wanting to 'strip back' on 'Drones' as they finished 'The 2nd Law', their bombastic, dubstep-womp-addled sixth album," concluding that "by Muse's standards, 'Psycho' achieves that: for the first time in 11 years, the track sounds like three men in a room, bashing thunderously at their instruments, wringing the most eviscerating noise they can from them, as opposed to the out-of-this-world force of recent albums. Gone is the otherworldly science-fiction grandeur we've come to expect from the trio. In its place, is something a little more human, and grounded in reality. ... Muse appear to be re-emerging a tauter, more direct and fury-fuelled band than on their last few albums."[6]

Praising Bellamy's vocal delivery, the review also detected "a malevolence ... not seen from him in forever." Referring to the song's lyrics in comparison to the band's previous albums, the review likened the track's content to the music: "the anger's more direct than ever. No space lizard allegories. No space-age philosophising or profound eco warnings ... In their place: an expletive-laden, no-bullshit desert-rock firecracker about the maddening nature of modern society." Speculating about the track's connection to Bellamy's personal life, the review suggested that "the snarl he wraps around lyrics like 'love, it will get you nowhere,' meanwhile, will no doubt have some fans wondering how his breakup with partner Kate Hudson might have impacted his psyche while making this record."[6]

Lyric video

As confirmed by the band's video director Tom Kirk on his Twitter account, the visual concept of the lyric video for the song is influenced by Brice Frillici's SEKDEK project.[12]

In their review of the song, NME described the lyric video as "packed with drill sergeants screaming into the screen, urging you to become a militarized 'killing machine', as the band perform in darkness", "hammer[ing] home [the track's political] bluntness".[6]

Track listing

CD single[13]
No.TitleLength
1."Dead Inside"4:23
2."Psycho"5:28

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2015) Peak
Position
Australia (ARIA)[14] 44
Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40)[15] 56
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[16] 38
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[17] 10
Finland Digital Songs (Billboard)[18] 10
France (SNEP)[19] 13
Ireland (IRMA)[20] 78
Italy (FIMI)[21] 70
Mexico Ingles Airplay (Billboard)[22] 20
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] 58
Scotland (Official Charts Company)[24] 33
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[25] 25
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[26] 13
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[27] 55
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[28] 18

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Italy (FIMI)[29] Gold 25,000‡
United Kingdom (BPI)[30] Silver 200,000‡

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Muse are finished with the first session of the new album!". Matter of Sound. 19 October 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Muse - Psycho [Official Lyric Video]". YouTube. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  3. ↑ Hawk, Jesse (18 March 2015). "TRACK REVIEW: "Psycho" by Muse". B-Sides.tv. Retrieved 12 April 2015. The vocals sound eerily familiar in the bulk of the song when compared to previous hits, such as Uprising (possibly the bands biggest hit, and most well-renowned song); however, the instrumentals on this track are of a heavier rock sound than Muse has gone to before.
  4. ↑ Beaumont, Mark (27 May 2015). "NME Reviews – Muse – 'Drones'". NME. Retrieved 27 May 2015.
  5. 1 2 Dionne, Zach (8 June 2015). "Muse's Muses: 9 of the British Band's Funky, Heavy, Wacky Influences". Fuse. Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Muse 'Psycho' Track Review: Matt Bellamy And Co Supercharge A 16-Year-Old Riff For Back-To-Basics New Sound". NME. 12 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  7. ↑ "Muse Wiki". Retrieved 17 June 2023.
  8. ↑ "Matthew Bellamy Tweet". Twitter. 2 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  9. ↑ "Matthew Bellamy Tweet". Twitter. 28 February 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  10. ↑ "Muse Instagram Video". Instagram. 8 March 2015. Archived from the original on 24 December 2021. Retrieved 24 February 2015.
  11. ↑ "iTunes accidentally reveal new Muse album pre-order info". NME. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  12. ↑ "Tom Kirk Tweet". Twitter. 13 March 2015. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  13. ↑ Dead Inside / Psycho (Explicit) Single
  14. ↑ "Muse – Psycho". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  15. ↑ "Muse – Psycho" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
  16. ↑ "Muse – Psycho" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  17. ↑ "Muse – Psycho" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  18. ↑ "Finland Digital Songs : Mar 28, 2015". Billboard biz. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  19. ↑ "Muse – Psycho" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  20. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Muse". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
  21. ↑ "Top Singoli – Classifica settimanale WK 11 (dal 2015-03-09 al 2015-03-15)" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
  22. ↑ "Mexico Ingles Airplay : Mar 28, 2015". Billboard biz. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  23. ↑ "Muse – Psycho" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved March 21, 2015.
  24. ↑ "15 March 2015". Scottish Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  25. ↑ "Muse – Madness" Canciones Top 50.
  26. ↑ "Muse – Psycho". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  27. ↑ "15 March 2015". UK Singles Chart. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  28. ↑ "Muse Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 21 March 2015.
  29. ↑ "Italian single certifications – Muse – Psycho" (in Italian). Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana. Retrieved 13 November 2017.
  30. ↑ "British single certifications – Muse – Psycho". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 18 June 2019.
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