Friday 27 February 2009

Black Holes & Revelations and HAARP (2006–2008)


In July 2006, Muse released their fourth album, co-produced by Muse and by Rich Costey, titled Black Holes & Revelations. The album was released officially in Japan on 28 June 2006, in Europe on 3 July 2006 and, in North America on 11 July 2006. The album charted at No. 1 in the UK, much of Europe, and Australia. It was also

a success in the United States, reaching No. 9 in the Billboard 200 album chart. Black Holes & Revelations was nominated for the 2006 Mercury Music Prize, but lost to Arctic Monkeys. The album did, however, earn a Platinum Europe Award after selling one million copies in the continent, The album's title and themes are the result of the band's fascination with science fiction and political outrage. In August 2006, Muse recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live from Abbey Road.

The first single from the album, "Supermassive Black Hole", was released as a download on 9 May 2006 and accompanied by a music video directed by Floria Sigismondi. It was later followed by general releases as a single the next month, all ahead of the main album release. The second single, "Starlight", was released on 4 September 2006. "Knights of Cydonia" was released in the U.S. as a radio-only single on 13 June 2006 and in the UK on 27 November 2006. It also had a six-minute promotional video filmed in Romania and was featured on the popular video game Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock. It was also voted number 1 in the world's largest music poll Australian Radio's Triple J Hottest 100 for 2007. The fourth single from the album, "Invincible", was then released on 9 April 2007. Another single, "Map of the Problematique", was released for digital download only on 18 June 2007, following the band's performance at Wembley Stadium.

Prior to the release of the new album, the band resumed making live performances, which had halted while recording, making a number of promotional TV appearances starting on 13 May 2006 at BBC Radio 1's One Big Weekend. The main live tour started just before the release of their album and initially consisted mostly of festival appearances, most notably a headline slot at the Reading and Leeds Festivals in August 2006. The band's main touring itinerary started with a tour of North America from late July to early August 2006. After the last of the summer festivals, a tour of Europe began, including a large arena tour of the UK. The band spent November and much of December 2006 touring Europe with British band Noisettes as the supporting act. The tour continued in Australia, New Zealand, and Southeast Asia in early 2007 before returning to England for the summer. Possibly their biggest performances to date were two gigs at the newly rebuilt Wembley Stadium on 16 June and 17 2007. Both Wembley concerts were recorded for a DVD/CD titled HAARP, which was released on the 17 March 2008[28] in the UK and 1 April 2008 in the USA. The title refers to the High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program, a scientific research program aimed at studying the properties and behaviour of the ionosphere.

The touring continued across Europe in July 2007 before heading back to the US in August where they played to a sold out crowd at Madison Square Garden, New York. They earned a headline spot on the second night of the Austin City Limits Music Festival on 15 September 2007, after The White Stripes cancelled their performance. Not long after, they also performed at the October 2007 Vegoose in Las Vegas alongside bands like Rage Against the Machine, Daft Punk, and Queens of the Stone Age. Muse continued touring in Eastern Europe, Russia, and Scandinavia before moving on to Australia and New Zealand. Muse played their final show of the Black Holes & Revelations tour as headliner of the KROQ Almost Acoustic Christmas after playing to sell-out crowds throughout Southeast Asia, Australia, the United States, and New Zealand.

A number of individual live appearances also occurred in 2008. In March, they played concerts in Dubai, Johannesburg, and Cape Town. On 12 April they played a one-off concert at the Royal Albert Hall in aid of the Teenage Cancer Trust. The band also performed at a new gig in Marlay Park, Dublin on 13 August and were set to play at a gig in Belfast on 14 August. However, the Belfast date was dismissed according to The Belfast Telegraph.[33] Kasabian and Glasvegas supported Muse on their Irish date. A few days later, they were the headline act at V Festival 2008, playing in Chelmsford on Saturday 16 August and Staffordshire on Sunday 17 August. They also hinted at the possibility of a future stadium tour or concerts in South America.

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