When it was announced that Muse would be replacing Foo Fighters as the headliner for October’s Aftershock Festival, we were still wondering how Muse would stack up alongside the heavy metal music festival’s lineup of bands like Slipknot, Rob Zombie, and Lamb Of God. Well, now after hearing Muse’s gigantic new single, “Kill Or Be Killed,” it makes a lot more sense.
“Kill Or Be Killed” — which will appear on Muse’s upcoming album, Will Of The People, out August 26th — quickly opens with drums that can best be described as what singer Matt Bellamy calls “modern metal.” While Muse’s signature anthemic riffs rise up from there, Bellamy’s howl morphs from his usual belt into something that’s damn near demonic at times.
Bellamy said in a statement, “‘Kill Or Be Killed’ is Muse at their heaviest! We wanted to update our hard rock sound on this album and with ‘Kill Or Be Killed’ we found a modern metal sound featuring double bass drum action and even a death growl. Lyrically the song takes influence from my favourite Paul McCartney song ‘Live And Let Die,’ a dark take on how life’s adversity can sometimes bring out the worst human instincts to survival at any costs.”
Listen to “Kill Or Be Killed” above and check out Muse’s October tour dates below.
10/04 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
10/11 — Chicago, IL @ The Riviera Theatre
10/14 — Toronto, CA @ The History
10/16 — New York City, NY @ The Beacon Theatre
10/23 — Amsterdam, NL @ Royal Theatre Carré
10/23 — Paris, FR @ Salle Pleyel
10/26 — Milan, IT @ Alcatraz
Will Of The People is out 8/26 via Warner. Pre-order it here.
Muse is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.