The Story Behind 'Knights of Cydonia' by Muse
"Knights of Cydonia" is a song from the Muse's fourth studio album "Black Holes and Revelations," released in 2006.
This song, like much of the album, is inspired by corrupt political leaders. Matthew Bellamy says it's not about any specific leader, but all leaders. Evidence of this is shown in the lyrics, such as "I'll show you a 'God' who falls asleep on the job," referring to leaders who treat themselves like God because they have power.
"I think underneath the album there is an optimism which I think is different from previous albums. I think on the previous albums, the despair was more dominant throughout. This time there is a kind of strength, and I'm hoping to find it in myself, but also in the music. There is this feeling of waking up and trying to fight back, or it's time to actually try and change yourself and the things that are going on around you. I think to me that's very optimistic, this strength. Sometimes it comes out in a very violent form, like in song, like "Assassin," or a more obvious form like at the end of "Knights of Cydonia," when I'm just saying, "No one is going to take me alive" and all that kind of stuff. I think it's the strength of the human spirit fighting against the forces that are manipulating it."
Cydonia is the Mars' region where some people consider life has existed. In the January 2007 issue of Q magazine, Matt Bellamy said: "I'd definitely be up for a trip to Mars. I'd love to record an album at zero gravity. Or at least go up there and do a vocal take. The area of Cydonia is very interesting. There are parts of it that resemble abandoned civilizations."
Musically, the song took its ideas from Mariachi bands and the "Doctor Who" main theme. The song sounds like a soundtrack to a spaghetti western set in the distant reaches of the galaxy.
In an interview with Kerrang! Matthew Bellamy explained:
"Did you hear the galloping horses and bombs going off? That song is influenced by '50s music and my dad's band The Tornados. In the '50s, the nuclear vibe was kicking off and there was a lot of fear. It also happened to be a period where the most UFO sightings were reported. I feel we're entering another period where tensions are rising to a very high level and UFO sightings will start to creep back. Aliens are definitely out there!"
Christopher Wolstenholme added:
"When we wrote 'Knights,' we were listening to a lot of Morricone and stuff like Dick Dale, surf stuff like that. Plus lots of fairly ridiculous '70s stuff too. When we started it, we decided to be quite open going into it. We knew we wanted to do something different."
He also described this song as "40 years of rock history in six minutes."
Official music video
The official music video was directed by Joseph Kahn and presented as a spaghetti western film with beginning and end credits. The music video includes scenes involving cowboys, karate, robots, unicorns, motorcycles, lasers, screaming falcon, and powered by hot stunts.
Wolstenholme recalled:
"Actually, when we first got his [Joseph Kahn's] treatment and were reading it, the first thing we were thinking was, 'Well, this is going to cost, like, $2 million to make, and we don't have that much money!' But Joseph promised he would do it for much less than that. And he was really excited about it. So we just sort of went for it and took a risk. And honestly, the fact that we didn't have to be in it much was sort of the tipping point."
Shot over five days (three in Romania, one in London and one in Red Rocks, California), the official video features Muse as holograms and boasts over-the-top "acting" from certifiably B-list talent like British actor Russ Bain as the main character, Richard Brake as the antagonist and Cassandra Bell as the love interest.
Wolstenholme said:
"It's actually the first decent video we've ever made. And it's good because you can take us out of it and it still works."
Source: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/the_story_behind_knights_of_cydonia_by_muse-68535
---
This song, like much of the album, is inspired by corrupt political leaders. Matthew Bellamy says it's not about any specific leader, but all leaders. Evidence of this is shown in the lyrics, such as "I'll show you a 'God' who falls asleep on the job," referring to leaders who treat themselves like God because they have power.
"I think underneath the album there is an optimism which I think is different from previous albums. I think on the previous albums, the despair was more dominant throughout. This time there is a kind of strength, and I'm hoping to find it in myself, but also in the music. There is this feeling of waking up and trying to fight back, or it's time to actually try and change yourself and the things that are going on around you. I think to me that's very optimistic, this strength. Sometimes it comes out in a very violent form, like in song, like "Assassin," or a more obvious form like at the end of "Knights of Cydonia," when I'm just saying, "No one is going to take me alive" and all that kind of stuff. I think it's the strength of the human spirit fighting against the forces that are manipulating it."
Cydonia is the Mars' region where some people consider life has existed. In the January 2007 issue of Q magazine, Matt Bellamy said: "I'd definitely be up for a trip to Mars. I'd love to record an album at zero gravity. Or at least go up there and do a vocal take. The area of Cydonia is very interesting. There are parts of it that resemble abandoned civilizations."
Musically, the song took its ideas from Mariachi bands and the "Doctor Who" main theme. The song sounds like a soundtrack to a spaghetti western set in the distant reaches of the galaxy.
In an interview with Kerrang! Matthew Bellamy explained:
"Did you hear the galloping horses and bombs going off? That song is influenced by '50s music and my dad's band The Tornados. In the '50s, the nuclear vibe was kicking off and there was a lot of fear. It also happened to be a period where the most UFO sightings were reported. I feel we're entering another period where tensions are rising to a very high level and UFO sightings will start to creep back. Aliens are definitely out there!"
Christopher Wolstenholme added:
"When we wrote 'Knights,' we were listening to a lot of Morricone and stuff like Dick Dale, surf stuff like that. Plus lots of fairly ridiculous '70s stuff too. When we started it, we decided to be quite open going into it. We knew we wanted to do something different."
He also described this song as "40 years of rock history in six minutes."
Official music video
The official music video was directed by Joseph Kahn and presented as a spaghetti western film with beginning and end credits. The music video includes scenes involving cowboys, karate, robots, unicorns, motorcycles, lasers, screaming falcon, and powered by hot stunts.
Wolstenholme recalled:
"Actually, when we first got his [Joseph Kahn's] treatment and were reading it, the first thing we were thinking was, 'Well, this is going to cost, like, $2 million to make, and we don't have that much money!' But Joseph promised he would do it for much less than that. And he was really excited about it. So we just sort of went for it and took a risk. And honestly, the fact that we didn't have to be in it much was sort of the tipping point."
Shot over five days (three in Romania, one in London and one in Red Rocks, California), the official video features Muse as holograms and boasts over-the-top "acting" from certifiably B-list talent like British actor Russ Bain as the main character, Richard Brake as the antagonist and Cassandra Bell as the love interest.
Wolstenholme said:
"It's actually the first decent video we've ever made. And it's good because you can take us out of it and it still works."
Source: https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/the_story_behind_knights_of_cydonia_by_muse-68535
---
Click to view