Muse are back with anti-bullying anthem, Won’t Stand Down

Virgin Radio

14 Jan 2022, 10:39

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We’ve waited a while for some new material from the Devon trio, but Muse are back with a bang.

Won’t Stand Down is the first new music from the band since the release of their 2018 album, Simulation Theory, and is a taste of what we can expect from their upcoming new LP.

Not only is Won’t Stand Down the kind of riff-heavy belter that we would hope for from Muse, but it carries an important message. In a statement, frontman Matt Bellamy said: “Won't Stand Down is a song about standing your ground against bullies, whether that be on the playground, at work or anywhere.”

The vocalist/guitarist continued: “Protecting yourself from coercion and sociopathic manipulation and to face adversity with strength, confidence and aggression."

As you would expect from the band, the song comes with a suitably dystopian video clip. In it, Bellamy plays an elderly-looking character in a wheelchair, who controls a mass army using a contraption strapped to his fingers.

The Jared Hogan-directed visual sees Bellamy’s character siphoning energy from the mass crowd, gradually growing in strength and transmuting into an augmented being as the song reaches its climax.

You can check out the song and video here:

The new song was produced by Muse and mixed by Dan Lancaster, who has worked with the likes of Bring Me The Horizon and Enter Shikari.

There are no concrete details yet regarding the album from which this single is lifted. However, whilst we don’t know when we’ll get to hear the group's ninth album, or what it will be called, we do know that they are set to play their first UK show in close to three years this summer.

Matt Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme, and drummer Dominic Howard are headlining the Isle of Wight Festival in June.

The fact that Muse are also playing a whole bunch of gigs around Europe in June and July has caused fans to speculate that their new album will drop around that time, but for now, we’ll just have to make the most of this ace new single.