Muse

United Kingdom, 1994–now

English rock band formed in Teignmouth, Devon in 1994 — Matt Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard. Known for arena-scale bombast that fuses alternative and progressive rock with classical, electronica and Bellamy's falsetto and virtuoso guitar and piano playing, across albums from Origin of Symmetry (2001) to The Resistance (2009).

MusicRoots documents 5 artists who influenced Muse and 1 artist Muse influenced in turn. Every connection cites a published source.

Who influenced Muse?

• Radiohead — Matt Bellamy called Radiohead's The Bends one of the two most important albums of the 1990s; their expansive alt-rock was a formative model for early Muse.
• Rage Against the Machine — Tom Morello's riff-based playing and pitch-shifting guitar effects directly shaped Bellamy's heavier songs on Origin of Symmetry.
• Sergei Rachmaninoff — Bellamy's classically informed piano writing draws openly on Rachmaninoff, whose harmonic language runs through Muse's ballads and interludes.
• Jimi Hendrix — Jimi Hendrix is one of Bellamy's core guitar influences, audible in Muse's blues-rooted lead playing and expressive use of the whammy bar.
• Nirvana — Bellamy names Nevermind and The Bends as the two most important albums of the decade.

Which artists did Muse influence?

• Imagine Dragons — Muse's arena-sized, electronics-laced rock is a clear model for Imagine Dragons' big, dramatic sound.