Music / Absolution (Album)

"Sing for absolution, I will be singing."

And it's time we saw a miracle
Come on it's time for something biblical
To pull us through
And pull us through

— "Apocalypse Please"

Absolution is the third studio album by the English Alternative Rock band Muse, released on 15 September 2003. Notable songs include "Stockholm Syndrome", "Hysteria" and "Time Is Running Out", all of which helped the band break through in the United States.

The album continues with the classical and progressive influences from the band's previous album Origin of Symmetry, expanding on the former with songs like "Sing for Absolution", "Blackout" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes", while maintaining the heavy rock sound they developed earlier.

A remix/remaster of Absolution was released in 2023 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release, known as Absolution XX Anniversary.

Tracklist:^note Japanese releases of the album contain "Fury" as track 12. Streaming and digital releases of the album contain "Fury" as track 15.

1. "Intro" (0:22)
2. "Apocalypse Please" (4:12)
3. "Time Is Running Out" (3:56)
4. "Sing for Absolution" (4:54)
5. "Stockholm Syndrome" (4:58)
6. "Falling Away with You" (4:40)
7. "Interlude" (0:37)
8. "Hysteria" (3:47)
9. "Blackout" (4:22)
10. "Butterflies and Hurricanes" (5:01)
11. "The Small Print" (3:28)
12. "Endlessly" (3:49)
13. "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" (3:11)
14. "Ruled by Secrecy" (4:54)

---

Sell, I'll sell your memories, for 15 tropes per page!

• Album Intro Track: Take a guess...
• Album Title Drop: Absolution appears in the title and lyrics of "Sing for Absolution".
• Alliterative Title: "Stockholm Syndrome".
• Alternate Music Video: "Stockholm Syndrome" and "Hysteria" both got one exclusive to the US.
  • The US "Stockholm Syndrome" video takes place on a fictional Talk Show and uses a shortened radio edit of the song.
  • "Hysteria" has two alternate videos: a more adult Director's Cut of the original, and a standard Performance Video with animated flourishes.
• Apocalypse Wow: Fittingly enough, "Apocalypse Please" sounds like the ideal musical accompaniment to the end of the world.
• Audience Participation Song: From "Time is Running Out": "Bury it, I won't let you bury it..."
• Breather Episode: "Endlessly", a gentle piano-driven number, comes after "The Small Print", one of the album's heaviest songs, and before "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist", one of the darkest songs in the band's discography in terms of subject matter.
• B-Side:
  • "The Groove", the B-side to the "Time Is Running Out" single.
  • "Eternally Missed", on the "Hysteria" single. It has since become a fan favorite, even getting voted into the band's second by-request show in 2018.
  • "Fury" appears on both the Japanese release of Absolution and the "Sing for Absolution" single.
• Crisis of Faith: Inverted in "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist", where the narrator questions their lack of faith.
• Dare to Be Badass: "Butterflies and Hurricanes":
  Best, you've got to be the best
  You've got to change the world
  And use this chance to be heard
  Your time is now
• Deal with the Devil: The main theme of "The Small Print".
• Dramatic Wind: The US music video for "Stockholm Syndrome".
• Earth That Was: The Twist Ending of the "Sing for Absolution" music video.
• Ethereal Choir: "Blackout"
• Fading into the Next Song: "Falling Away With You" - "Interlude" - "Hysteria".
• Fanservice: The "Time Is Running Out" music video would be an otherwise straight-laced Dr. Strangelove homage, if not for the attractive dancers and lingerie.
• Human Popsicle: The "Sing for Absolution" video features an entire spaceship of these.
• Incredibly Long Note: "Falling Away With You".
• Last Note Nightmare: "Ruled by Secrecy"'s creepy countdown at the end.
• Lyrical Dissonance: "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist", especially with its upbeat Post-Punk-y sound contrasting the lyrics.
• Miniscule Rocking: "Intro" and "Interlude."
• Musical Nod: Samuel Barber's "Adagio for Strings" in "Interlude".
• Non-Appearing Title: Only averted with "Time Is Running Out", "Sing for Absolution", "Falling Away With You" and "Endlessly".
• Obsession Song: "Hysteria" and "Endlessly", with the former being an aggressive example and the latter being a passive one.
  • "Sing for Absolution" combines this with elements of Fallen Angel imagery.
• One-Word Title: Aside from the album title, there's "Blackout", "Endlessly, "Intro", "Interlude", and "Hysteria".
• Shout-Out: The video to "Time Is Running Out" is set in The War Room from Dr. Strangelove, with performers in military uniforms.
• Stalker with a Crush: "Hysteria" is sung from the point of view of a man who is slowly consumed into madness from his obsessive love for a girl and turns into a stalker.
• Subliminal Seduction: An unusual example, some fans might have alleged that if the "Stockholm Syndrome" chorus is played backwards, these lyrics could be heard:
  "You can't see me, we sneak off I lost to love. Please... save the night wind and high above, I lost to love. Sing, save."
• Surprisingly Gentle Song: "Sing for Absolution", "Blackout" and "Endlessly".
• Villain Song: "The Small Print", from the point of view of who is likely Satan.

---

All of the love we left behind
Watching the flash backs intertwine
Memories I will never find
Memories I will never find