Album · Muse
Simulation Theory by Muse
Simulation Theory is an album by Muse, released in 2018. 4 songs from it have charted on rock radio countdowns, with 26 countdown appearances in total. The biggest is “Dig Down”, on 8 lists with a best position of #14.
Simulation Theory, Muse's eighth album, arrived on 9 November 2018, and after the darker themes of the records before it, the Teignmouth trio went for neon: a synth-drenched album steeped in science fiction and retro pop culture, even if the politics of the United States seeped into the lyrics. They built it one song at a time rather than as a whole, starting at AIR Studios in London in early 2017 with Mike Elizondo and carrying on in Los Angeles with Rich Costey, who had produced Absolution and Black Holes and Revelations; Shellback and Timbaland pitched in too. Matt Bellamy still soars, but it's the synths, locked in with Chris Wolstenholme's bass and Dominic Howard's drums, that drive it.
Stranger Things artist Kyle Lambert designed the cover, and the videos tip their hats to Back to the Future, Thriller and Teen Wolf. Reviews were mixed, but it still became their sixth UK number one in a row.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
Songs from Simulation Theory on radio countdowns
| # | Song | Strength | Lists | Best | #1s | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dig Down | 8 | #14 | – | 2017 | |
| 2 | Thought Contagion | 6 | #5 | – | 2018 | |
| 3 | Something Human | 6 | #14 | – | 2018–2019 | |
| 4 | Pressure | 6 | #22 | – | 2018–2019 |
Only songs that appear on at least one countdown are listed. Release data from MusicBrainz.