The 2nd Law by Muse

The 2nd Law, Muse's sixth studio album, came out on 28 September 2012 through Warner Bros. and the band's own Helium-3 imprint, Matt Bellamy's second turn as sole producer after The Resistance. Recorded between London and Los Angeles County from October 2011 to August 2012, it's a concept record about a worn-out planet its people can no longer live on, chewing over societal collapse, totalitarianism and the law of thermodynamics that gives it its name.

Bellamy, Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard deliberately blew up their own formula: art rock, prog and electronic music pile on top of the stadium-sized alternative rock, with Queen, David Bowie and even Skrillex in the mix, plus brass, strings and a choir. "Madness" is the proof it worked, a skeletal, wobbling slow-burner that sat atop Billboard's Alternative Songs chart for a record 19 weeks. "Survival" was the official song of London's 2012 Olympics, and "Panic Station" earned a Grammy nod.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.