Muse fans react to ‘heavy’ new anti-bullying single ‘Won’t Stand Down’

‘Muse is well and truly back,’ posted one listener

Muse’s Matt Bellamy performing in 2019 (Alessandro Bosio/Pacific Press via ZUMA Wire/Shutterstock)

Muse fans are celebrating the release of the band’s first new music in nearly four years.

The band’s lead singer, Matt Bellamy, said of the track: “‘Won’t Stand Down’ is a song about standing your ground against bullies, whether that be on the playground, at work or anywhere.

“Protecting yourself from coercion and sociopathic manipulation and facing adversity with strength, confidence and aggression.”

The song comes with a music video directed by Jared Hogan. In the clip, a weak figure draws in the energy of an army to morph into a huge, formidable being.

Fans of the band are delighted with the new release. “Muse is well and truly back. Their experimental stuff is always interesting to me and I like them too but ‘Won’t Stand Down’ is what Muse really IS,” tweeted one person.

“’Won’t Stand Down’ has reminded me how much I’ve missed Muse. If the new album is gonna be as heavy as WSD then I’m gonna be having a great time,” added another.

Muse’s last album, Simulation Theory, came out in 2018.

In a two-star review, The Independent’s critic Roisin O’Connor wrote: “Simulation Theory seems to fall into two territories – songs are either half-hearted nods to the best of their heavier rock-opera back catalogue, or futuristic, electronic pop-heavy tracks that borrow from bands more adept at that particular sound, and the vast majority of which are burdened with Bellamy’s political paranoia.

“For a new listener, it’s baffling. For a former, diehard fan, it’s disappointing.”