"The Dark Side" is a song by British

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Muse In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...

. It was released as a single on 30 August 2018 as the fourth single from '' Simulation Theory'', their eighth studio album.

Release

The name of the fourth single to be released ahead of Muse's then-unnamed eighth studio album was first teased in the music video for previous single " Something Human", which was released on 19 July 2018. In the music video for "Something Human", lead singer

Matt Bellamy Matthew James Bellamy (born 9 June 1978) is an English singer, musician, producer, and songwriter. He is primarily known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, pianist, and primary songwriter for English rock band Muse. He is recognised for his eccen ...

can be seen driving a

Lamborghini Countach The Lamborghini Countach () is a rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive sports car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini from 1974 until 1990. It is one of the many exotic designs developed by Italian design house Bertone, w ...

which featured the

vehicle registration plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British English), license plate (American English), or licence plate ( Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for official identificati ...

"DRKSIDE". Subsequently, on 30 August 2018, the name of the upcoming album was revealed to be '' Simulation Theory'' and its release date was confirmed; later that day, Muse released "The Dark Side" as the surprise next single from the album.

Writing and composition

"The Dark Side" has been described as a

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

with features from

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

and

Music video

The music video for "The Dark Side", released on the same day as the single, continues the running theme of the previous music videos from '' Simulation Theory'', picking up where the music video for previous single " Something Human" ends. In the video, Bellamy is seen driving a

supercar through the

dystopian A dystopia (from Ancient Greek δυσ- "bad, hard" and τόπος "place"; alternatively cacotopiaCacotopia (from κακός ''kakos'' "bad") was the term used by Jeremy Bentham in his 1818 Plan of Parliamentary Reform (Works, vol. 3, p. 493). ...

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyber ...

landscape which first appeared at the end of the "Something Human" music video, after he crashed through a

wormhole A wormhole (Einstein-Rosen bridge) is a hypothetical structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, and is based on a special Solutions of the Einstein field equations, solution of the Einstein field equations. A wormhole can be visualize ...

in a collision with a

police car A police car (also called a police cruiser, police interceptor, patrol car, area car, cop car, prowl car, squad car, radio car, or radio motor patrol) is a ground vehicle used by police and law enforcement for transportation during patrols a ...

which had been pursuing him. This dystopian world, one of many simulated realities featured in ''Simulation Theory'' music videos, is populated by giant robots attempting to kill or capture Bellamy as he attempts to understand or overcome the simulations; these robots are later revealed to be Murph, the giant robot which appeared above the stage during the finale of Simulation Theory World Tour concerts. Bellamy swerves the car to avoid the robots as they break through the ground in an attempt to reach him, before driving into the mouth of one of them and observing its brain. He then escapes the robot, ramming the car through the back of its skull, and landing on a bridge which passes many deactivated robots on his way to a futuristic

neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...

city; he reaches the safety of the city just as the robots begin to wake up and destroy the bridge behind him.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal. Muse *

– lead vocals, guitars, keyboards,

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

, composition, songwriting *

Chris Wolstenholme Christopher Tony Wolstenholme (born 2 December 1978) is an English musician. He is the bassist and backing vocalist for the rock band Muse. Early life Chris Wolstenholme grew up in the English town of Rotherham before moving to Teignmouth, D ...

– bass, backing vocals, production *

Dominic Howard Dominic James Howard (born 7 December 1977) is an English musician who is the drummer and co-founder of the rock band Muse. Early life Howard was born in Stockport, Greater Manchester, in England. When he was around 8 years old he moved with hi ...

– drums, production Production *

Rich Costey Rich may refer to: Common uses * Rich, an entity possessing wealth * Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling ** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting Places United States * Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated commun ...

– production * Adam Hawkins –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

*Aleks Von Korff – assistant engineering *Rob Bisel – assistant engineering *Tyler Beans – assistant engineering *

Spike Stent Mark "Spike" Stent (born 3 August 1965) is an English record producer and mixing engineer who has worked with many international artists including Madonna, Marshmello, U2, Beyoncé, Björk, Depeche Mode, Echo & The Bunnymen, Grimes, Ed Sh ...

– mixing *Michael Freeman – mixing *Pete Winfield – mixing

Charts

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dark Side 2018 singles 2018 songs Muse (band) songs Songs written by Matt Bellamy