2012 Muse – The 2nd Law

The 2nd Law is the sixth studio album by English rock band Muse, first released on 28 September 2012 through Warner Bros. Records and the band’s own Helium-3 imprint. Recording of the album took place in studios between London and Los Angeles County, beginning in October 2011 and ending in August 2012. The 2nd Law was Muse’s second album to be solely self-produced, following The Resistance (2009), and features a plethora of additional musicians that performed brass, strings, and choir vocals.

The 2nd Law is a concept album about a deteriorating planet that its inhabitants can no longer live on. Major lyrical themes of the album include societal collapse, totalitarianism, and the second law of thermodynamics, which the album’s title references. Musically, the band chose to experiment significantly and create a sound that was distinct from their past records. The album’s sound incorporates art rock, progressive rock, and electronic music with Muse’s traditional alternative rock style. Acts such as Queen, David Bowie, and Skrillex also served as key influences on the album. The album’s cover art features a map of the human brain’s pathways, which was taken from the Human Connectome Project.