Tracklist front / back album covers
Absolution – Standard edition
1. "Intro" 0:22
2. "Apocalypse Please" 4:12
3. "Time Is Running Out" 3:56
4. "Sing for Absolution" 4:54
5. "Stockholm Syndrome" 4:58
6. "Falling Away with You" 4:40
7. "Interlude" 0:37
8. "Hysteria" 3:47
9. "Blackout" 4:22
10. "Butterflies and Hurricanes" 5:01
11. "The Small Print" 3:28
12. "Endlessly" 3:49
13. "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" 3:11
14. "Ruled by Secrecy" 4:54
Total length: 52:19
Absolution – Digital edition
15. "Fury" 5:02
Total length: 57:21
Absolution – Japanese edition
12. "Fury" 5:02
13. "Endlessly" 3:49
14. "Thoughts of a Dying Atheist" 3:11
15. "Ruled by Secrecy" 4:54
Total length: 57:21
Absolution – UK Limited edition (DVD)
1. "The Making of Absolution" (Documentary) 34:20
Absolution – Australian Live CD (Disc 2)
1. "Stockholm Syndrome" (Live) 7:14
2. "New Born" (Live) 6:11
3. "Muscle Museum" (Live) 4:18
4. "Hysteria" (Live) 4:14
5. "Bliss" (Live) 4:01
6. "Time Is Running Out" (Live) 4:06
Total length: 30:04
Very early initial copies of the CD featured inlay errors, where the songs "Interlude" and "Hysteria" switched places on the track listing.
The bonus disc included with the Australian tour edition is entirely composed of live versions, recorded at The Big Day Out in Sydney, 23 January 2004 for Australian radio station Triple J and broadcast as part of the radio show "Live at the Wireless".
Muse Band Members / Musicians
Matthew Bellamy – lead vocals, lead and rhythm guitars, keyboards, programming, string arrangements, production
Christopher Wolstenholme – bass, backing vocals, production
Dominic Howard – drums, programming, percussion, production
Dennis Smith – executive production
Safta Jaffery – executive production
Rich Costey – production, mixing, engineering, additional production on "Blackout" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes"
Wally Gagel – engineering, digital engineering, additional production on "Butterflies and Hurricanes"
Paul Reeve – production on "Blackout" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes", vocal samples on "Intro", backing vocals on "Blackout" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes"
John Cornfield – production and engineering on "Blackout" and "Butterflies and Hurricanes"
Roger Lian – digital editing
Howie Weinberg – mastering
Audrey Riley – string arrangements
Spectrasonic's Symphony of Voices – vocal samples on "Stockholm Syndrome" and "Endlessly"
Storm Thorgerson – graphic design
Dan Abbott – graphic design
Rupert Truman – photography
Sean Winstanley – photography
Perou – band photography
Lee Baker – layout design
Sam Winston – typography
Absolution is the 3rd studio album by English rock band Muse. It was released on 15 September 2003 in Japan, 22 September 2003 in the United Kingdom by East West Records and Taste Media and 23 March 2004 in the United States by Warner Bros. Records. The album followed up on Origin of Symmetry's diverse musical tendencies and elaborate sound, while also having a more focused and consistent theme and aesthetic throughout. Absolution has a noticeably darker and heavier tone musically, with a lyrical focus on theological and apocalyptic concepts.
The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. It also yielded the band's first top-ten single, with "Time Is Running Out" peaking at number 8 on the UK Singles Chart. In 2009, it was voted by Kerrang! as the second-best album of the 21st century thus far. As of 2018, Absolution has sold over 3.5 million copies worldwide.
