MATT BELLAMY

NOT MANY MUSICIANS CAN SWITCH FROM DANNY ELFMAN–STYLE PIANO TO HEAVY RIFFS LIKE BELLAMY

Back in 2010, TG proclaimed Muse frontman Matt Bellamy our Guitarist Of The Decade. Fast forward 10 years, and it’s a judgement that’s aged well. Bellamy remains one of the most creative, boundarypushing players of the century so far.

Today, Matt’s a majority shareholder in Manson Guitar Works - the brand that evolved from famed UK luthier Hugh Manson’s custom-built models into an internationally recognised innovator of guitar design. The Muse frontman has been fiercely loyal to Manson for the last 20 years, and the company is expanding Matt’s range of signature guitars to include more affordable models such as the MBM-1 (reviewed last issue). This means more players can access a slice of Matt’s creative genius, which can only be good – and one look at the features in those Manson-made guitars gives you a measure of those genius levels.

The metal-clad ‘Delorean’ model that kicked off Matt’s relationship with the Devon-based luthier included a piezo pickup for acoustic-ish tones and a Roland GK MIDI system that allows the guitar to control a synthesiser. As for the standard pickups, a P-90 and a Kent Armstrong Motherbucker are routed through onboard Fuzz Factory and Phase 90 effects. Let that sink in and remember, this was just the first Manson/ Muse collaboration. Subsequent iterations have included MIDI controllers, laser lights and LEDS, Fernandes Sustainer pickups, Korg Kaoss Pads - there’s even a keytar specially designed to incorporate guitar strings as part of its operation. And none of this is novelty.

These instruments appear regularly in Muse shows.

Musically, the band have been compared to Radiohead, Queen and Jeff Buckley - esteemed company, then. On paper at least, a combination of progressive rock, classical music, electronica and pop shouldn’t really work... A bit like Genesis jamming to those horrible Hooked On Classics albums from the 80s. But Matt makes it work. Not many musicians can switch from a beautiful Danny Elfman-style piano piece to a heavy as hell riff like Bellamy can.

In August, Matt told TG: “We’re going to get back in the studio probably next year, and were hoping to do a tour – probably in 2021 or 2022.” When he does get back on stage, you can be sure of one thing: there will be a Manson slung around his shoulder.