05 STOCKHOLM SYNDROME ABSOLUTION (2003)

When Matt Bellamy writes a song in drop D, chances are it will sit among the heavier Muse offerings. Stockholm Syndrome is a down-tuned affair that captures the band driving at full force, with more of a metallic style of riffing that bounces off the open low D and notes fretted an octave up around the 12th fret. Those intervals include a minor 2nd, a major 3rd, a perfect 4th and a minor 7th – built from the D

Phrygian Dominant scale (the fifth mode of G harmonic minor, theory fans!). Another key feature of the song is the tempo shift between its verse sections and choruses, going into more of a half-time groove for the most anthemic moments where more space is needed for vocals. And to bring it all to a thunderous close, the main riff is played open, loose and slower more in the style of Tool guitarist and fellow Diezel VH4 enthusiast Adam Jones.