Muse guitarist Matt Bellamy has evolved as a guitar player over the course of almost 25 years and it is quite impressive to witness. Owner of one of the most instantly recognizable tones and playing styles of the alternative rock movement, Bellamy was hailed as a modern-day guitar idol in the band’s early years.
His style wasn’t flashy or overly technical, his unorthodox riffs and punk leanings made him stand out as a poster boy for a rock generation that seemed devoted to rejecting the traditional notion of virtuosity.
And, even though from Muse’s 2015 album “Drone” onwards Bellamy has adapted a more typical playing style, with even the occasional flash of technical guitar solos, the guitarist is still praised for his unconventional voice in the instrument.
Matt Bellamy talks about Kurt Cobain
In a new interview with Guitar World, Bellamy was questioned about the influence that Yngwie Malmsteen had as his playing got gradually more technical, as seen on the guitar solo on “You Make Me Feel Like It’s Halloween” off this year’s “Will Of The People”.
The musician replied:
“Oh, brilliant! I haven’t listened to him in a while, but Yngwie was one of those people I got into in the early ’90s when I first started playing. Clearly back then, I thought there was a chance! After a while, I realized I simply couldn’t get to where he was and sort of veered off towards more classical and flamenco guitar styles.”
“Then I started listening to players like Hendrix and Cobain and felt, ‘You know what? I can do chaos. I can’t do this unbelievable technical precision but what I can do is create a mess!’ So I went down the road of noise, chaos, and carnage… and little elements of the other things stayed with me. And I think you’re probably right, some of the fast-moving harmonic minor ideas will have come from players like that.”
