Hysteria (Muse song)

According to the bassist, Chris Wolstenholme, "Hysteria" originated in a jam during a soundcheck in Doncaster, England, with the guitarist, Matt Bellamy, playing the riff in a blues style. Wolstenholme transferred the riff to bass guitar and changed it to a "machine-gun-like" pattern composed entirely of sixteenth notes.^[2][3] He split his signal into three Marshall amps, one clean and two distorted, and blended the results with a synthesiser.^[4][3] Muse processed it using the sound design system Kyma.^[5]

Bellamy restructured "Hysteria" after feedback from the producer, Rich Costey.^[5] The lyrics describe a soul-consuming obsession.^[6] Muse recorded it at Air Studios in late 2002 and completed it at Livingston Recording Studios in early 2003, both in London.^[4][7] In 2025, Wolstenholme said "Hysteria" was his favourite Muse bassline.^[3]

Two music videos were made for "Hysteria". In the European video, a man (played by Justin Theroux) obsessively views videos of a prostitute and destroys a hotel room in rage. It recalls a similar scene in the 1982 film Pink Floyd – The Wall. The American video features Muse playing before a montage of projected images.^[6]

"Hysteria" was released on December 1 2003 as the third single from Absolution.^[8] Performances are included the live videos Absolution Tour (2005) and HAARP (2008). A demo and a live version appeared on Absolution XX, the Absolution reissue released in 2023.^[9] "Hysteria" was featured in the 2023 video game Fortnite Festival.^[10]

In NME, Kirssi Murison described "Hysteria" as "self-indulgent warp-speed rock" that "manages to wrap up Muse's pomp and majesty in what is a fabulously transparent, bewilderingly unpretentious, pop-glam hit".^[11] In American Songwriter, Bryan Reesman said "Hysteria" was "amazingly aggressive and cathartic" and "certainly one of the most memorable bass lines of the modern rock era ... one of Muse's most potent tracks".^[6]

In 2012, "Hysteria" was voted the best Muse song by NME readers.^[12] Its bassline was named the sixth-best of all time by MusicRadar in 2011 and the fourth-best by Guitar World in 2022.^[13][14] In 2022, Guitar World named it the fourth-best Muse bassline.^[8]

• 7", CD

1. "Hysteria" – 3:47
2. "Eternally Missed" – 6:05
   • Produced by John Cornfield, Paul Reeve and Muse

• DVD

1. "Hysteria" (video – Director's Cut)
2. "Hysteria" (DVD Audio)
3. "Hysteria" (live on MTV2 Video)
4. "Artwork Gallery"