Muse versus Radiohead; this is a debate that, at the time Muse released their debut album Showbiz (1999), was in full swing on message boards and chat rooms across the internet. It is surprising to find that even today people will compare most tracks off Showbiz to that of a variety of releases from Radiohead, and often claims of simularity are not feasible.
Comparing Muse frontman Matthew Bellamy to Radiohead frontman Tom Yorke has developed to be a somewhat flawed and pointless argument. Bellamy possesses a kind of intensity in his his voice that is a result of years of practice of control over vibrato and extensive use of the falsetto voice. Although Yorke possess natural vibrato to some extent, the level of control to which he projects it is often flawed when compared to that of Bellamy. Both singers do in fact extensively use their falsetto voice, and it is most likely from this, apart from the "vibe" from both bands songs give the listener, that give a basis for comparisson. The argument however, remains weak.
Most comparissons made towards Muse and Radiohead are often general in respects to the context; people will often refer to Muse's style as being "like Radiohead". This is most likely because Showbiz was produced by John Leckie, the same man who produced Radiohead's accalimed album, the bends. Leckie's technique often involves overdubbing of tracks to create a deeper, fuller sound. Radiohead did not need this extensively because they have five people in the band. Muse are a three piece band, and Leckie took the oppertunity to expand their sound on Showbiz to that of perhaps a seven piece band, by using his favoured technique of overdubbing. It is for this reason that comparissons are often made to Muse and Radiohead, however there is also the fact that there really is no other band that sounds like Muse; the closest match would be radiohead, no matter how far apart they are musically.