The English rock trio Muse consists of guitarist/vocalist Matthew Bellamy, ba**ist Chris Wolstenholme, and drummer Dominic Howard. Bored by the sleepy life provided by their hometown of Teignmouth, Devon, the three friends began playing music together. They started the first incarnation of their band when they were all 13, changing the name of the group from Gothic Plague to Fixed Penalty to Rocket Baby Dolls as time pa**ed. By 1997, the band settled on the name Muse and released their self-titled debut EP on Dangerous Records, followed by the Muscle Museum EP in 1998. The group's emotive, pa**ionate sound and live dates drew critical acclaim and industry buzz, and after a trip to New York's CMJ festival, Muse signed a deal with Maverick Records. Singles like "Cave" and "Uno" preceded their debut full-length album, Showbiz, which was released toward the end of 1999. Two years later, Muse issued The Origin of Symmetry and had a major hit with "Hyper Music." In 2002, fans were treated to the double-disc live set Hullabaloo. Muse's fourth album, Absolution, got the usual royal treatment upon its late-2003 release. Stateside fans finally got a taste of Absolution when it was released on Warner Bros. the following March. A short North American tour in the spring coincided Muse's spot on the fifth annual Coachella Music and Arts Festival in May 2004. Their fifth effort, 2006's Black Holes and Revelations, marked the band's brightest, most dynamic set of material to date. Within a week of its release, the band topped the U.K. album charts, earning their second consecutive number one album. ~ Heather Phares, All Music Guide