"Won't Stand Down" is a song by English rock band Muse. Released as a single on 13 January 2022, it is their first single from Will of the People, their ninth studio album.[1][2] It topped the UK Rock & Metal chart and reached number 56 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was a sleeper hit in the United States, reaching number 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Airplay chart in May 2022, becoming the first Muse song to do so.[3][4]
Release
On 25 December 2021, Muse lead singer and guitarist Matt Bellamy held a brief livestream on the official Muse Instagram account. In the video, he can be seen driving his Tesla on Autopilot mode, with his 10-year-old son Bing in the passenger seat. The pair are listening (and, in Bing's case, headbanging) to a then-unreleased Muse song, entitled "Won't Stand Down" on the car stereo screen, while Matt provides occasional commentary over the track.[1] In total, the livestream previewed a roughly one-minute-long section of the song.[5] Muse's own Instagram account hinted towards the release of a new single in a post on 31 December, initially uploaded with the caption "Looking forward to WSD. We'll see you on the other side!" before "WSD" was changed to "2022" after a few minutes.
The release of "Won't Stand Down" as a single was officially confirmed by Muse on 7 January 2022, with the release date set for 13 January on all digital platforms.[6][1][7] On 9 January, a further snippet of the song, this time consisting of the opening verse, was posted to Muse's TikTok account as well as a "Won't Stand Down"-themed Instagram Stories mask filter.
Writing and composition
Musically, the song has been described as heavy metal,[8]hard rock,[9] and electronic rock.[10] Prior to release, the song was described as Muse's "heaviest material yet",[11] featuring a metalcore breakdown.[12] The song also contains "heavy guitars and industrial-like distortions",[13] and "triplet-flow-type vocals in the verse".[14]
According to vocalist and guitarist Matt Bellamy, "'Won't Stand Down' is a song about standing your ground against bullies, whether that be on the playground, at work or anywhere."[14]
Artwork and music video
The digital artwork for "Won't Stand Down" was described as "dark and ominous", featuring a hooded priest-like figure hovering over ten disciples,[15] figures wearing digital-style masks and gothic chandeliers.[1] A short teaser of the music video was posted to Muse's TikTok account on 9 January.[16]
