We've heard the "rock is dead" talk, but another sign of the changing times has come with the instrument most associated with rock -- the guitar. There has been increasing chatter in the 21st century downplaying the significance of the guitar, with Muse's Matt Bellamy recently adding his thoughts to the discussion.

In an interview with the BBC, the Muse leader stated, "The guitar has become a textural instrument rather than a lead instrument. And I think that's probably a good thing."

He elaborated, "What's exciting about this period of music is you can mix classical with hip-hop and rock in the same song. As a rock band you're slightly one foot in the past, playing instruments like guitar, bass and drums."

While the guitar has been a part of the band's music, they've also thrived by adding in synths and orchestral and electronic elements to their sound as well. "We've always kept an eye on what's gong on, and we've taken influence from things we think are cool in contemporary music. It's always been a theme," says the singer.

"It's almost like genre was an aesthetic that people attached themselves to, not just in music but also in the way they dressed and the kind of friends they hung around with," said Bellamy. "I feel like that age has come to an end and what's interesting about music now is not just the style-blending but the era-blending. So you'll have an artist like Lana Del Rey doing a song that sounds and feels like it's set in the 1950s, but she's singing about video games."

The vocalist has expressed his fascination with era and genre blending, recently teasing that they have a new song called "Algorithm," which he revealed came about as the band "blended a bit of romantic classical piano with like '80s synth, computer game music."

Muse just revealed their new single "Thought Contagion" and are said to be working toward a new album though they've been issuing singles independently of late.

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