“Hysteria” is the eighth track and third single of Absolution and is preceded by a 40-second interlude on the album. The song is one of Muse’s most famous and popular due to the awesome bass line played by Chris Wolstenholme. The subject of matter is the desperation of wanting something or someone you can’t have.

Fun fact: In ye olden days, “hysteria” was actually a diagnosable psychological condition unique to women caused by sexual dysfunction (i.e. dudes not pleasing their women in bed). It’s thanks to this condition that the vibrator was invented – physicians could now stimulate their patients' genitalia mechanically instead of manually, thus reducing some of the impropriety.
These days, we know to give our girls head – at least, most of us do.

The old-timey medical definition of hysteria also implicated the presence of the womb and the moon as possible causes, which explains the cover of the single. Interestingly, the association of the moon with manic behavior is the origin of the word “lunatic”, ie, a lunar tic.

Chris Wolstenholme’s bass line from this track was voted the best of all time in a poll run by MusicRadar. Rush’s instrumental “YYZ"came a very close second, followed by two entries from Queen, "Another One Bites The Dust” and “Under Pressure.” Music Radar said of the winner: “Chris Wolstenholme certainly takes centre-stage with his intricate processed riff driving the singalong and providing a fat bedrock for Matt Bellamy’s guitar histrionics.”