The success of Muse's latest album, "The 2nd Law," has hit a new high point thanks to the single "Madness."

The song has logged its 18th week at No. 1 on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, which is based on radio airplay. That ties Foo Fighters' 2007 hit "The Pretender" for the longest stay atop the survey and also beats Muse's "Uprising," which spent 17 weeks at No. 1 during 2009-10.

Drummer Dominic Howard tells us that he and his bandmates, including frontman Matthew Bellamy, took a bit of time in making "Magnetic" in the studio, hitting the winning formula late in the sessions:

"I think we got so far with it, and I always felt with that song that...there's a certain dynamic missing in it. So I booted everyone out of the studio one night and everyone went home or whatever, went home to their family, and left me to fiddle around with the song. So I ended up putting a load of drums on the end of the song and really building the whole thing up, which suddenly created this whole dynamic thing, this dynamic lift towards the end."

"Then Matt came in and kind of really liked it and then put some guitar on, and that inspired the whole big vocal moment at the end. So I think the song evolved quite a lot in the studio. We didn't necessarily know it was going to end up in that place, but I think it's cool."

"Madness" is nominated for Best Rock Song at this year's Grammy Awards, where "The 2nd Law" is also up for Best Rock Album. Muse is currently in the midst of a North American tour that finishes April 26 in Quebec City. It will be back in Europe May through July, then Japan's Summer Sonic Festival in August and Rock in Rio in September.

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