Muse to launch tour in Perth
Three years since their last visit to Australia, British rock trio Muse will kick off another tour Down Under in Perth on November 30, the first show in what promises to be an indoor arena extravaganza.
The trip here follows the release of sixth studio album The 2nd Law last September and drummer Dominic Howard says the recent European and US tours have pushed the band out of its shell and into a new spotlight.
"Matt (Bellamy, singer/guitarist) is really a lot more interactive and closer to the audience," Howard says while sipping a glass of wine on his boat cruising the French Mediterranean.
"We haven't done anything like this before and it's taken our performances to a whole new level. Matt sings without the guitar in a few songs and is much more communicative with the crowd. The new album has really helped steer this new direction."
About 20 semitrailers will be required to carry the production for the tour. "Have you heard about the pyramid," Howard asks excitedly down the phone line. "It can swallow up the band during the set, it's totally mental. It's an upside-down floating pyramid that is totally out there."
Forming Muse in the small English town of Teignmouth, Devon, in 1994, Howard, Bellamy and bassist Chris Wolstenholme met at high school and played plenty of gigs before finally releasing their debut album, Showbiz, in 1999. Since then they've sold more than 15 million copies of six studio albums and taken out a Grammy Award.
"We were together for half a decade before we got signed. In new-band terms it's a long time before you get started," Howard says.
"This band is family to all of us. We are three old mates from school that stuck together. It's all we wanted to do as kids.
"Devon is a very quiet place, detached from the city music scene and I think that's what kept us inspired to work hard and get out of this place to try and make it."
The 2nd Law sees Muse take on electronic influences like never before. There are snippets of dub-step and synthesiser diversions combined with a prog-rock ethos. According to Howard, the first three songs on the latest album sound like three different bands.
"We wanted to move forward and try something new. We didn't want to write a record we had already done previously," he says.
"The new songs have made the set really diverse now and we feel slightly more comfortable playing bigger gigs because we have so many songs to choose from."
Muse have never shied from their love of Queen and Rush, offering a sound that fuses pop with operatic crescendos. The 2nd Law features falsetto, atmospheric electronica and grandiose rock references.
As The Guardian newspaper's music critic Alexis Petridis wrote last year: "Muse have actually achieved what the Darkness set out to do: conquer the world with music that's clearly meant to be funny but isn't supposed to be a joke."
Howard, who splits his time living in London and LA, says Muse make sure they spend time with family and friends.
"We don't run ourselves into the ground and don't cane it for months and months on the road," says Howard, whose father died nine years ago at the Glastonbury Festival. The 62-year-old had attended to see his son perform and collapsed soon after.
"We have been through our share of ups and downs and know how to keep the touring stuff sensible. Otherwise you just get pessimistic and argue a lot. We have achieved a good balance. Matt and Chris are both dads and we have to make sure there's enough time for family too."
Bellamy has a son with fiancee Kate Hudson while Wolstenholme is married with six children.
Howard is happily unattached. Earlier this year he was spotted with Katy Perry, which created considerable fuss in the gossip mags.
"I just take it day by day," he says. "I make sure my life is filled with the good things."
Muse play Perth Arena on November 30 supported by Birds of Tokyo.
Tickets on sale through Ticketek on July 29 at noon.
