With 2009’s ‘The Resistance’, it felt like Muse had finished work on something they’d spent a decade building towards, their synthesis of prog-rock and stadium pop in its final form. Naturally, the problem then became where to go next. Duly, throughout much of the 2010s, Matt Bellamy and company seemed determined to outrun the sound that made them untouchable. Fifteen years later, ‘The Wow! Signal’ finds them stopping to take a look around.
Named after a mysterious 1977 radio signal, Muse's 10th album uses science fiction less as subject matter than metaphor. Bellamy’s black holes and alien civilisations become stand-ins for loneliness, fractured relationships and humanity’s inability to connect, all wrapped in the gloriously oversized theatrics the trio built their reputation on.
Opener The Dark Forest lands like the James Bond theme Muse have spent two decades threatening to write, with towering strings, choirs and galloping riffs announcing a band no longer afraid of sounding like imperial phase Muse.
Better still is Cryogen. Marrying Plug In Baby-style urgency with one of Bellamy’s biggest choruses in years, it is arguably the finest song they have put out since The Resistance.
Elsewhere, Be With You fuses a church organ, ABBA-worthy synth-pop and arena rock into an unlikely triumph, while Hush, featuring Ellie Goulding, proves Muse can still write a left-field pop song without sacrificing their identity.
The spark might be back, but not all they touch ignites. Hexagons and The Sickness In You & I occasionally mistake repetition for tension, while Space Debris drifts dully like the interstellar rubbish of its title. But if Muse stumble, at least they do so through creative excess rather than caution.
For the first time in a long time, they aren’t chasing the next version of themselves. They’ve remembered that beneath the stadium shows, dystopian concepts and absurdly oversized riffs, the thing that made them great was always the songs. That’s the biggest signal of all.
Muse Upcoming Tour Dates are as follows:
Thu July 02 2026 - MILWAUKEE Wisconsin - American Family Insurance Amphitheater (USA)
Sun July 05 2026 - MARYLAND HEIGHTS Missouri - Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre St Louis (USA)
Tue July 07 2026 - NOBLESVILLE Indiana - Ruoff Music Center (USA)
Fri July 10 2026 - TINLEY PARK Illinois - Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre (Formerly Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre Tinley Park) (USA)
Sat July 11 2026 - CINCINNATI Ohio - Riverbend Music Center (USA)
Mon July 13 2026 - CLARKSTON Michigan - Pine Knob Music Theatre (USA)
Wed July 15 2026 - TORONTO Ontario - RBC Amphitheatre (formerly Budweiser Stage) at Ontario Place - Complex (Canada)
Fri July 17 2026 - QUEBEC CITY Quebec - Bell Stage (Canada)
Sat July 18 2026 - MANSFIELD Massachusetts - Xfinity Center (USA)
Wed July 22 2026 - HOLMDEL New Jersey - PNC Bank Arts Center (USA)
Fri July 24 2026 - SARATOGA SPRINGS New York - Albany Med Health System Amphitheater at Saratoga Performing Arts Center (SPAC) - Complex (USA)
Sat July 25 2026 - WANTAGH New York - Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater - Complex (USA)
Tue July 28 2026 - COLUMBIA Maryland - Merriweather Post Pavilion (USA)
Wed July 29 2026 - CAMDEN New Jersey - Freedom Mortgage Pavilion (USA)
Mon August 10 2026 - CHARLOTTE North Carolina - Truliant Amphitheater (formerly PNC Music Pavilion Charlotte) (USA)
Wed August 12 2026 - ATLANTA Georgia - Lakewood Amphitheatre (USA)
Fri August 14 2026 - DALLAS Texas - Dos Equis Pavilion at Fair Park - Complex (USA)
Sat August 15 2026 - AUSTIN Texas - Germania Insurance Amphitheater (USA)
Tue August 18 2026 - DENVER Colorado - Fiddlers Green Amphitheatre (USA)
Thu August 20 2026 - SALT LAKE CITY Utah - Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre (formerly USANA Amphitheatre) (USA)
Sat August 22 2026 - RIDGEFIELD Washington - Cascades Amphitheater (USA)
Sun August 23 2026 - AUBURN Washington - White River Amphitheatre (USA)
Wed August 26 2026 - WHEATLAND California - Toyota Amphitheatre (USA)
Thu August 27 2026 - MOUNTAIN VIEW California - Shoreline Amphitheatre (USA)
Sat August 29 2026 - CHULA VISTA California - North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre (USA)
Mon August 31 2026 - LOS ANGELES California - Hollywood Bowl (USA)
Thu November 12 2026 - MANCHESTER Co Op Live
Fri November 13 2026 - MANCHESTER Co Op Live
Sun November 15 2026 - LONDON O2 Arena
Mon November 16 2026 - LONDON O2 Arena
Wed November 18 2026 - BERLIN Uber Arena (Germany)
Fri November 20 2026 - MILAN Unipol Dome (Italy)
Sat November 21 2026 - MILAN Unipol Dome (Italy)
Tue November 24 2026 - DUSSELDORF PSD Bank Dome (Germany)
Wed November 25 2026 - DUSSELDORF PSD Bank Dome (Germany)
Fri November 27 2026 - PARIS LA Defense Arena (France)
Sun November 29 2026 - AMSTERDAM Ziggo Dome (Netherlands)
Mon November 30 2026 - AMSTERDAM Ziggo Dome (Netherlands)
Thu December 03 2026 - MONTPELLIER SUD DE FRANCE ARENA (France)
Fri December 04 2026 - MONTPELLIER SUD DE FRANCE ARENA (France)
Mon December 07 2026 - ZURICH AG Hallenstadion (Switzerland)
Tue December 08 2026 - ZURICH AG Hallenstadion (Switzerland)
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