Muse were inspired by 'Black Mirror' and virtual reality video games for their new album.
Matt Bellamy
After taking a darker look at technology with their 2015 LP 'Drones', frontman Matt Bellamy has revealed the spark for their eighth record 'Simulation Theory' came from an unusual place.
Speaking to The Sun newspaper, he said: "It's a bit like Star Trek where you meet different people as an avatar.
"Even though you are a fantasy character, I found people were genuinely more pleasant to each other than they are on social media -- VR gave me optimism to what the future could be in terms of social interaction. It's actually going to bring us closer together.
"I had fun playing with someone from Australia, England and Germany without knowing them. At the end when everyone asked who we were, I said, 'I'm a musician in a band called Muse', one replied, 'Oh my God, I've been flying a Starship Enterprise with Matt from Muse!' It was a laugh."
The 40-year-old rocker - who completed the lineup with Chris Wolstenholme and Dominic Howard - revealed the new album has a much more positive stance than its predecessor.
He added: "I've deliberately tried to take the opposite view to look at how technology can be good and how we can embrace it.
"For 'Drones' we were wearing black all the time and it was very black and white in its heart. This is definitely more colourful in every way, including the artwork."
Meanwhile, Muse will be taking to the stage at the Royal Albert Hall in London for a special Prince's Trust charity show on December 3.
Matt previously said: "For a long time, we've admired the work of The Prince's Trust.
"When we were starting out as a band the Trust actually gave us a small grant to buy our first PA system, which I still have to this day.
"It really helped set us up on the right road and we're delighted to be able to play a show to raise funds for them."
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