Gig review: Muse at the John Smith's Stadium, Huddersfield

The needle on a Muse record over their career has skated wildly between proto-Radiohead, full-blown Queen pastiche, 80s neon daubed global conspiracy theorists and a heavy dose of metal-infused Slipknot fan service.

To say I find Muse’s studio discography enjoyable but strangely inconsistent is an understatement. That’s not to say I don’t love Muse, but there has never been anything on record to quite match the live experience that brings together all the main hits of their career.

Muse are at their very best and confidently at home on the live circuit and where you get the real hysteria from the Devon trio.

The diminutive Matt Bellamy becomes a soaring rock god the moment he hits the stage. All the fire and passion in his belly is amplified by his electrifying mix of pedal board effects and extremely underrated fretboard wizardry. He is a master of his technical brilliance.

Sourcing the majority of the evening’s set-list from the new album Will Of The People, Muse dazzle and strobe their way through the title track like unearthly and honorary knights of West Yorkshire.

A compliant crowd of drones, receptive to the trios space-rock opera, fans were treat to blistering slices of their back catalogue including a personal favourite in Undisclosed Desires.

Muse are a gift to the UK’s live music scene. Overtly pomp and overblown, camp and nerdy, blinding and brash. The Hot Space that was needed to fill peak Freddie Mercury-era Queen. Plug in, baby, Muse show no sign of standing down.