Muse bringing stripped-back Drones show to Hong Kong

When Muse  last played in Hong Kong in 2010, the conspiracy-theory-obsessed three-piece staged a gig that was heavily laden with implied doom – robotic machinery, monolithic slabs that seemed to pulse with life and roving lasers hinted at a hidden menace that was yet to come.

With their latest album and tour, that hellish reality has arrived. As its title suggests, Drones explores the dehumanising effects of drone warfare. The music is stripped back and basic, in contrast to the synth-heavy orchestrations of their previous album, to give a more explosive feel to this most explosive of subjects.

At the same time the lyrics are direct, addressing the brutality of aerial bombing by emotionless, pilotless aircraft and the dispassionate reasoning that goes into decisions on their deployment.

It makes Muse’s next gig in Hong Kong at AsiaWorld-Expo on Monday next week all the more tantalising a proposition.

The genesis of Drones, which includes the single Dead Inside, lay in a meeting lead singer and guitarist Matt Bellamy had with former US secretary of state Colin Powell. The two were sat next to each other at a White House gathering Bellamy was invited to courtesy of his girlfriend, Hollywood star Kate Hudson.