Credit: Danny ClinchMuse will kick off a U.S. headlining tour in support of their new album Simulation Theory Friday in Houston. The British rockers have shared a few previews of the tour -- featuring frontman Matt Bellamy in a robot suit and a giant, mechanical alien creature -- and now drummer Dominic Howard tells ABC Radio that the shows will reflect the Simulation Theory's '80s-esque sound and visuals.
"I think the look of the show is gonna be as colorful as all the videos and the album cover," Howard says. "So it's gonna be a much more neon feeling to the palette."
While previous Muse tours have been dominated by large video screens and airborne objects -- the run in support of 2015's Drones, for example, featured actual drones flying around the venue -- Howard says the band will be taking a different approach this time around.
"We're working on bringing in a cast of other people into the stage to [not only] play instruments with us, but also perform weird, live art [during] the show," Howard explains. "So it [will] be more about...looking at the stage and what's going on rather than, like, everything else flying around the venue, like drones and stuff."
In doing so, Howard hopes to bring the energy of a small room into arenas.
"I like the feeling of it being stripped down and just about the music and not about a massive screen," Howard says. "Which is what we're gonna try and attempt to do [on this tour]."
"It's still gonna be a massive, big arena show," he continues. "But [it will] just have a bit more focus on what's actually going on onstage, rather than just watching a movie, you know?"
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