Arenas are a poisoned chalice. The sheer capacity of them strips away the intimacy of a live gig and the ticket price alone burns a hole in your pocket, so what possessed Muse, a band reputed to be the best live act, to hurtle towards a possible career suicide with an arena tour was an intrigue.

Having pushed the boundaries further with Black Holes and Revelations, their most epic album to date, Muse do not to hold back, something evident from the moment they launch into ‘Take a Bow’.

Dressed in white from head to toe, pint-sized frontman Matt Bellamy is poised on a platform centre stage of what is an outstanding stage set, beaming pulsating strobes and lights into every open space.  Just when you’ve captured your breath from their dramatic entrance, the three Devon lads ease straight into ‘Starlight’. It’s a superb song which accentuates to new heights and lifts the spirits of the heaving crowd when executed live.

Comfortably basking in the glory of Black Holes and Revelations, the atmosphere is turned up ten folds when the opening riffs of ‘Supermassive Black Hole’ playfully stutter and tease. Unashamedly dabbling in the funk sounds of Prince with sleek dance beats, gritty guitars and Bellamy on falsetto, it oozes sleaze and lifts the hairs on the back of your neck. And this feeling does not subside for a solid 90 minutes.

Bellamy is tiny yet his voice coupled with the visually stunning light show is magical or to want a better description, jaw-dropping. He hops from the guitar genius that he is, to tinkling the ivories on a white piano effortlessly, faithfully supported by drummer Dominic Howard and bassist Chris Wolstenholme. And that’s all it takes. There isn’t an encore to build up to; their whole performance is utterly spellbinding.

Current songs ‘Map of the Problematique’, ‘Invincible’ and ‘Hoodoo’ do not disappoint and the classics aren’t forgotten either – ‘Plug In Baby’ and ‘New Born’ are magical but it’s the hypnotic sound of Wolstenholme’s bass on ‘Time is Running Out’ and ‘Hysteria’ that ricochets through the arena for a captivating encore.

Sealing the night off with the soaring ‘Stockholm Syndrome’, does it then make sense why Muse have been hailed the best live act (ever). You’ll hear these words from the lips of every person who has seen them live but until you actually see Muse for yourself, can you fathom exactly what those words mean.

(5/5)