I translated this Muse interview from German into English. It’s not perfect but I did my best. Enjoy!

Matt, how far into the recording process areyou with the new album?

We’re almost finished. We only have to mix some songs and then we’ve done it. Finally, then it was a long and tough process which already started in 2013 during our last World tour and lasted the whole last year. Because we tried to go a middle way. On the one hand to record all ideas we had during soundchecks and in hotel rooms immediately and to write new songs as spontaneously as possible. On the other hand not to rush anything but to do our thing without a hurry – no matter how long it takes in the end. So it’s a mix between fast and very meticulous working because it’s true that songs which are written on tour do sound a bit that way. In this respect it’s good to have a bit of a distance and to slow down the whole process.

And: What do the songs sound like?

Totally different from the two last albums. ’The 2nd Law’ was very electronic while ’The Resistance’ had a lot of progressive and classical music. The new material has a plain and simple rock sound with guitar, drum and bass. Simply because we didn’t want to copy ourselves and do the same thing twice. That would be boring. And for me it’s also a bit like calming down or like a morning after. To wake up after this dream which the last albums were and to ask yourself: „What the hell happened here? - That was absolutely mental!“ And: „How did it come to this?“ Which enhanced the wish to go back to our roots, to our musical background. In reverse it also means to separate ourselves conciously from the additional things with which we experimented in 2009-2012 – the electronics, the orchestras and all those things. We said goodbye to them this time.

Does that also imply the idea of concept albums which influenced this phase?

You mean superordinate themes which are like a golden thread throughout all the songs? Well, that’s one of those things. Simply because for me it’s a part of it. I love to write songs which are connected and interwoven, which tell a story and complete eachother. I think that I will continue, although a bit diminished, with that approach.

Because once again I do have a handful of themes I’m dealing with extensively.

For example?

The deep ecology. An ecological and environmental philosophy characterised by a life in harmony with nature. But also the so-called ’Empathy Gap’. It’s about this weird human inability to fulfill things which we decided to do. I think it’s really interesting. Those are all things I deal with in private and which I think are really exciting. Exactly like the theory that we’re slowly but steadily heading towards a third World War because the old East-West conflict is intensifying but also because the radicalisation of the islam is growing in a way that it has to end in a bang someday. And I’m incredibly afraid of this moment because it will have devastating consequences – for all humanity. But that’s only the content which doesn’t have anything to do with the music. There it’s about something simple, raw and rocking.

Is it true that you’ve written a sequel to Citizen Erased?

(laughs) I did indeed. But I don’t know yet if it will appear on the album or not. Because it actually was only a test. I wanted to see if I’d be able to once again write a song in the style of our second album ’Origin of Symmetry’ or if it would be near impossible because I’m somewhere else. It was about stripping off the recent past and to go back to something which was long ago. I was quite unsure about it and with this song I wanted to find out. And it worked out. I realised that I’m actually still the same person I used to be at the beginning of our career – although a lot has happened since then, especially in my private life. With this conclusion I approached the other songs. With the motto: It works so I can continue with it. With the ’back-to-basics’-approach I explained earlier.

That’s why you chose Robert ’Mutt’ Lange as a producer, one of the most successful producers in rock?

Yes, and it was a long-cherished dream. Because we have always been big fans of his work. He is a visionary, a man who uses the newest technology to create traditional, timelessly good music. And this for the biggest and most important names in the industry. I mean he is responsible for ’Back in Black’ by AC/DC – one of the best rock albums of all time and the soundtrack of my teenage years. So far we didn’t really dare to approach him because he’s from an other corner in rock. We’re more based in the alternative part and he definitely in the mainstream part.

What does Mutt think of your statement that ’guitar solos are uncool’?

(laughs) He actually did approach me about this – the very first time we met. He wanted to know if I’m serious about it and how it has come to this. I tried to explain to him that I simply don’t feel comfortable with it and that all the bands I grew up with – with AC/DC as an exception – felt the same way. He shook his head at this and challenged me to try it out several times during the recording. I didn’t want to at the beginning but eventually I gave it a go and it was actually fun. I fear that I’m cured once and for all.

Starting from May 28th you will be on tour with album number 7. What can we expect from the festival performances? How can you outdo the spaceship, the robot and the acrobats from 2012/2013?

This question is hanging over our heads like a sword of Damocles and makes us rack our brains. Of course we want to do something new and exciting which will surprise our fans like it did the last time. It is a real challenge. Because we don’t want to go over the top in a way that it will be too much, too excessive and cheesy. We don’t want to be slaves of our own show and create something which will be prone to go wrong even more than in the past. That’s the way it is: the more extensive and complicated the whole thing, the more frail it is. Since the ’Resistance’-tour I’m done with hydraulic systems. I don’t have to stand on a platform which hovers meters above the ground and is wobbling like crazy anymore. I’ve had enough of that. So let’s see what it will bet his time. So far I can only say that we’ll do our best to create something really special visually. It will include laser lights, LCD-screens and film sequences but also some more things. I think it’s the best to just let yourself be surprised. So far – or at least I hope so – we’ve never disappointed you, have we?