Muse @ Hellfest and NOS ALIVE

Some of the best gigs you’ll attend are often the ones you hadn’t anticipated.

No post-album release anxiety to get tickets, no year-long waiting for said gig to happen as it is seemingly the new norm these days, but rather that spur of the moment surprise of what-do-you-mean-they-are-playing-this-year. How could that happen, you tell me, well, it’s pretty simple – it’s called festival season, my dudes.

And there’s a band that is particularly good at jumpstarting our nerves like that – Muse. Our beloved Brits never seem to stop – or maybe the time of a wedding, congrats, Dom and Stacie ! – because it seems that when they’re not touring, well, they’re still touring.
And the best part is that they always seem to have the best fun when it comes to those “off” gigs and deliver what all fans ever want. Big festivals, small venues, massive hits, and setlist rarities – that’s Muse’s recipe for a successful summer when they’re not tied down with an actual album tour. You might never get rich if you’re a Muser, but at least you’ll never be bored either.

I wasn’t expecting to see these guys this year, much less twice, and even less rock a metal festival or be added as a last-minute headliner to a fest I already had tickets for. But guess what – I did. And that was just the first set of surprises on my 2025 bingo card.

Two improbable shows, two completely different crowds, and two performances that couldn’t have been more different, proved to me once more the shapeshifting power of this band.

Even though some of the setlist remained the same, the only common thing I noticed between their set at Hellfest and NOS Alive was the gazillion degrees on the ground. That being said, I’ll focus on one more than the other, for reasons.

As always with these guys, it’s all in the details, and more so, how smart they are in making the best use of those. After three decades in their career, Muse are way past proving anyone the absolute professionals they are, and yet they never fall shy to take on a new challenge.

And I’ve got to admit that after an afternoon roaming around the dusty grounds of Clisson, filling my screaming and double kick drums’ dose of the year with the likes of Spiritbox, Epica or Within Temptation, I started to wonder how the hell – see what I did there – were they going to sort that particular one out.

Sure, they have big guitars and thunderous drums, I mean, Chris alone can take on any of those metal heads for sure, but will that be enough? History shows that the Hellfest is not the easiest crowd to please, and it is more than common knowledge that French people won’t hesitate to be loud if they’re not happy with what they get. Ha.

While sneaking further in that pit during The Hu set, I got somewhat reassured by the amount of Muse shirts all around me, willing to take any good sign at this point. I’ve never been a naysayer, but I used to be a blinded faith kinda fan, and I’ve seen so many great bands fuck up majestically that I couldn’t help holding onto that tedious hope that they would not.

Spoiler alert. They didn’t.

My heart did skip a beat when they opened the show with Unravelling, though. Don’t get me wrong, I do love the song, it has all the elements I love about Muse, and yes, it goes hard eventually, but to be fair I’m not sure it’s the best opener they ever had, especially not at a metal festival. I’m also not a complete moron, and I know a new song means promoting. I was personally more than happy to hear it live, but Stockholm Syndrome intro hitting next definitely woke up the rest of the audience. Or part of it at least. Important to note that the gig suffered from quite a lot of technical issues up until Hysteria – seemingly very low or absent sound even impacted those further back. From the front where I was standing, it all sounded fine.

More than fine even, I was already having the time of my life obviously and going full Psycho, soon to be joined by everyone else with that little tweak that made all the difference and finally let me breathe out all the anxiety that the crowd might not follow. It’s all in the details, remember?

That Slipknot outro on Kill or Be Killed felt like a fire starter. Damn, those boys are smart. Asserting once more that they know exactly what they’re doing and we shouldn’t (I shouldn’t) ever doubt their intentions to make it the best show possible, whatever audience they have in front of them.

Matt didn’t just bring his leather jacket and his angry pout, but all the heaviest bangers you can think of in the Muse discography and scattered them with all the metal seeds that would eventually let that wicked gamble turn into a blooming success. After that hint of Des Moines, accelerating everyone’s hunger for more, they struck right at the heartstrings of any French metal head with a Gojira/Nirvana intro on We Are Fucking Fucked – oh, we so are, in the best way possible. And by the time those first piano notes rang through the dusty, loaded air of that hell of a night, suffice to say everyone was ecstatic. Newborn will always be that song and feel like salvation itself.

Blood pressure slowly stabilizing, basking in the absolute euphoria of experiencing such a pristine setlist and seeing my favs winning over such a demanding crowd, I thought the peak of the concert had been reached. Well. Or not. Should have known that ‘Felt Like A Bomb‘ outro was ominous.

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU, YOU BLOODY BRITS?
Nothing is.
Nothing.
BUT STILL.

I’m pretty sure I died, went to hell, took a lap around the Styx, and was resurrected in the mere seconds that came next. It might have been a night of little faith to begin with, but I got hit full force with disbelief when I heard that guitar riff intro.

CITIZEN. ERASED.

Now excuse me if I’m a little extra all of a sudden – well, more than usual – but it’s not every day that you get to hear one of your favourite songs EVER live for the first time. Especially when it’s been played a grand total of three times in the last decade. At this point, just be grateful this review is not just those two words repeated a thousand times. And no, I still haven’t recovered thanks for asking. And I never will.

No chance for those happy tears to dry up with that haunting guitar of Haunting In Victory Square – ‘You exist through us, and for us’ – leading us to that truth no one wants to face, Time is running out, quite literally as the hour starts flying faster than anyone would want it to. Will of the people is next, and I don’t know if there’s some ulterior motive in it – of course, there must be, smart boys – but that succession of songs from 1984’s Orwell to this one tells one shrewd story.

Full on pumped by that urge to resist, we had to push back that agenda to later because we certainly weren’t gonna withstand what came next – all compulsory dance moves and bouncing included. Supermassive Black Hole and Plug in Baby definitely worked their magic and unleashed the roaring crowd of metal heads to a place I doubted for a few could exist.

A place where Matt sported his favourite light suit and no one batted an eye. Glittery lights at a metal festival? Man. You truly won that bet. And of course, some whiners in the back will tell you they didn’t, but I can assure you that the exulting joy and unity on Knights of Cydonia were definitely louder.

There’s no need for any further proof in my book that this band will forever be one of the most impressive performances you’ll ever see. They don’t just play those masterpieces they’ve written over the years, they bring them to life like the true maestros they are. They own those sounds and frankly all our arses the moment we get hit by those relentless waves of amazement hearing them work their magic. Their mastery truly shines through those songs, but also all those little jams in between, painting that musical canvas with nothing but pure beauty. Metal heads or else, they just tap into the very core of any human being, and all that is left is to stare in awe and hope for more. HA.

Muse played the Hellfest.
And they ruled it.
No big deal – I’m never doubting that these guys can do anything ever again.

Fast forward three weeks to an audience that they clearly didn’t need to win over for the Portuguese crowd will ALWAYS be ready to throw one hell of a party no matter what.

But I needed more than that.

Less than 24 hours after being front row for Linkin Park at the Stade de France, there I was, half collapsed on the pit floor at NOS Alive, wondering how the hell I was even gonna get through it. My legs were shot, my whole body filled to the brim with caffeine to fight the sleep deprivation, my voice already mostly gone – no way I could even think of jumping around and do these guys justice.

That wasn’t counting on the fact that they seemingly stole all the fire from hell to bring it on stage. Was that the last show of this run effect? Portuguese food? The overexcited crowd? Don’t ask me, I was half dead, or so I thought.

It was one of those simpler equations really – they were hyped, we were hyped, and all I know is that Matt started smashing guitars after 3 songs. And Chris – wearing a Diogo Jota jersey, my heart – actually laughed? Like what the hell was that show spiked with seriously?

Ultimate joy, fun and all the good vibes in between. Genuinely irresistible. Note for later: I can jump a lot longer and harder than anticipated.

As I was saying a few thousand lines ago, the setlist remained quite similar, although a lot less heavy, bringing back the lighter songs like Madness or Undisclosed Desires that fitted perfectly a much more carefree audience just happy to dance the night away. Details. Always.

And by the time Starlight was enticing for one last moment the Algès pilgrims, all our high hopes and expectations were fulfilled again. A perfect show ending in a bang, fireworks making it all extra special, lighting up the dark sky turning it just as bright as everyone’s smile on that stage and crowd.