UK band Muse put the 'progress' in progressive rock.

LOOK up "progressive rock" online and you'll get definitions calling it a subgenre of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a mostly British attempt to "elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility" and push "rock's technical and compositional boundaries" by going beyond the usual rock song structures.

Ever since The Beatles took the rock songbook and turned it on its head, bands like Pink Floyd, King Crimson, Led Zeppelin, Radiohead and more have been going beyond your usual four-on-the-floor big drum beats and fuzz guitars.

BLACK HOLES AND REVELATIONS

Which is why "progressive rock" would very aptly describe a band like Muse - except that it doesn't quite describe them.

The British trio are currently touring Australia headlining Big Day Out, a festival that bassist Christopher Wolstenholme said was "heaven" for the band.

"We've been touring Europe since September and it's been dark and cold and snowing where we've been," he said over the phone from Sydney. "Korea was freezing and Japan, too. It's like I've not seen daylight in six months. And now all of a sudden I'm on Bondi Beach, so I'm in an instant good mood!"

The band will perform here in February at the Singapore Indoor Stadium and we will get to see how far Muse have progressed since the last time they were here in 2007 - not only because they love to experiment with new sonic ideas but also because their albums tend to lean towards being "concept albums".

But, once again, that's not necessarily true, said Wolstenholme.

"I think people read quite deep into it. For Black Holes And Revelations, there was a concept to it. But on this one, we didn't sit down and go, 'Right, now this is what it's going to be about'," he said. "It doesn't really work like that. The only thing we were really sure about is that we wanted to explore some new ideas and new areas." in our music. Areas we've been before and push it even further. Like, we really wanted to do a symphony that took the classical influences we've done and pushed it further than ever before.

"There's a lot of different elements that kind of remind me of our first album (and) sums up everything we've ever done," he added. "It's a weird album. It's not a concept album in that it doesn't stay in one place. It's all different."

It's so different, people are calling it ... progressive rock. But don't let Wolstenholme hear you saying that. "I think the whole progressive label is a weird one. Progressive is such a wide term, like rock music is such a broad term. (Now) 'Rock band' can mean anything from The Beatles to Nine Inch Nails. I think the way that we work as a band on an instrumentation level is quite experimental and quite alternative, but you know, Matt will come up with a beautiful melody that will sit on top of it all, which will turn it into a pop thing.

"And if that's what people say is progressive then that's fine with me. It doesn't bother me at all. It's just a word, right?"

MOVIN' RIGHT ALONG

Meanwhile, Muse are prepping up for their gig in Singapore, which Wolstenholme said will be on a "smaller scale" than their European concerts. He kept mum about whether they'll bring their "building" props (upon which the band stands) but said it's their biggest stage they've had in their lives.