Download Festival 2015: 11 Heavy Tracks Muse Need To Play

Matt Bellamy needs to get his big guns out.

Muse performs at the KROQ Weenie Roast at the Irvine Meadows Amphitheatre on Saturday, May 16, 2015, in Irvine, Calif. (Photo by Rich Fury/Invision/AP)
Rich Fury/AP

Muse might not have been most metal fans' choice for a headliner at the former Monsters Of Rock event, but there's no doubting their live credentials. And they have acknowledged that they'll adapt to the tastes on show at Donington.

The band have promised to alter their set to cater specifically to the Download audience, adding weight to certain songs and concentrating on their heaviest tracks for the most part. If that means specially organised versions of songs that fans might even be overly familiar with, then that's more than welcome (particularly given some still argue that Muse aren't as heavy as a headliner should be).

But looking back through Muse's catalogue, there are songs that offer flashes of heaviness: which flirt in licks with being something altogether more substantial than the anthemic fare that has scored them the highest chart positions. And it's likely that those songs are the ones that will be beefed up for Donington.

But even without the need to inject much more muscle, some songs will delight even the most hardy of metal fans...

11. New Born

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhduQhDqtb4

Origin Of Symmetry might not be Muse's heaviest work by any means, but it's probably they're most emotionally raw, and New Born is the crowning glory of the album. It's actually pretty close to being the band's best work, which embraces its identity problem by transitioning easily from creepy ballad to heavier rock.

Everything about the composition, from the strong drumming backbone to the catchy riffs make this a prime candidate to be played no matter what the festival, but there's definitely an opportunity to inject muscle and tailor it to Donnington. 

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