When Muse dropped their fourth studio album, Black holes and revelations, in July 2006, they were poised on the absolute brink of global stadium domination. Having already built a massive reputation for spacey, dramatic rock with their previous record Absolution, this was the moment they went completely over the top in the best way possible. Instead of playing it safe, the Devon trio flew out to New York and France to create a record that took their wild sci-fi obsession and turned it into a colossal, chart-topping pop culture phenomenon.

The sound of this record is a gloriously unhinged mix of heavy space rock, progressive synth lines, and dancefloor-friendly alternative beats. Heavily influenced by the electronic textures of Depeche Mode and the theatrical swagger of Queen, the band beautifully utilises Prince-style falsettos over crunchy guitars and throbbing basslines. It feels both dystopian and incredibly fun, effortlessly switching between paranoia-fueled political rants and massive, sky-scraping melodies that sound like they were custom-built to be played to one hundred thousand screaming fans in a stadium.

The tracklist is stuffed with absolute legendary anthems, from the glittering, romantic pop of Starlight to the slinky, dance-punk groove of Supermassive black hole. But the ultimate crown goes to Knights of Cydonia - a sprawling, six-minute epic that sounds like a spaghetti western colliding with a space opera. Decades later, Black holes and revelations remains an essential, endlessly replayable revisit because it captures a band completely fearless in their ambition, delivering a grand, cinematic ride that never takes itself too seriously.