Muse on stage in Oslo, 25 October 2009. Photograph: Andy Hall for the Observer Ever since the early days of Muse , frontman Matt Bellamy and drummer Dom Howard have shared a running joke about success. Before each major concert, each step up the ladder, Bellamy turns to Howard and says: "Is this it? Have we made it yet?" Every time, the drummer shakes his head and replies: "Not yet. Nearly." Buy it from Muse 's unabashed hunger for megastardom is unique among British bands of the post-indie era, who tend to reject it (Radiohead), blow it (Oasis) or be pathologically humble about it (Coldplay). Muse, however, never flinch at excess. Only health and safety thwarted their plans to dangle acrobats from a helicopter over Wembley Stadium in 2007. Their forthcoming tour in support of sixth album The 2nd Law will find them playing beneath an inverted pyramid of LED screens: an upside-down version of the "all-seeing eye" beloved of conspiracy theorists. "It's turning the power structure of the world on its head," Howard says matter-of-factly. Muse have sold more than 15m albums. Their last one, 2009's The Resistance, was No 1 in 19 countries. Like Depeche Mode in the 1980s, they are taken more seriously outside their homeland, in countries where people are less likely to arch an eyebrow at songs with rococo arrangements and titles such as Exogenesis: Symphony Part 2 (Cross-Pollination). Since releasing their debut album, Showbiz, in 1999, the trio from Teignmouth, Devon have made their