Not since Queen has a band harnessed the potential of theatrical bombast quite so brilliantly as Muse.

That dramatic flair was brought to bear again in Birmingham as they put on a scintillating set.

This was exemplified in the way the curved bank of screens surrounding the stage were transformed into a giant roulette wheel to select whether the band play Stockholm Syndrome or New Born (on this occasion the former). Unsurprisingly, new album 2nd Law featured prominently throughout.

They kicked off by jamming through the epic Unsustainable before launching into Supremacy.

Matt Bellamy was every inch the showman, darting to and fro across the stage, whipping the crowd into a frenzy.

Established favourites Sunburn, Time Is Running Out and Plug In Baby were especially well received. So, too, was the magnificent Madness, which sounded like Queen playing dubstep.

The main set climaxed with Knights of Cydonia, thousands of voices joining Bellamy to sing the defiant chorus, “You’ll never take me alive”.

That was followed by a brief but brilliant encore consisting of the lovelorn Starlight and the bombastic Survival.