Muse aim to include 'hardest song ever' on new album

Muse have told fans that they have begun work on their fifth studio album.

Answering questions from fans on the Muse forum, bassist Chris Wolstenholme confirmed that work had started on the follow-up to their 2006 album 'Black Holes And Revelations'.

Wolstenholme wrote: "It would be nice to have the album out in the second half of next year [2009] but we have not set ourselves any targets. It is more important for us to make the best album we have made to date, and if that means it comes out in 2010 then we don't mind."

The star did add that he and the rest of the band were hoping to make the earlier release date.

The trio also revealed that the album could feature the "hardest song" frontman Matt Bellamy has ever written.

"There is a new song in three parts, more of a symphony than a song, which I have been working on sporadically for many years," said the singer, answering another question. "As a large percentage of the composition is orchestral, I have never wanted to collaborate with a string arranger as they may make it 'theirs'. So I have been arranging the orchestral elements myself, which is taking a long time. It should hopefully make the next album as the final three tracks."

Meanwhile the band also joked that having recently been given honorary doctorates they have been enjoying using their new titles.

One fan asked whether they had used the phrase "Trust me, I'm a doctor", to which drummer Dominic Howard joked: "I use that line every day... I just hope I'm not in the situation where someone takes me seriously and asks me to do something. At that point I will just have to offer a healing drumbeat."