If you've recently been introduced to the British band called Muse, you might assume from its piano-tinkling, apocalyptic drama - no less dark and brooding than the music of Ludwig van Beethoven, come to think of it - that these guys are classical musicians who were "corrupted" by rock 'n' roll.

Quite the opposite.

"None of us have any classical lessons," says singer Matt Bellamy, leading his trio at Red's tomorrow night. "I never learned to read music.

"I think I had one piano lesson when I was 17, and the teacher said my technique was wrong so that was that. I progressed much quicker learning on my own."

Besides, once he saw a Jimi Hendrix concert recording on the telly at the age of 10. "I thought the guitar was a lot cooler.

"I stopped playing piano altogether and started getting into bands like Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth."

Then, in the same breath - this bloke can get a lot of talking into one breath - Bellamy drops names like Rachmaninoff and Liszt, romantic composers Muse identifies with as much as the alternative-rock icons above.

The singer says six months of flamenco guitar studies opened his mind to "different genres outside rock music."

Rachmaninoff and Liszt were "alternative" in their day.

How Muse avoided getting tagged as the Emerson, Lake and Palmer of the '00s is a mystery, albeit an easily solvable one.

TOUCHED BY MUSIC OF THE PAST

"Something in that music touched me in a way I couldn't quite describe," Bellamy says. "It was something of the past, something of greatness, something you could connect with outside of your own life.

"The romantic period of classical music, from the 19th and early 20th century, was all about emotion.

"It was no longer about mathematical perfection, so I think a little bit of that has come through in our music.

"I think that's one of the reasons we're avoided being labelled a prog rock band."

So while ELP ripped off Mussorgsky and wrote songs like Karn Evil Nine: Impression No. 2, Muse channels Debussy and writes songs like Absolution - the title track of the band's latest album, best "angst" record of the year so far - Time Is Running Out and Thoughts of a Dying Atheist. You might be sensing a common thread here.

Bellamy explains, "I think the theme of the album, if there is one, is the idea of things coming to an end in general.

"I think I put Time Is Running Out first because I wanted to set the tone for the rest of the album.

"It veers off in other directions, touching on simple fears: The fear of your own death, the fear of a relationship coming to an end and things like that."

Of course, like all the good British bands that pop over the pond to spread culture to the colonists, Muse is accompanied by heaps of praise from the British music press.

In England, the band is huge. Muse just finished headlining an arena tour across Europe. In North America, they're playing bars.

HAPPY TO BE UNKNOWN HERE

When Robbie Williams first "came over," he seemed dismayed that no one seemed to know or care who he was - but Muse is delighted.

"It's great playing to a crowd that's never seen you live before," Bellamy says. "It's really nice to get the feeling of being a new band again.

"One of the most exciting times is when you're first getting discovered."

So discover Muse's most excellent "classical rock" - not to be confused with "classic rock."