With their fifth studio album, The Resistance, due to drop on Monday 14 September, Devon trio Muse have revealed inspiration behind the epic new disc came from George Orwell’s classic novel, 1984.

According to lead singer/songwriter Matt Bellamy (who admits he loves a good conspiracy theory), the tale of Big Brother watchdog had a “massive influence” on his next batch of lyrics.

 “When I read it this time I was much more taken with the love story,” Bellamy told the BBC, admitting he recently re-read the classic novel. “I read once in school about 15 years ago it was all about the politics. But when I read it this time I was much more taken with the love story in the book between Juliette and Winston.”

Recorded at Bellamy’s home studio in Lake Como, Italy, The Resistance features 11 songs. “It’s as lean as could be,” Bellamy says of the album, which is led in Australia by the track “Uprising”. “We wrote 11 tracks and that’s it”, Bellamy insisted.