The rock trio – comprising Matt Bellamy, Dominic Howard and Chris Wolstenholme – spent the weekend sending fans on a global chase to piece together the song.
Billboards began appearing in major cities including Sydney, New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Paris and London, each displaying a different code.
Those who tracked them down discovered that every code unlocked a separate slice of the song.
By Sunday night (17.05.26), fans had stitched the fragments together online, effectively debuting Hexagons themselves before Muse released the official version.
Built on spiralling synth patterns, heavy digital percussion and Matt’s eerie, stretched-out vocals, Hexagons leans into a darker, more experimental palette while still carrying the cinematic scale that has defined Muse since the early 2000s.
It follows a run of recent singles – Unravelling, Be With You and Cryogen – that have gradually introduced the themes behind The Wow! Signal.
The album takes its name from the mysterious radio burst detected in 1977.
A press release states that “the album continues to explore themes of cosmic communication, technological anxiety, existential wonder, and humanity’s search for meaning in an increasingly disconnected world.”
Muse confirmed the album earlier this year with a typically theatrical stunt.
Partnering with Sent Into Space, they launched a tablet more than 30km above Earth to reveal the record and premiere the video for Be With You. The project marks their first full-length release since 2022’s Will of the People.
The new era arrives after bassist Chris Wolstenholme hinted that the band were weighing up their next move.
Speaking on The Leona Graham Podcast, he admitted the group were taking longer between albums and considering their label options. Although he suggested fans might be waiting until 2026, the band ultimately accelerated their plans and remained with Warner for album ten.
Muse recently returned to the stage with a one-off show at London’s O2 Academy Brixton and will head to North America this summer, beginning July 2 at Milwaukee’s Summerfest and wrapping at the Hollywood Bowl on August 31.
