More about: Muse

Muse have paid tribute to the influence that Nirvana have had on them as a band, as well as giving insight into progress on their new material.

Last week, the band kicked off just a small handful of their live shows for 2014, playing a headline show at Lollapalooza Brazil - where they marked the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death by covering the Nirvana classic, 'Lithium'.

Speaking to KROQ, ahead of their headline show at Coachella this weekend, the band said that the grunge icons were an important part of the band's formation in their early days. 

"They were massively influential to us when we were growing up," said drummer Dom Howard. "They're one of the reasons we picked up some instruments and decided to start a band in the first place, and I think that for many other millions of people, they were influential for starting bands.

"We all love them, it was a band that all three of us loved and it was that kind of music and some other bands that brought us together and we became friends because of that."

Dom continued: "('Lithium') was fun to play - it definitely reminded me of being 12 again in my first band."

Watch Muse covering 'Lithium' by Nirvana below

When asked about progress on their new material, they said that they were heading back into the studio next month.

"We're going to start this year," said Howard. "(Coachella) is our last two gigs, then we're completely done for touring this album. We're going to go back in May and start working on some new stuff, so I think we'll start making it this year."

He added: "If we can get something out this year, that would be great, but definitely next year."

Below: 8 epic, windswept photos of Muse, headlining Coachella 2014

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More about: Muse