Biffy Clyro can’t wait to rock Bellahouston Park next week– and they reckon it’ll be even greater than headlining the Reading and Leeds festivals.

The Ayrshire lads will play a Summer Sessions show on Saturday August 27, sandwiched in-between their second stint topping the bill at Reading and Leeds.

Having worked their way up from being regulars at King Tut’s to rock gods, Biffy singer Simon Neil reckons the group are finally comfortable on the biggest stages.

“As much as I’m looking forward to Reading and Leeds, I’m even more excited about Bellahouston,” says the frontman.

“It’s going to be bizarre doing a gig and then being in my own bed at the end of the night! The whole weekend will be an absolute highlight and we’re aiming for them to be the best shows anyone sees all year. It’s strange because sometimes playing King Tut’s feels like a lifetime ago and at other times it feels like yesterday.

“I guess we’re used to walking on big stages now. I think there’s a real validation in playing gigs that size, whereas before I’d think we were losing a bit of artistic integrity in doing them. I do believe we can now create an intimacy in a big show the same as you can in a small show.

“I do miss small shows but at the same time if we were just doing them I’d be craving the big ones, and we can still do small ones if we want – maybe we’ll book 24 nights at King Tut’s sometime!”

Most Biffy fans would go wild if the trio ever did return to Tut’s, but Bellahouston should provide a fitting home for both old classics and tracks from their newest album, Ellipsis. It’s the seventh record in the group’s career, and went straight to the top of the charts when it was released in July.

If the group’s first three records were intense, complex rock and the following trio of albums celebrated big stadium-sized tunes then Ellipsis is arguably their most varied offering. It presents a host of styles, with the group inspired by new producer Rich Costey, hip hop albums like Yeezus by Kanye West and also by anger towards people the band feel have let them down.

Let’s start with those hip hop influences…

“To me, Yeezus is one of the most important records of the last 10 years…” argues Simon.

“Some of those songs on Yeezus, they’re so brutal, so punk rock, and why does that sound more extreme than 90% of the rock records I’ve heard? No-one was talking about Coldplay at the Super Bowl this year, God bless them, because Beyonce kicked ass and provoked emotions, and that’s what rock music is missing – that provocation. There’s a safety net under what a lot of bands are doing.”

On paper Biffy are at a stage where they seem to have it all – huge gigs, successful albums and a devoted fanbase. Not everything has been perfect, though. The singer has admitted he’s struggled with depression, while the band’s fame has brought both positives and negatives.

“I’ve tied so much of my self-esteem into writing songs, more than I’d ever thought,” explains Simon.

“So when things with the band had people taking advantage of us, it hit me harder than it would have at another time. If my personal life had been more straightforward then I don’t think it would have impacted on my mind so much, but it really hit me hard, and that’s why I went to Los Angeles for a couple of months…

“What annoys me is that when a band gets big there’s always people sticking their heads in, when they’ve never written a song in their lives. They try and take things that belong to you because you’re now playing big shows.”

However it’s not all anger fuelling the record. One song, Re-Arrange, is dedicated to Simon’s wife, Francesca.

“She has to put up with a lot,” he admits.

“When I’m writing for an album music is all I live and breathe, and that song is saying I know we can get in certain situations where I get really unhappy, and I would happily unwrite everything I’ve ever done if I could make things smooth and happy.

“So it’s an apology song to my wife, saying I’d never ever mean to hurt you but this is what you’re stuck with, romantic as that sounds!”

Biffy Clyro, Bellahouston Park, Saturday August 27, £45, 4pm