Royal Blood: Album Review
At the very beginning of 2014 XFM first broke the news about a duo from Brighton who favour bone shaking riffs and massive impact than fancy intricate guitar solo's. That duo are Royal Blood and in August 2014 they released their highly anticipated self titled debut album.
The duo are made up of Mike Kerr (Bass and Vocals) and Ben Thatcher (Drums) and formed in 2012 after Kerr worked in Australia. They met for the first time when they were 15 and played in bands influenced byt the likes of Queens of the Stone Age and Muse but Mike wanted to travel and it was over in Oz that he developed the unique sound he generates from a bass guitar. The bass is played through effect pedals and a guitar amplifier as well as a bass one which accompanied with Ben's piercing drums gives Royal Blood their sound which sets them apart from other duo's. Back in 2013 when Arctic Monkeys headlined Glastonbury festival, drummer Matt Helders wore a Royal Blood t-shirt on stage and since then their popularity has soared, especially after the pulsating "Out of the Black" appeared on the Radio 1 daytime playlist and all this has led them to supporting the Arctic Monkeys and Pixies as well as playing at festivals up and down the UK, most notably at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Reading & Leeds where they played in front of 10,000 people! A slightly different scene to a year ago when they played in front of three people who sat down during the whole performance. The band released four singles before the album itself, which notably included "Come On Over" and "Little Monster" both of these songs put Royal Blood at the forefront of a new wave of heavy, guitar based bands which include Drenge, Eagulls and The Wytches.
The album itself begins with the aforementioned "Out of the Black" which is four minutes and two seconds of heavy dark and moody riffs designed to make you take notice as Royal Blood begin their assault. It also seems that their might some angst in Kerr's lyrics, "I've got a gun for a mouth and a bullet with your name on it" which only add to the angry sound of the duo. "Come on Over" and "Figure it Out" are based on more ferocious riffs which may sound straight forward but they are devastatingly effective, they give Royal Blood a sound of a band who have been around. "Come on Over" contains some religious angst "I went ti church and stopped believing" and "There's no god and I don't really care" are personal remarks from Kerr as he was brought up in a strictly religious household which adds another element to the album. "You can be so cruel" has a very unique melody which set it apart from the other songs on the album, the riff is still dark and dingy but it shows that there can be variations on the genre. "Blood Hands" has the impact of a boxer pummelling a punch bag it may start off slow but once the song explodes with savage force it will leave your bones shaking. "Loose Change", "Careless" and the superb "Little Monster" are prime examples of a band who know exactly what they are all about couple that with "Ten Tonne Skeleton" and the brutal closer "Better Strangers" and it makes for a incredibly powerful album which will leave your ears ringing but you will want more. Royal Blood are here to tell you that loud is good and guitar music is not dying out!
8/10
Best tracks in my opinion: Blood Hands, Figure it Out.
The album is available to purchase now!
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