Royal Blood

Hailing from Brighton, Royal Blood draw from the raw blues-rock drive associated with the White Stripes, the Black Keys, and Two Gallants, though they heighten the impact through abrasive riffs and forceful volume. After earning a Mercury Prize nomination and a Brit Award for their self-titled 2014 debut, the pair built on that foundation with How Did We Get So Dark? in 2017, Typhoons in 2021, and Back to the Water Below in 2023.

Drummer Ben Thatcher and bassist/vocalist Mike Kerr formed the duo at the start of 2013 after Kerr’s return from Australia, when Thatcher collected him at the airport. The pair performed live for the first time the following day and spent the rest of the year developing fresh material. Limited to drums and distorted bass, they generated melodic force through heavy rhythms and Kerr’s expressive vocals. Early support arrived via the BBC’s Sound of 2014 list and from Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders, who wore their shirt during the band’s 2013 Glastonbury headline set and later invited them to support at Finsbury Park. Later in 2013 they issued the single “Out of the Black” and secured a deal with Warner Bros. A follow-up single, “Little Monster,” surfaced in February 2014, and the four-track EP Out of the Black arrived in March, compiling both singles’ A- and B-sides. Recorded at Rockfield Studios in Wales, the self-titled debut appeared later that year, topping the charts in both the U.K. and Ireland. Subsequent tours alongside Iggy Pop and Foo Fighters led into early 2015, when Royal Blood received the Brit Award for Best British Group from Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page.

The band resurfaced in June 2017 with How Did We Get So Dark?, which reached number one in England and number 25 on the Billboard 200, propelled by the tracks “Hook, Line & Sinker” and “I Only Lie When I Love You.” They began the cycle for their third album with the single “Trouble’s Coming,” which topped Billboard’s Mainstream Rock chart in fall 2020. Produced by Queens of the Stone Age’s Josh Homme, Typhoons followed in April 2021. Satisfied with the largely self-produced results of the prior record, the duo handled production themselves for their next release. Captured at their Brighton home studio, the expansive Back to the Water Below arrived in 2023 and featured the single “Mountains at Midnight.”