The summer’s only just coming to a close and already the year-end lists are written. But however you look at it, 2014 is going to be remembered as Royal Blood’s year.
The Brighton duo’s debut album has been crowned the fastest-selling rock album in three years. It went straight to number one. The reason? Singing bassist Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher have crafted a 10-track pedal-to-the-floor sonic assault, wired with hunger and gloss, gleaming with devastating intent and bulging with earworm choruses. Every track is excellent, ruthless, relentless.
From ‘Out Of The Black’’s explosion of taut, stadium-bound riffery to the liquid blues of closer ‘Better Strangers’, this is the most exciting and fun mainstream rock has sounded in ages.
The influences of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath (‘Figure It Out’, video below) and Jack White’s propulsive funk (‘Careless’, ‘Ten Tonne Skelton’) loom large but never swamp – Royal Blood manage to whip up the racket of much larger bands without anyone else’s help.
Rock music’s on its arse you say? Just watch these guys blast a hole through that argument.
8/10
Words: Dannii Leivers
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Related: In Conversation: Royal Blood
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Listen to ‘Royal Blood’ in full via Deezer, below…
