WORDS RYAN WOODFORD
ROYAL BLOOD
“NEW 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION OF THEIR SELF-TITLED DEBUT ALBUM”
OUT NOW
ORDER HERE
Let’s take a trip down memory lane, shall we? Let’s go back to 2011 when the indie rock duo Royal Blood would form—the band consisting of lead singer & bassist Mike Kerr, accompanied by Ben Thatcher on drums. The band developed their sound with Mike Kerr’s unique bass playing and sound which sees him using various effects pedals and amps to make his bass guitar sound like an electric guitar which sounds rather different and certainly contributed when they first burst onto the scene.
After a couple of years of finding their feet and articulating their sound, it’s 2013, and the band has signed with Warner Chappell Music. They have also joined the same management company as Arctic Monkeys. Royal Blood supported Arctic Monkeys at both headlining shows at Finsbury Park in London in May 2014 – (I was lucky enough to attend one of these shows at Finsbury and this was the first time I’d see Royal Blood live!). It’s at this very point where the band start to gather traction, and momentum and build a following.
Summer 2014 would become a very busy period for the band playing shows such as Download, Glastonbury, Reading and Leeds to name a few. Their debut album Royal Blood was released on 25th August 2014.
This moves us perfectly onto today’s album review, the band have decided to release a very special 10th-anniversary edition of that rather brilliant debut album, featuring b sides ‘One Trick Pony’, ‘You Want Me, Love and Leave it Alone’, ‘Sleeptalker’ and ‘Hole’. Also added is Ten Tonne Skeleton – Tom Daugherty Mix, plus a few live tracks from T in the Park, Reading Festival and Bonnaroo.
There are some real thunderous rock numbers on this album with my personal favourites ‘Out of the Black’, ‘Come on Over’, ‘Figure it Out’ and ‘Little Monster’. ‘Blood Hands’ which is halfway through the album, the slowest moment on the LP, breaks down the record beautifully with Kerr bellowing his troubling thoughts during the chorus “And I’ll curse the ground where you kneel, Till I grow my hair to my heels, spike your water, your wine, there’s blood on my hands.” One more highlight is the penultimate song Ten Tonne Skeleton which still makes the set list to this very day which is not surprising! We must also give a special mention to Ben Thatcher’s insane drum work throughout this album which provides the backbone to this outstanding debut.
This has been quite a personal review for me as I’ve followed Royal Bloods voyage from the beginning and was lucky enough to experience their rather refreshing, different approach to indie rock.
There have been many two-piece bands over the years but none quite like this one from Brighton.
If you haven’t listened to this album before, please do. If you have listened to this album, give this tenth-anniversary edition a go.
But before you do, play it LOUD and enjoy!
9/10
Tracks to Listen to:
Out of the Black
Come on Over
Figure it Out
Little Monster
Royal Blood – 10th Anniversary Edition’ tracklist:
1. ‘Out of the Black’
2. ‘Come on Over’
3. ‘Figure It Out’
4. ‘You Can Be So Cruel’
5. ‘Blood Hands’
6. ‘Little Monster’
7. ‘Loose Change’
8. ‘Careless’
9. ‘Ten Tonne Skeleton’
10. ‘Better Strangers’
Additional tracks on CD and vinyl:
1 ’One Trick Pony’
2. ‘You Want Me’
3. ‘Love and Leave It Alone’
4. ‘Sleeptalker’
5. ‘Hole’
6. ‘Ten Tonne Skeleton’ (Tom Dalgety Mix)
7. ‘Figure It Out’ (Live from T In the Park 2015)
8. ‘Loose Change’ (Live from Reading Festival 2015)
9. ‘Little Monster’ (Live from Reading Festival 2015)
10. ‘Better Strangers’ (Live from Bonnaroo 2015)
11. ‘Out Of The Black’ (Live from Reading Festival 2015)
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My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
