Royal Blood

Formed in Worthing in the south of England, Royal Blood initially grew up around Mike Kerr before taking its lasting shape as a duo with drummer Ben Thatcher in 2013. Royal Blood develops a dry, taut rock sound at the intersection of hard rock, blues rock, garage rock, stoner and alternative, with tight songwriting in which the bass often occupies the space of a guitar. After early appearances, including shows in Australia and a first track aired in 2012, Royal Blood quickly emerged on the British scene with the single “Out of the Black” and went on to play festivals such as SXSW, Download, Glastonbury, Reading & Leeds and Rock Werchter. The debut album, Royal Blood, was released in 2014, followed by How Did We Get So Dark? in 2017. With Typhoons in 2021 the band shifted toward more danceable rhythms and more open textures while keeping a compact rock core, before returning to a more direct formula on Back to the Water Below in 2023. On tour Royal Blood has shared bills with Arctic Monkeys, Foo Fighters and Muse, while maintaining an identity centred on the effectiveness of the two-piece format.