Royal Blood: Self Titled

And finally, the last of my stash...



Now Royal Blood is a band I heard about through some Spotify ad. They were one of a number of bands in, I believe, American Family's Emerge competition. Just for kicks, I thought I'd check out the bands participating. I'm very glad I did. Royal Blood's full length album was not out yet, but it turned me onto to them so I would be ready when it finally was released. Royal Blood is Ben Thatcher and Mike Kerr, a drum and base duo from Brighton, UK. The self titled, 'Royal Blood' is their full length debut, including the songs from their previous EP 'Out of the Black'.

'Out of the Black', actually kicks off the album in a big way. Leading off the track is a mainly drum intro giving the impression of machine gun fire before the bass rips in and announces the general idea that you'll be wrapping your head around for the rest of the album. A very heavy, booming distorted bass is the trademark of this group and it takes no time to figure out this groups' approach. Heavy distortion and effects give Royal blood the ability to create diverse sounds to keep the music interesting, but there is no mistaking that this is going to be a hard rock album.

The second track, 'Come on Over' shows off Kerr's skills as a player. The opening riff and driving concept behind the song is a simple but very effective exercise in tapping. The rest of the track continues where 'Out of the Black' left off. with driving eighth notes and big syncopated hits from the drums. The following track, 'Figure It Out' is a little more of a playful romp then the previous song, but another opening riff with some simple taps is a strong theme here. The chorus is where the real impressive song writing comes in though, as the chord changes are more active and give it an almost bluesy feel. A small interlude drops out most of the bass and lets the drums groove for a while before Kerr rips back in and takes this thing home in double time.

With a slightly more subdued tune coming next, (about as subdued as this group can get), 'You can be so Cruel' kind of slumps in for the first two verses before, in a chorus evocative of Wolfmother's 'Woman', the song kicks off. The drums throughout take a great rolling approach on the toms in the verses, and drives the choruses with the triplet feel riff that makes this song one of the standout tracks of the record. Now as every appreciator of music knows, most albums have a sort of slower, quieter, midsection. 'Blood Hands' marks this part of the album, but is by no means a ballad. This song in 3/4 comes off feeling like a Led Zeppelin ballad, but much louder. The drums are easy to miss in this kind of slower song, but the understated hi-hat rhythms between the measured bass and snare give this a very relaxed swinging feeling and make sure nothing feels too urgent.

Starting the climb back up to full volume, 'Little Monster' starts loud and bombastic, but the vocals in the verse are accentuated by the sustained bass notes leaving plenty of space for expression. The chorus is one of the more active ones on the record with the chorus riff being one of the finest examples of the groups writing ability. 'Loose Change' is another example of this ability. The riff is interesting enough to grab your attention from the beginning and be fun throughout. What makes it stand out is how well it supports the chord changes, direction of the melody and the rest of the track. This track is one of the best arguments of Royal Blood as a Riff-Rock group.

As we approach the end of the album, 'Careless' is an adventure into another kind of song style and structure. Heavily carried by the drum groove in the verse, the bass takes up less space and makes room for the groove more than the notes being played. The following song, 'Ten Ton Skeleton' is along the same lines but is notably heavier and is easily one of my favorite songs on the record. The bass is less involved and is left to play more of a riff designed to outline the harmonic structure of the tune. The standout feature of this track is it's groove and easily miss-able drum part. During the verses Ben Thatcher plays a very rhythmically involved part incorporating lots of tom and subtle hints at upbeats on the hi-hat. During the chorus though, all complexity steps aside for the need to thump the downbeat and emphasize how heavy and driving this track really is. Closing out this musical brawl is 'Better Strangers'. Another track similar to the last few, leaving lots of space for the groove and plodding bass progression. This track leaves it's mark in the way it just plods along the chords and alternates between the high and low registers of Kerr's base. Leaving us on a slow burner, the track wraps up with the heavy resounding thumps of the chorus and a ringing hum of fuzzy distorted bass.

It took me a long time to write this review after my first view listens, and I feel a little bad for waiting so long. As soon as I started it up again, I was reminded of how much I liked this album. Royal Blood carves a very big niche for itself in rock, and this is in no small part to its instrumentation and how they use it. With just a bass and drums that can leave a lot of the soundscape empty. With some heavy distortion and some creative playing though, it's near impossible to wish there was more going on. All the tracks are written to make perfect use of each of the riffs in each song. It can be hard for a duo to make all of the sounds necessary for a full fleshed out rock sound, and I have been skeptical of bands like this, such as The White Stripes. Granted it may be easier for a bass, it is still impressive to hear the kind of full-bodied sound that Royal Blood has made work for them. The best way I can describe this group is "heavy, riff driven rock". The riffs drive everything in this group. That is not to say nothing about the drums though. Thatcher so masterfully plays just what is necessary to ground everything, and in some cases fill space to provide for new ideas. I love listened to this album. It's fun, and it rocks hard. I so look forward to whatever these two musicians will do in the future.

Notable tracks: Out of the Black, Figure It Out, Loose Change, Ten Ton Skeleton

Vocal/Lyrics: 8/10 Never overdone, expressive and soulful. lyrics are evocative, youthful, and energetic.
Bass: 9/10 Well Written, expertly played, rich sound and rocks super hard.
Drums: 8/10 Essential and delivers in every way. Solid, locked in tight, never showy, very well crafted and complimentary.

Overall Rating: 9/10