Royal Blood seem to want to get our attention. They just released their new single “Out Of The Black” a couple weeks ago and I must say it’s filled with chunky riffs and exploding drums that would make 1970-era Black Sabbath tear up. There’s a sense of menace and anger in the track that pummels you, yet Mike Kerr also conveys a vulnerability in his vocals that pulls the song up from the black mud-slathered dirge this track was born from and allows the song to grow and thrive with repeated listens.
To my ears, there’s a little Muse thing going on in the massive riff(done by only bass I hear) and in Kerr’s vocals which have a hint of grandiosity to them. There’s also a bit of Robbers And Cowards-era Cold War Kids, had the Cold War Kids been influenced by Polvo rather than whatever they were influenced by. Royal Blood bring to mind the Boston band Big Wreck, too. They made a name for themselves in the late-90s by writing incredibly catchy songs with their amps turned to 11 and the fuzz boxes engaged at all times. Singer/guitarist Ian Thornley sounded like a cross between Chris Cornell and Blind Willie McTell, conveying that animalistic heavy metal howl as well as a soulful blues man. I think Royal Blood are bringing both of those elements back to a genre that sorely needs a breath of fresh air, screamed in our faces of course.
Check Royal Blood out here:
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