Royal Blood: All Albums Ranked
Royal Blood are an endlessly inventive 2-piece band from Brighton, UK, making an almighty sound from just bass, drums and vocals. Check out our Spotify playlist of highlights and lesser-known Royal Blood tracks from their string of chart-topping albums, have your say in the comments below, and check out some of our other rankings!
We start this ranking with a caveat: Royal Blood don’t have a ‘bad’ record, such is the consistent quality of their recorded output. One of the records has to be in 4th place, and for us ‘How Did We Get So Dark?’ is the most obvious contender.
Let’s start by looking at what ‘How Did We Get So Dark?’ is. Firstly, it is proof that the self-titled debut was no fluke. Mike and Ben are masters of their craft, with adept musicianship, a seemingly limitless well of catchy riffs, and the ability to write punchy earworm choruses. Secondly, as suggested by the title, album number 2 was a darker record overall than ‘Royal Blood’, both lyrically and with a murkier rumble in the overall sound, which is evident from the record’s very opening seconds of drums. Thirdly, ‘How Did We Get So Dark?’ starts, very subtly, to add some extra layers to the bass-drums-vocals setup. Note the harmonies on “So dark” in the title track. The vocal melodies may be inadvertently the same as Take That’s ‘Could It Be Magic’ (remember that?), but it works really well. Similarly, the “Yeah”s in ‘Lights Out’ add an extra singalong element.
Now let’s look at what ‘How Did We Get So Dark?’ isn’t. Well, frankly, it isn’t as good as ‘Royal Blood’. The debut record was so fresh, raw, bold and great, that it would have taken an extremely strong album for Royal Blood’s sophomore effort to be an improvement. ‘Hook, Line & Sinker’ and ‘Where Are You Now?’ have some great riffs that stand shoulder to shoulder with ‘Out of the Black’ and ‘Come on Over’, but the songwriting isn’t as memorable. The singles ‘I Only Lie When I Love You’ and ‘Lights Out’ are two clear highlights, with great vocal hooks. Occasionally there is some variation in pace, with mixed results. ‘Don’t Tell’ is a strident tune that brings to mind the bolder points of Arctic Monkeys’ ‘AM’ album. ‘She’s Creeping’ and ‘Sleep’, however, have a tendency to become somewhat stodgy, and groovy b-sides ‘Half the Chance’ and ‘Cheap Affection’ might have been a better choice for the final tracklisting.
‘How Did We Get So Dark?’ is a great record by other bands’ standards. For Royal Blood, it is good but not their best.
Standout tracks: ‘Hook, Line & Sinker’, ‘I Only Lie When I Love You’, ‘Don’t Tell’
‘Typhoons’ had done an impressive job of expanding Royal Blood’s sound into ‘Disco AC/DC’ territory, proving that there was a lot more to Mike and Ben than the core bass-drums-vocals setup that had been central to the first two records. For some fans, however, it was a step too far.
The title of album number 4, therefore, was curious. Did ‘Back to the Water Below’ mean that Royal Blood were returning to their roots? Retreating, even? Whatever the symbolism of the title and artwork, sonically this album is a treat. There is less of the disco element, but some of the more electronic and dancey flourishes remain (‘Triggers’, ‘Tell Me When It’s Too Late’). Some of the rawness from the debut album returns, in the excellent ‘Shiner in the Dark’ and ‘High Waters’. But this is only part of the story, because ‘Back to the Water Below’ also embraces a surprising amount of piano, which had previously only appeared on ‘All We Have is Now’, the closer of ‘Typhoons’.
‘Pull Me Through’ was a bold choice for a single, and as track 3 it ran the risk of derailing the album’s early momentum, but the strong songwriting carries it through. ‘The Firing Line’ is reminiscent of Supergrass’ later material, which in itself had echoes of David Bowie. The languid, gorgeous ‘Waves’ is an excellent album closer, primarily led by piano and bringing to mind Elton John, with sumptuous vocal harmonies and alternating major / minor melodies, building to a bass-heavy climax.
If you love Royal Blood for their big, bold riffs and singalong choruses then ‘Back to the Water Below’ can be a challenging, patchy listen. But if you want an engrossing record that reveals more depth with each spin, this is a real grower.
Standout Tracks: ‘Shiner in the Dark’, ‘The Firing Line’, ‘Triggers’, ‘High Waters’
Self-recorded throughout 2019 and 2020, at a time when Mike Kerr was openly battling against the negative effects of over-indulgence, ‘Typhoons’ was a signficant shift in Royal Blood’s sound. The first taste we had of the record was the pummelling, excellent ‘Boilermaker’, and in some ways this was misleading because most of the album is based around disco beats and silky grooves rather than the big riffs of old.
In promotional interviews, Mike and Ben were quoted using the light-hearted term ‘AC/Disco’ to describe their new sound. This is an accurate term to cover ‘Typhoons’, as the songs have a core of danceable disco beats, with meaty, distorted bass and sprinkles of electronica over the top. Opener ‘Trouble’s Coming’ sets the tone perfectly, with an extremely catchy melody and relentless groove. ‘Oblivion’, ‘Limbo’, ‘Hold On’ and the title track continue this sound brilliantly, making ‘Typhoons’ an irrisistable listen. An alternative version of ‘Limbo’ was also released later with a live orchestra, alongside ‘All We Have is Now’, and it is even better than the original, bolstered with female backing vocals and stabs of violin. Speaking of additional tracks, it is worth checking out b-side ‘Space’, which was a suprising omission from the record as it would have fitted well into the tracklisting.
One of the highlights of ‘Typhoons’ is Ben Thatcher’s remarkable drumming. He has always displayed innovation, but here he finds incredible power within his up-tempo, 4-on-the-floor beats. There quite simply isn’t any other rock album that sounds like this one. Even the comparatively lower moments such as ‘Who Needs Friends’ and ‘Mad Visions’ have a part to play, keeping the momentum going and ensuring that the record has a consistent thread throughout. Elegaic last track ‘All We Have is Now’ acts as the albums closing credits, a reflective piano ballad that sounds exhausted after all the dancing.
Standout tracks: ‘Trouble’s Coming’, ‘Oblivion’, ‘Limbo (orchestral version)’, ‘Either You Want It’
When a band is as hyped as Royal Blood were in 2013, it is easy to be sceptical. Were they just a fad? As a 2-piece, with the added quirk of bass instead of guitar, were they being promoted to fill a White Stripes-shaped void? Was it all a little too calculated, given the massive deal that was made of Matt Helders wearing a Royal Blood t-shirt at Artic Monkeys’ Glastonbury headline show? For a lot of people, Royal Blood was a band you heard of before you heard.
Then we played the album…and all the talk of hype and ‘industry plants’ went straight out of the window. ‘Royal Blood’ was entirely deserving of the attention, and its massive record sales (65,812 records sold in its first week, taking it straight to No.1 in the UK album chart).
‘Royal Blood’ is all about RIFFS. From the syncopated opening of ‘Out of the Black’ to the steamrolling ‘Little Monster’, to the Black Sabbath-esque ‘Come on Over’ to the slower grind of ‘Loose Change’ and the sexy, slinky ‘Figure it Out’, the way that Ben and Mike lock into a low-end groove feels so effortless and cool. But riffs are only part of the story. These are extremely well-crafted songs, with relatable lyrics (‘Careless’ being one of the best examples), and a good use of the space created by not having layers and layers of guitars and synths that most other rock bands have. There are occasional overdubs and vocal harmonies, but most of the recordings here sound just like Royal Blood when they are on stage, adding to the sense of authenticity and stripped-back live feel.
It is well worth getting a copy of 10th anniversary edition of the album, which features the excellent b-sides ‘Sleeptalker’, ‘Hole’, ‘One Trick Pony’, ‘You Want Me’ and ‘Love and Leave it Alone’. All of these songs, especially ‘Sleeptalker’, were good enough to be album tracks, and they demonstrate the level of quality that Royal Blood already had right from the very start.
Standout tracks: ‘Little Monster’, ‘Loose Change’, ‘Sleeptalker’ (bonus track), ‘Careless’
