# Royal Blood
**Royal Blood** are an English rock duo formed in Brighton in 2013, consisting of Mike Kerr on bass and vocals and Ben Thatcher on drums. They are known for a heavy, riff-driven sound built entirely from bass guitar and drums, with Kerr using effects and signal splitting to make the bass carry the role of a lead guitar.[1](https://www.nme.com/news/music/royal-blood-on-revisiting-their-debut-album-10-years-download-queens-of-the-stone-age-3765908) • [2](https://first-avenue.com/performer/royal-blood/) Their self-titled 2014 debut reached No. 1 in the UK, and the band went on to release *How Did We Get So Dark?* (2017), *Typhoons* (2021), *Back to the Water Below* (2023), and *Dead Company* (2026).[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/15/royal-blood-how-did-we-get-so-dark-review-warner-bros) • [4](https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/royal-blood/new-uk-tour-dates-november-december-2026-tickets-info/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Members | Mike Kerr (vocals, bass) and Ben Thatcher (drums); formed in Brighton[1](https://www.nme.com/news/music/royal-blood-on-revisiting-their-debut-album-10-years-download-queens-of-the-stone-age-3765908) |
| Formation | Early 2013, after Kerr returned to England from a year in Australia, where he had already used the name Royal Blood with drummer Matt Swan[5](https://musicaymercado.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mmintl72.pdf) |
| Signature sound | Bass played like a lead guitar over thunderous drums, a combination described as brutal and utterly novel[2](https://first-avenue.com/performer/royal-blood/) |
| Breakthrough | Only guitar band on the BBC's Sound of 2014 longlist; Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders wore a Royal Blood T-shirt at the 2013 Glastonbury headline slot[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/bbc-s-sound-of-2014-list-brighton-power-duo-royal-blood-set-to-be-saviours-of-rock-next-year-8976315.html) • [7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2014/NME-2014-03-08.pdf) |
| Chart peak | Both the 2014 debut and *How Did We Get So Dark?* (2017) reached No. 1 on the UK album chart, the latter ahead of Lorde's *Melodrama*[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/15/royal-blood-how-did-we-get-so-dark-review-warner-bros) • [8](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-alexandra-palace-london-tickets-how-did-we-get-so-dark-album-tour-dates-a8069101.html) |
| Fifth album | *Dead Company*, released 13 November 2026, preceded by the single "Ten Over Ten" and a UK tour in November and December 2026[4](https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/royal-blood/new-uk-tour-dates-november-december-2026-tickets-info/) |
## Formation and early years
The band came together at the start of 2013, after Kerr returned to England following a year in Australia. He had already performed under the name Royal Blood there, working with a drummer called Matt Swan; on his return, the account told by the band has Thatcher meeting him, and the two choosing to continue as a duo under the same name.[5](https://musicaymercado.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mmintl72.pdf) The pair developed their material in Brighton, and their profile rose sharply when [Matt Helders](https://www.edgepedia.org/matt-helders) of the [Arctic Monkeys](https://www.edgepedia.org/arctic-monkeys) wore one of their T-shirts during that band's 2013 [Glastonbury](https://www.edgepedia.org/glastonbury) headline set; Royal Blood went on to support the Arctic Monkeys at their Finsbury Park shows and joined the NME Awards Tour while road-testing material for their debut album.[7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2014/NME-2014-03-08.pdf)
Early recognition followed quickly. Royal Blood were the only guitar band among the 15 artists on the BBC's Sound of 2014 longlist, voted for by bloggers, broadcasters, and other taste-makers, and were described as a Brighton "power duo" drawing comparisons to [The White Stripes](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-white-stripes).[6](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/bbc-s-sound-of-2014-list-brighton-power-duo-royal-blood-set-to-be-saviours-of-rock-next-year-8976315.html) An early London show at the Electric Ballroom in November 2014 saw a third of the audience form a mosh pit within seconds of the first track.[9](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-britain-s-new-rock-heroes-send-a-current-through-electric-ballroom-9846567.html)
## The debut and the duo formula
The self-titled debut album, released in 2014, hit No. 1 and made the band, in one reviewer's phrase, the rock breakthrough story of the decade, selling widely and drawing approval from [Led Zeppelin](https://www.edgepedia.org/led-zeppelin)'s Jimmy Page, who said they "take rock into a new realm".[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/15/royal-blood-how-did-we-get-so-dark-review-warner-bros) • [10](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/royal-blood-how-did-we-get-so-dark-album-review) The record's sound rested on what one venue biography calls a "brutal and utterly novel" combination: bass played like a lead guitar and thunderous drums.[2](https://first-avenue.com/performer/royal-blood/)
Kerr's live setup splits his signal across channels, sending distorted content to a guitar-style amp and cleaner low end to a bass amp, an approach that has become a reference point for other two-piece heavy bands such as Death from Above 1979.[11](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/angine-de-poitrine-2026-interview) Reviewers have repeatedly remarked on the scale of the sound: one noted it "still seems implausible that this wall of whooomph can emanate from just two people, without guitars."[10](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/royal-blood-how-did-we-get-so-dark-album-review) By the *How Did We Get So Dark?* tour the duo were filling venues such as [Alexandra Palace](https://www.edgepedia.org/alexandra-palace), about 10,000 seats, adding backing singers for songs like "I Only Lie When I Love You".[8](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-alexandra-palace-london-tickets-how-did-we-get-so-dark-album-tour-dates-a8069101.html)
## How Did We Get So Dark? and Typhoons
The second album, *How Did We Get So Dark?* (2017), again reached No. 1 in the UK, ahead of Lorde's *Melodrama*, and introduced piano for the first time on "Hole In Your Heart".[8](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-alexandra-palace-london-tickets-how-did-we-get-so-dark-album-tour-dates-a8069101.html) Critical reception was more reserved than for the debut: The Guardian called it "an archetypal difficult second album", finding the tunes weaker than the first record's "Ten Tonne Skeleton" despite the intensity of the riffing and drumming.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/15/royal-blood-how-did-we-get-so-dark-review-warner-bros)
**Typhoons** marked a deliberate change of direction. Written as Kerr went sober, after a decision to stop drinking that crystallized in Las Vegas, the 2021 album set the band's heavy riffs against dancefloor-friendly beats and disco influences, with the hook of "Mad Visions" described by The Independent as a direct throwback to [Daft Punk](https://www.edgepedia.org/daft-punk)'s "[Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger](https://www.edgepedia.org/harder-better-faster-stronger)".[12](https://www.loudersound.com/features/how-royal-blood-left-a-seven-year-stag-party-behind-and-made-a-disco-ready-rock-classic) • [13](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-typhoons-b1839057.html) Kerr has connected the danceable feel to Thatcher's pre-Royal Blood experience drumming in a wedding band and to the band's afterparties soundtracked by contemporary R&B.[14](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/royal-blood-interview-b1836315.html) The same review credited the album with lyrics reflecting on fame and Kerr's darker period, and concluded that the band had "finally found their own voice".[13](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-typhoons-b1839057.html)
## Later albums and hiatus
*Back to the Water Below* followed in 2023, and the band marked ten years of the debut with a 10th anniversary edition and intimate shows, including a 5,000-capacity date at the O2 Academy Brixton; Kerr said the record "doesn't feel like an old relic" and that the duo still "live and breathe" it.[15](https://www.nme.com/news/music/royal-blood-interview-self-titled-debut-anniversary-qotsa-jimmy-page-3783987) • [16](https://www.kerrang.com/royal-blood-new-album-dead-company-mike-kerr-ben-thatcher-interview-cover-story) Their festival profile remained high, with second billing on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2023, though that performance drew a mixed review that criticized the set's "riskless songs".[17](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-glastonbury-2023-review-b2363048.html)
After playing [Pukkelpop](https://www.edgepedia.org/pukkelpop) in Belgium on 18 August 2024, the band stopped entirely for roughly two years, their first deliberate break rather than one forced by circumstances; Kerr described it as a conscious decision to recharge, spend time with family, and live in Brighton again.[16](https://www.kerrang.com/royal-blood-new-album-dead-company-mike-kerr-ben-thatcher-interview-cover-story) They returned with the single "Ten Over Ten" and the announcement of their fifth album, *Dead Company*, released on 13 November 2026, followed by a UK tour through November and December 2026 with support from Unpeople on all dates except Brighton.[4](https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/royal-blood/new-uk-tour-dates-november-december-2026-tickets-info/) Kerrang! reported that the new record reconnects with the band's harder, heavier beginnings.[16](https://www.kerrang.com/royal-blood-new-album-dead-company-mike-kerr-ben-thatcher-interview-cover-story)
## Reception and influence
The duo's commercial standing is unusual for a two-piece without a guitarist: one live-industry profile notes that Royal Blood fill UK arenas of 15,000 to 20,000 capacity with only bass and drums.[18](https://eventzr.com/artists/royal-blood) Their sound has been widely imitated among heavy two-piece bands, and Kerr's signal-splitting rig is frequently cited in discussions of how a duo can produce a full rock-band weight of sound.[11](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/angine-de-poitrine-2026-interview) Critical opinion has varied across the catalog, from the near-universal praise for the debut to the mixed verdicts on the second album and the 2023 Glastonbury set, with *Typhoons* generally treated as the point where the band's identity broadened beyond heavy blues-rock.[3](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/15/royal-blood-how-did-we-get-so-dark-review-warner-bros) • [13](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-typhoons-b1839057.html) • [17](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-glastonbury-2023-review-b2363048.html)
## References
1. [Royal Blood on revisiting their debut album 10 years on, NME (15 June 2024)](https://www.nme.com/news/music/royal-blood-on-revisiting-their-debut-album-10-years-download-queens-of-the-stone-age-3765908)
2. [Royal Blood performer page, First Avenue](https://first-avenue.com/performer/royal-blood/)
3. [Royal Blood: How Did We Get So Dark? review, The Guardian (16 June 2017)](https://www.theguardian.com/music/2017/jun/15/royal-blood-how-did-we-get-so-dark-review-warner-bros)
4. [Royal Blood announce new UK tour dates for 2026, Radio X (August 2026)](https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/royal-blood/new-uk-tour-dates-november-december-2026-tickets-info/)
5. [Música y Mercado, issue 72 (PDF), on Royal Blood's formation](https://musicaymercado.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/mmintl72.pdf)
6. [BBC's Sound of 2014 list: Brighton 'power duo' Royal Blood, The Independent](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/news/bbc-s-sound-of-2014-list-brighton-power-duo-royal-blood-set-to-be-saviours-of-rock-next-year-8976315.html)
7. [NME, 8 March 2014 issue (PDF), on Royal Blood's rise](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/New-Musical-Express/2014/NME-2014-03-08.pdf)
8. [Royal Blood play a thrilling show at a difficult venue, The Independent (22 November 2017)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-alexandra-palace-london-tickets-how-did-we-get-so-dark-album-tour-dates-a8069101.html)
9. [Royal Blood, review: Britain's new rock heroes send a current through Electric Ballroom, The Independent (7 November 2014)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-britain-s-new-rock-heroes-send-a-current-through-electric-ballroom-9846567.html)
10. [Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark? album review, Louder](https://www.loudersound.com/reviews/royal-blood-how-did-we-get-so-dark-album-review)
11. [Angine de Poitrine interview on duo signal-splitting, Guitar World (2026)](https://www.guitarworld.com/artists/guitarists/angine-de-poitrine-2026-interview)
12. [Royal Blood interview: the making of Typhoons, Louder (29 April 2021)](https://www.loudersound.com/features/how-royal-blood-left-a-seven-year-stag-party-behind-and-made-a-disco-ready-rock-classic)
13. [Royal Blood review – Typhoons, The Independent (29 April 2021)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-review-typhoons-b1839057.html)
14. [Royal Blood interview: 'I hit the self-destruct button the moment I started drinking', The Independent (2021)](https://www.the-independent.com/arts-entertainment/music/features/royal-blood-interview-b1836315.html)
15. [Royal Blood celebrate 10 years of debut album, NME (15 August 2024)](https://www.nme.com/news/music/royal-blood-interview-self-titled-debut-anniversary-qotsa-jimmy-page-3783987)
16. ["I'm f*cking ready to go again": Inside Royal Blood's momentous comeback, Kerrang! (12 August 2026)](https://www.kerrang.com/royal-blood-new-album-dead-company-mike-kerr-ben-thatcher-interview-cover-story)
17. [Royal Blood review, Glastonbury 2023, The Independent (26 June 2023)](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/royal-blood-glastonbury-2023-review-b2363048.html)
18. [Royal Blood (Rock) — EventZR Spotlight](https://eventzr.com/artists/royal-blood)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musicians and ensembles › Ensembles and groups › Rock, pop, and metal bands › Musical duos, supergroups, and collaborative projects › Pop and rock duos › Rock and indie duos*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license