MUSIC REVIEW: Royal Blood

With an infectious energy and a series of compelling guitar hooks, the duo’s self-titled CD bursts into life with plenty of power and barely lets up for the duration of its ten tracks.

Unlike some recent albums I’ve reviewed, the quality never flags and there is much to enjoy for fans of rock and indie.

Opening track Out of the Black sets the tone, launching with the thud of a drum being repeatedly pounded and expanding into a guitar platform for singer Mike Kerr’s abrasive vocals.

“I got a gun for a mouth and a bullet with your name on it,” he rants, reflecting the confrontational sound heard throughout Royal Blood.

Ironically for a band with such a distinctive sound, they have no guitarist, the main melody coming from Kerr’s bass, with a series of effects applied.

It’s a policy which works well, not least as it gives an unusually prominent profile to the work of drummer Ben Thatcher.

Second single Little Monster (Out of the Black) is the clear standout track, applying a pretty-standard structure to a relentless riff and typically rumbunctious rhythm to a catchy chorus to good effect.

What a shame it only made it to number 78.

Other highlights include the more balladic Blood Hands — evocative of 30 Seconds to Mars — and Ten-Tonne Skeleton, which boasts another of those winning guitar riffs.

For a debut, this is both impressively polished and attractively raw.

A promising step on the road to becoming rock royalty.