Royal Blood tease plans for 10th anniversary of debut album: "It's amazing that we've survived this long"

5 June 2023, 17:10

Royal Blood return with new album Back To The Water Below

The Brighton duo discuss the upcoming anniversary and reveal if they have any plans to mark the milestone.

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Royal Blood have discussed being 10 years on from the release of their debut single and admitted they didn't expect to still be here.

The Brighton duo's Out Of The Black banger was unleashed on the 22nd November 2013 and was the opening track on their 2024 self-titled album.

Asked if they had plans to mark it in some way, frontman Mike Kerr told Radio X's Johnny Vaughan: "We'll probably do something next year for the 10th anniversary of the record, but for the 10th anniversary for Out Of The Black, I'm not sure."

"It's a bit mad, innit? To think that," added drummer Ben Thatcher of the decade-long milestone.

"Yes it's amazing that we've survived this long. I think when that song first came out it really launched the band and every part of you is thinking, 'This won't last,' so it's just kind of... make the most of it and act like this is going to go away tomorrow.

Royal Blood talk 10 years of their debut. Picture: Tom Beard/Press / Radio X

Teasing what to expect from their other dates, Ben revealed: "What's been exciting recently is we're just about to go on tour and we've been rehearsing some tunes and we've been rehearsing some that were written before Out Of The Black."

"We've just had three other albums since, so we've had other songs to play, but it's been quite exciting to go back those 10 years or so."

The band have known each other almost 20 years and when quizzed about how they first met, they recalled that they came across each other at a battle of the bands gig.

Despite Thatcher playing drums for three of the bands at the event, he recalled pretending he could play guitar just so he could be part of Kerr's band.

"I wanted to join Mike's band, but he already had a drummer, so I told him I played guitar," recalled the sticksman. "And I just turned up to band practice with a guitar that I'd bought. I learned the basics of playing a guitar I think.

"I did alright. It was mainly the energy and running around."

"It was unreal," interjected Kerr. "The first gig we show we did, he headbutted - the end of the guitar hit him in the face and he split his lip open and Ben was covered in blood. Ben looked quite shaken up, but he carried on."

Last month saw the pair share the details of their fourth studio album Back To The Water Below on 8th September and teased a bit of what to expect in the form of lead single Mountains At Midnight.

Watch the official video for the epic track below:

Royal Blood - Mountains at Midnight (Official Video)

Kerr said of the single: “Mountains At Midnight is one of the fastest songs we’ve ever written. We’ve never written a song that fast, it’s all quite groove-based. It feels like a song that should’ve always existed in our arsenal and like a song that’s way overdue. It felt like finding a missing piece.”