Royal Blood’s new album was written from a ‘dark’ place.
Singer Mike Kerr, 33, and drummer bandmate Ben Thatcher, 35, are set to release their self-produced Back to the Water Below album on September 8, complete with a taster single in the form of “Mountains at Midnight.”
Mike – who has been sober for about four years after a booze and drug battle – told The Cut: “It feels like I’m writing from this place, a place that’s very isolated, dark and deep inside. “
“When I come to this place, it’s not always about escaping it. It’s not about swimming to the surface; It’s about acknowledging that I’m in this situation right now and sitting in those feelings. But I’ll try not to reveal everything.”
But he said the record wasn’t all loud noise, to match the mood of his words.
Adding Mike, “The biggest danger of being in a rock band right now is going on stage looking freaking cool and hiding behind a wall of noise with no art or skill in what you’re doing makes sense.
“It’s the quickest way to get lost. I want to feel what I’m saying. I want it to come from a place that’s real… I was really sweating at every word and I’m fully aware that I’m going to go out there and try to explain and undo all the hard work.”
Mike added that while the band’s structure might look simple, their work is anything but “simple”.
He said: “I’m sure there are people out there who think what we’re doing is easy.
“Go ahead and try it. There is no place to hide in this band.”
Of the band’s new track, he added, “It feels like the kind of Royal Blood song that should have been around forever.”
Mike also told NME about the new album, “It’s all about getting people’s attention and songs like that seem to be rare.”
“It sounds so much like us and what we are known for. As a newcomer to us, it felt like a bold way to come back and say hello.”
