Royal Blood’s new album Typhoons has gone straight to #1 on the UK’s Official Albums Chart. It means that the Brighton duo have now completed a phenomenal hat-trick in which all three of their studio albums have immediately topped the charts, a streak that commenced with their self-titled debut Royal Blood (2014) followed by How Did We Get So Dark? (2017).

It’s an achievement made all the more impressive by the fact that Typhoons outsold the rest of the Top 5 combined.

Let’s take a closer look at Typhoons and see why it flew into the top spot….

To me, Typhoons seems like more of a jump to the left than a step forwards on the well trodden path that their first two albums led their fans, please don’t get me wrong, I think this is a great thing to do and has really opened up their music to not only people who enjoy dirty blues rock but the type that enjoy a trip to the dance floor after a few swigs of Lambrini will also be falling over themselves to get involved.

The recent releases ahead of the album launch made a phenomenal impact. After three consecutive Hottest Records courtesy of Annie Mac at Radio 1, another 50 million streams and the biggest North American airplay of their career, the release of Typhoons can only cement Royal Blood as a guaranteed main stage botherer of the future and raise their profile no end to an even wider fan base than before.

The opening track ‘Trouble’s Coming’ evokes the more dance orientated approach that Matt Bellamy took a few years back, with its catchy chorus, stomping beat and infectious melody, you’ll find it hard to stop body from joining in.

‘Who Needs Friends’ moves away from the more dance-like tracks from the album and kicks the filthy blues swagger into overdrive as you get tangled in their web of killer riffs, pounding beats and an overall stadium sized sound that they will be showcasing later this year.

‘Boilermaker’ has already reserved a place on their live set list having appealed to so many when they decided to showcase the new material on their pre-lockdown 2019 shows. The track is a dream to hear, crunchy melodies, driving drums and a real energy that just lifts your spirits.

The album closer ‘All We Have is Now’ is a departure from the other album tracks, gone is the over-driven bass and chunky drums and in comes a delightfully light piano piece, accentuated with Kerr’s vocals. The track takes you from what has been a proper space-rock, disco infused roller coaster ride and gently brings you back down to earth, cleansing your soul and preparing you for the next instalment of what Royal Blood have planned for you.

So, does this mean that the plucky duo have ditched their black leather jackets in favour of silver sequined jumpsuits? Whilst this is an image I would pay good money to see, I think that they’ll always have their fingers firmly ensconced in the dirty sounding blues-rock pie that we all know them for. I am glad that they have diversified and decided to step outside of what could easily become a ‘cookie cutter’ sound that they have created for themselves, if only for the fact that they have greatly widened their appeal to so many more people.

Typhoons will get plenty of airtime courtesy of extensive plans already taking shape for the year ahead. They have recorded a special performance for Radio 1’s Big Weekend of Live Music 2021, which runs from May 28th-31st. They are also set to headline three select summer festivals: Tramlines (July 24th), Truck (July 25th) and Victorious (August 29th).

Their first full UK tour in support of the album commences in March 2022, and includes their biggest headline show to date at The O2 in London. With support from The Amazons, the shows are guaranteed to be a ‘must see’ event with both acts having a massive fan base. 

MARCH 2022

25th – Bournemouth, International Centre

26th – Birmingham, Utilita Arena

27th – Cardiff, Motorpoint Arena

29th – Nottingham, Motorpoint Arena

30th – London, The O2

APRIL 2022 

1st – Leeds, First Direct Arena

2nd – Manchester, AO Arena

3rd – Glasgow, SSE Hydro

Typhoons has picked up some very impressive reviews from some major players, Classic Rock saying that this is “The duo’s most danceable, feelgood album yet.” whilst Upset claim that Typhoons is “Their best record yet.” As far as one liners go, I think Dork hit the nail squarely on the head with “A masterful example of warped alt-rock that immerses listeners in sonic escapism.”

I ask this question every time I hear Royal Blood, is that noise really coming from a bass guitar?

Keep up to date with Royal Blood on their socials and if you’re heading to any of the festivals where they’re appearing this year, you’re in for a treat!

Review by Steve Muscutt