To wildly, and poorly, paraphrase the Messrs Simon and Garfunkel: there is a lot of expectation and concern to be found in silence, or something very similar.
None more so than in that moment between pressing play and when the music finally starts playing, milliseconds become an age.
This has never been more true than on Royal Blood’s self-titled debut album. The Brighton based duo have not only a massive amount of the usual industry expectation and hullabaloo, but more importantly the expectant, pensive angst of all the fans who have been won over thanks to some truly impressive singles and shattering live performances.
Rock debuts are a tough proposition at the best of times, but with absolutely everyone watching, this is as tough as they come. Royal Blood’s particularly viscous amalgam of influences has brought them a true plethora of supporters. Throwing absolutely everything they love at a wall and watching the shattered pieces scatter, they have ultimately managed to create something brilliant. They have Black Sabbath’s ‘Supernaut‘ style rhythms and Rage Against The Machine‘s funk and stoccato ferocity, all flavoured with a little Black Keys duo-style bluesiness and strained Gaz Coombes-esque vocals from Mike Kerr.
From the outset ‘Royal Blood‘ is an album that knocks the listener over, never giving them an opportunity to regain their footing. Opener ‘Out Of The Black‘ is as dramatic as it is dynamic, managing to create a phenomenal first impression. The machine gun precision of the drums is matched every step by the concise and cutting guitar. ‘Come On Over‘ is Black Sabbath in riffs and rhythms as much as it is early Queens Of The Stone Age in vocal style, while the sublime ‘Figure It Out‘ has possibly the second simplest guitar solo in history after Angus Young’s single note onslaught on AC/DC’s ‘Bad Boy Boogie‘, and is every bit as effective. Other standouts like ‘Blood Hands‘ change the pace, but not intensity, and ‘Better Strangers‘ repeatedly pounds, begging for submission.
Yet it is still early single ‘Little Monster‘, with its Rage Against the Machine intensity and plaintive vocals, that truly highlights just what Royal Blood really have to offer. It’s one hell of a proposition, a true wall of sound created from seemingly nothing. Two people should not make this much noise, yet Ben Thatcher’s wonderfully robotic and ridiculously heavy-footed drumming juxtaposed against Kerr’s ferocious yet funky riffs and slight vocals are always utterly compelling.
The album is succinct, there’s no time to come up for air. What tempo changes there are are only another reason to hammer further and harder into the ground; with extraordinary precision the hits come time and time again. Those tiny, expectant moments of silence may indeed offer a sweet dread, but when they are followed by a noise that manages to fulfill that expectation, they are to be really savoured.
A great record should always surpass a moment of silence, and if it doesn’t then alarm bells should be ringing – with Royal Blood’s debut the only thing ringing is ears. It’s what the sound of silence was invented for: to be filled, and in this instance brutally decimated. Here is a record put forth to not only give everyone what they expected, but actually what they had hoped. This is wish fulfillment time and it is everything anyone could have dreamed it could be.
Ask and you shall receive is almost the mantra being followed here. Royal Blood have proved that it is more than possible to live up to expectation, no matter how great. Nothing sounds rushed or strained, all is on its own terms. They have answered every question with ferocity, power and brilliance. Is there any more potent response than that?
Quite simply no.
