Royal Blood

With their fifth studio album, *Dead Company*, due for release on 6 November 2026, the British duo are refining this approach.

Their self-titled debut album propelled them straight to the top of the UK charts in 2014. That surprise hit turned into a remarkable run of success. “How Did We Get So Dark?” (2017), “Typhoons” (2021) and “Back To The Water Below” (2023) also reached number one there. In between, Royal Blood – almost as an afterthought – accepted a BRIT Award for Best British Band in 2015. What initially caught people’s attention as an unusually line-up rock duo developed, within a few years, into an international festival and arena act.

Nevertheless, “Dead Company” wasn’t about going all out again. After a spell away from the limelight, Kerr and Thatcher returned to the studio in 2025 with no time pressure. Their starting question was as simple as could be: what else can you do with two people and twelve notes? The ten self-produced songs were intended to sound as raw, human and immediate as possible.

Instead of embellishing the sound, Royal Blood laid bare its essence. They already had the stage in mind: this album was written and recorded specifically for the live experience. The lead single, ‘Ten Over Ten’, shows where this desire to get going leads. Menacing, rolling desert rock meets the uncompromising force of Motörhead.

Kerr found the inspiration for this whilst training for a marathon, where perseverance becomes a very immediate physical struggle. The struggle for endurance became a song about carrying on and pushing one’s own limits.

The title suits a band that, after their hiatus, isn’t tentatively testing the waters but is returning with full force. The track “Swallow The Bomb” shows the duo from an even tougher side, offering no respite, whilst the title track strikes a more melodic note amidst the ruggedness of the riffs. Royal Blood can incorporate various influences into their music whilst still remaining unmistakably themselves.

Royal Blood have long since proven just how far their chemistry can take them on big stages, such as on the Pyramid Stage at the Glastonbury Festival in 2023. On *Dead Company*, they say they play faster and harder than ever before.

The tour in March 2027 now offers the chance to experience this new energy first-hand. When the bass and drums drive each other on and the riffs fill the room, two musicians and a hall full of people become a united force.