Royal Blood - ‘Pull Me Through’ Review: Shining a light on what’s on the horizon
Royal Blood have made it through the dark, and into the light – now it’s time to embrace who they are, what they’ve been and where they intend to go.
★★★★★★★★☆☆
Credit: Royal Blood 📸
Album, tour, rest, repeat. Is the formula most bands follow. Since being released from the shackles of COVID-19’s lockdown(s), Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher from Royal Blood have done all of that – and are about to do it again, just without much rest.
Royal Blood is a band that live for stages; the thunderous bass and drum combo that sends crowds of thousands into a frenzy immediately. After a successful world-tour in support of their third consecutive no.1 album (Typhoons) and even dropping new material Honeybrains in the process, the band were back in the studio without a second thought.
Over the last 10 years, Royal Blood have been cementing themselves as one of the biggest rock bands of a generation – and that position has started to stick, giving them the freedom to do whatever they want.
The pair made a breakthrough in 2013 after Arctic Monkeys drummer Matt Helders sported a ‘Royal Blood’ t-shirt at their second headlining Glastonbury set. This gesture was returned 10 years later by drummer Ben Thatcher when it was their turn on the same stage – coincidentally just before Arctic Monkeys did so for a third time.
It’s clear Royal Blood are at the top of their game. Overflowing with creativity, brimming with self-assurance and pumped with adrenaline. In recent months, sparking controversy after calling an audience ‘pathetic’ at Big Weekend while also embarking on a tour with MUSE as a special guest.
After the release of the monstrous first single Mountains At Midnight, which aims to ‘remind you who we are and what we do before we drag you down the rabbit hole with us’, Royal Blood has returned with a heartfelt follow-up, Pull Me Through.
Pull Me Through is about ‘finding strength in asking for help’ says Mike Herr, as the track finds itself swimming in the waters musically with Hole In Your Heart and You Can Be So Cruel while picking up lyrically where Limbo left us in 2021.
Chilling and haunting piano keys breathe life into the track, a sound which would fit any dark vampiric castle at night. All whilst a grungy bass line (not too dissimilar from Queens Of The Stone Age) pieces together a skeleton and a distorted riff injects a heartbeat. When fused together, light is shed on a dark narrative between every beat.
It’s not going to slap you in the face or throw you into a frenzy, like what came before it. Instead, the focus is on a small collection of clever lyrics, with an increasingly self-aware Mike Kerr writing about emotion in more straightforward ways.
From Mountains At Midnight and Pull Me Through, we’re starting to paint a picture of what journey Back To The Water Below will embark on in September. Mike explains the album began while on the road, and that energy shows.
We can see it in the distance, as Royal Blood emerges from the storm that was Typhoons; dancing confidently, but full of animalistic adrenaline. It could be described as a swagger.
Typhoons brought them into the light. Royal Blood in colour. This isn’t new Royal Blood, it’s not old either – this is simply the now.
Painting a picture with the same rawness as the first two records, but this time the paintbrush is still wet. Colour from Typhoons seeping through.
They’ve made it through the dark, and into the light – now it’s time to embrace who they are, what they’ve been and where they intend to go.
Back To The Water Below releases on 1st September, through Warner Records, and is completely self-produced. Pre-order your copy now.
Now, it’s your turn. Give it a spin, and tell us what you think on Insta or X.
Rating: 8/10
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