Great News! British Rock Duo Royal Blood released their second album entitled How Did We Get So Dark? on Friday (the 16th of June 2017)!  It’s their first album release since their self-titled debut album’s release in 2014.

The album is currently climbing the charts in the UK.  They are currently sitting at top spot in the midweek chart update, ahead of Ed Sheeran’s ‘÷’ at second spot, Nickelback at number three, Rag’N’Bone Man’s ‘Human’ at four and Lorde at number five. If they hold on to the top spot until this weekend, it will be their second consecutive UK number one album. Not bad for a rock band that’s only been around for 3 years.

Their track “Where Are You Now?” (which was inspired by HBO’s series Vinyl) is on their new album and I have to say that I really like that song and the first single off their new album, “Lights Out”. I still need to crank up the whole album to make a general judgement, but I’m really liking what I’m hearing.

Q Magazine had this to say about their new album: “There are moments when the slick threatens to overwhelm the raw, and not just when extraneous elements are introduced. But the gut-level punch of Kerr’s bass and the thunderstruck gallop of Thatcher’s drumming cannot be denied.”

DIY Magazine had this to say: “While their first outing had as much subtlety as a whack around the face, this time they’ve born a more considered–but sinister–creature.”

And Drowned in Sound has also shared their thoughts: “In summary, this is an album which is trying to be lots of things for lots of people. The sadness being that where Royal Blood appealed to so many because of its abandoned musicality and aggression, How Did We Get So Dark? may run the risk of losing its soul and beating heart in order to please the masses.”

I guess that I’ll have to listen to the album from the beginning to the end to make up my mind about it. You can stream it on Deezer HERE if you want listen to it. Check out the video for “Lights Out” below and crank it up if you’re curious:

Royal Blood are touring with Queens of the Stone Age towards the end of the year, but sadly there are no South African tour dates, but maybe they’ll show up Oppikoppi 2017 to promote their new album? Who knows. Oppikoppi will start announcing artists from the 26th of June, so keep an eye on their Facebook page…

Watch this space for regular updates in the Music category on Running Wolf’s Rant.