British rockers Royal Blood have proved they're in it for the long haul. Photo / supplied
British rockers Royal Blood have proved they're in it for the long haul. Photo / supplied
"She's got the devil on one shoulder and the other's getting colder" yelps Mike Kerr, battling for attention against his own frantic, restless guitar riff.
On Hook Line & Sinker, a new entry in the competition for Royal Blood's best ever song, that deliciously evil riff never settles, repeatedly reinventingitself every time Kerr thinks he's worked out how to better it.
Then the chorus hits, a bluesy Zeppelin-esque blast of kick drums, down-tuned bass and Kerr's excited falsetto struggling to win over a song that spits out riffs like a factory conveyor belt.
Finally, three minutes into the fight, Kerr just gives up, blurting out, "It's blowing your mind again" as he drowns under those riffs. By the end of the song, he's been buried by them.
Royal Blood, the UK duo of Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher, blew plenty of minds in 2014 with their self-titled debut that channelled Kyuss, The White Stripes and Led Zeppelin into a rock record that felt fresh and fully loaded.
These days, that's a rare event and, for just two dudes from Brighton, they sure made one hell of a lot of noise. But, for album No. 2, there's a clear and obvious concern: could they make lightning strike twice?
Judging by How Did We Get So Dark?'s opening title track, a bare-boned Queens of the Stone Age copycat that doesn't really know where it's going, the answer's no.
Thankfully, it's the worst song on an album that quickly gets down to business. And that business is rocking. Hard. Lights Out turns the end of a relationship into a beers-up festival anthem, while I Only Lie When I Love You continues that theme but adds extra cowbell. Yes, it works.
By track four, Kerr's moved on to someone new, and he and Thatcher set about delivering the album's first peak with She's Creeping, as droning riffs play off against Kerr's falsetto in a song that's only three minutes long but could easily run for double that.
It's a crescendo for sure, and from there, How Did We Get So Dark? just delivers one stunner after another, from Where Are You Now?'s Muse-y gallop to the grimy pile-ups of Don't Tell and Sleep.
Trying to choose a favourite? Start with Hook Line and Sinker and branch out from there. You've got time: Royal Blood just proved they're in it for the long haul.
Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark? Label: Warner Bros Stars: Four Verdict: Tune up your air guitars, they're about to get some use
