At Download Festival 2024, Royal Blood sat down with NME to chat about their self-titled debut album, 10 years after its release, and touring with Queens of the Stone Age. The festival slot marked their first time back at Download in a decade, and they also have some intimate London shows lined up. In the interview, they discussed their debut album, their latest release ‘Back To The Water Below,’ and how their perception has changed. They spoke about their time on the road with Queens Of The Stone Age, who they first toured with in 2017 and recently joined on the road again.
Lead singer Mike Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher talked about the anniversary shows coming up and their prepping for it. Thatcher said they would be playing every tune from the first record, joined by other tunes from other records with one of the shows set to take place on Kerr’s birthday. Thatcher also spoke about how their experience on the road with Queens Of The Stone Age has been an outstanding one and that they’ve learned about puzzles and crosswords from them. He also joked that the bromance was still on fire.
In looking back at their debut album, the band recalls it feeling similar to how it did back then and said that it was everything around it that had dramatically changed. While their debut album was something they live and breathe every day, their latest release is something they never could have made ten years ago. It is something that was only made possible because of their experiences over the past decade.
When asked about Download Festival, Kerr said it was excellent to be back; they hadn’t been there for ten years. Thatcher shared that while Busted and Wheatus were also up there on his list, they couldn’t see them because they’ll be performing at the same time. He joked about what a clash of schedules it was.
Overall, the interview allowed for a rare insight into the band’s journey, and despite everything they’ve achieved so far, the duo remains humble and determined to keep going in pursuit of their music and their fans
Read the full article on NME here: Read More