Royal Blood's Mike Kerr on the songs that define his band

Royal Blood vocalist/bassist Mike Kerr has reflected back on a decade in the public eye and admitted that he's grateful to still be “living and breathing” ten years on from the release of his band's hugely successful debut album.

Asked by Louder to pick out five songs that he considers define his band, Kerr nominated Out Of The Black (“the first of our songs we heard on the radio”) and Figure It Out from the band's self-titled 2014 debut album , Lights Out from 2017's How Did We Get So Dark?, the Josh Homme-produced Boilermaker from 2021's Typhoons, and The Firing Line from 2023's Back to the Water Below.

Speaking about his final choice, Kerr admits, “ I don't know if this song was very defining for anyone else but for me personally it just felt like a return to a style of songwriting that I never thought could exist within the world of our band.”

Asked how he feels about his ten years in the spotlight, Kerr replies, “We're very proud to have made it through a decade as a band and still be here getting to do this. But honestly I think the thing that's more powerful than that though is the fact that I'm even alive, and I made it through that era of time. Just being here, living and breathing.”

You can watch the full interview with Kerr below:

Royal Blood will release a tenth anniversary edition of their debut album on August 16.

The new  version will four B-sides from the era, the previously unreleased Sleeptalker, producer Tom Dalgety’s original mix of Ten Tonne Skeleto n, and five live recordings from 2015, including three songs - Loose Change , Little Monster and Out Of The Black - from their main stage set at Reading Festival.