GALLERY + REVIEW: Royal Blood - Wolverhampton, UK (10/26/23)

Nov 1

Royal Blood
The Halls - Wolverhampton, UK - October 26th, 2023
Photos by Robert Barrett (@robertbarrett_photography)

10 years on from their signing to a major label, and Royal Blood still feel like relative newbies to the rock scene. Playing massive rock festivals and support slots with peers twice there age has that effect. After a big arena tour for last album “Typhoons,” new album Back to The Water sees them back to what they do best, rocking out hot sweaty venues across the country.

Unlike the cold corporate Utilita arena they played last time, the recently renovated Halls in Wolverhampton was the location for the Midlands show. Kicking the show into high gear was fellow Brighton born band Hot Wax. Delivering a suitably throwback set to the beautiful main room.

Ennio Morricone’s haunting “Ecstasy of Gold” rang through the speakers as Royal Blood took to the stage. A vast set of vintage lights set behind the band kicked into gear with new album opener ‘Mountains at Midnight” and first album classic Come on Over. “Don’t throw your drinks, just down them” warned frontman Mike after an early bottle hit his pedalboard. Thankfully, it didn’t stop the boys set in any way, with a concise set of tracks from all four albums getting attention.

As with most Royal Blood shows, the debut album still got the most love out of all. With early singles “Out of the Black” and “Figure it Out” closing out the main set and encore respectively, with the former even getting drummer Ben into the crowd. Bringing the band back to these venues shows that they still have the magic that made people love them in the first place, and long may it continue.