While these dark days have informed aspects of the duo’s third album, Typhoons, Mike is thankfully in a much healthier place now. “From the moment I started, to when I finished, the volume was just being turned up, and up, and up.”
“I see my relationship with drugs and alcohol as a crescendo,” he reflects now. Lead vocalist and bassist Mike Kerr, who was in his early twenties at the time, was on top of the world – but as he and drummer Ben Thatcher set off on a gruelling touring schedule, followed by another tour in support of their second album, 2017’s How Did We Get So Dark?, he also found himself following a path that has upended the lives of countless rock musicians before him, as the destructive forces of addiction took hold. The LP, which became the fastest selling UK rock debut in years, and earned a coveted Mercury Prize nomination, catapulted the Brighton duo to unprecedented heights at a ferocious velocity. It’s a whirlwind that Royal Blood found themselves at the centre of with the release of their lauded, self-titled debut album in 2014. Whether it’s based on the promise of a groundbreaking debut album, or the fiery passion of a couple of genre-bending wunderkinds, the honour often brings with it a deadly combination of pressure, attention and celebrity – that can disrupt the artistic and personal progression of even the most talented emerging acts.
Being hailed as the saviours of modern rock is a heavy crown to bear.
0 kommentar(er)
