Royal Blood, review: Britain's new rock heroes send a current through Electric Ballroom

Duo Mike Kerr and Ben Thatcher make a big sound

Mike Kerr of the Royal Blood performing at the Electric Ballroom (Getty)

Proud creators of the fastest-selling British rock album in three years, Brighton-formed duo Royal Blood certainly know how to put on a good show.

A third of the audience has formed a giant mosh pit about 10 seconds into the first track – shoes and beer flying all over the place – and halfway through a storming rendition of ‘Little Monster’ it seems that everyone is slamming into one another in a boiling, good-humoured mass.

Mike Kerr’s clear, seductive voice reminds of Band Of Skulls’ Russell Marsden, along with the groovy, hardened swagger of his bass-that-sounds-like-a-guitar, and he and drummer Ben Thatcher have a big enough stage presence to fool you into thinking that there are more than two of them.

There are no gimmicks: the band seem unwilling to try and emulate the excess of old rock, preferring instead to push that huge, riff-driven sound that strips away all the crap to get to the meatier stuff.

It’s a short set without an encore, but there are no grumbles. Royal Blood don’t ask to be worshipped, yet for their live performance alone, fans may have found themselves a couple of new heroes.