Royal Blood

From: Brighton

Influences: Queens Of The Stone Age and Led Zeppelin.

Profile: Having spent the past couple of years building their profile by playing venues in and around Brighton, Royal Blood have been given a major shot in the arm for 2014.

Bassist and vocalist Michael Kerr and drummer Ben Thatcher have become one of the most hotly touted bands in the country, after making the BBC Sound Of 2014 longlist and Amazing Radio’s tips for 2014.

And listening to their riff-heavy debut single Out Of The Black, released last month on Black Mammoth Records, its not hard to see why, with the pair creating massive slabs of noise from what is essentially just a rhythm section, backed by Kerr’s powerful and impassioned vocal.

With a support slot for Arctic Monkeys’ Finsbury Park gigs in May, and a trip to Austin, Texas, in March to take part in influential music festival South By South West already in the diary, things are looking positive for next year.

They have been signed to Brighton-based 13 Artists, who manage a massive roster of artists including Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Radiohead and The Stone Roses.

Website: royalbloodband.com

Soundcloud: soundcloud.com/royalbloodband

Facebook: facebook.com/RoyalBloodUK