British hard rock outfit Royal Blood has generated a lot of buzz in mainstream rock in the second half of 2026, with the lead-up to their upcoming studio album Dead Company. Royal Blood has made a name for themselves as one of the more consistent and versatile British rock bands in the last 15 years.
They’ve been known to venture into different subgenres while respecting the history and tone of each project, including the 2017 blues and stoner rock record How Did We Get So Dark? and the groovier pop rock and dance 2021 record Typhoons.
Royal Blood just released their second single for their upcoming studio album “Swallow the Bomb” this past week to positive fan and critical reception. The stripped back and raw energy of this song has gotten fans of the band and the rock genre in general more engaged and receptive to what Royal Blood has to release in this album cycle this fall.
Royal Blood sound revitalized on “Swallow the Bomb”
While Royal Blood already sounded revitalized on the Dead Company lead single "Ten Over Ten," "Swallow the Bomb" might be the band's best single in years.
“Swallow the Bomb” builds on the great riffs and soaring passages that we heard on the lead single for this album rollout, “Ten Over Ten,” but adds a catchier hook and chorus and more focused instrumentation.
The intro guitar solo is a great way to kick off the energy on this song, with the lead-in to the first verse and building vocals into the hook and chorus. The understated lyrics and rising fuzzy bass and background vocal tones set the stage for a more thunderous chorus.
This is a very cohesive track that blends straightforward and aggressive songwriting with rapid, stripped-back instrumentation that perfectly fits its White Stripes and Queens of the Stone Age influences.
The songwriting is another strength of the track, while frontman Mike Kerr's smoother vocal delivery gives "Swallow the Bomb" an accessible hook with some crossover appeal to pop-centric and alternative rock audiences.
Ben Thatcher's drumming is just as important as the track's energy, with the driving percussion constantly pushing Kerr's distorted bass forward and giving "Swallow the Bomb" a sense of impetus that rarely lets up.
I think the guitar-heavy intro and the wonderfully written and fleeting outro are the perfect bookends to a track that brings back the cohesiveness, chemistry, and nostalgia that made fans fall in love with Royal Blood on their self-titled debut studio album over a decade ago.
The quality of the first two singles gives me plenty of reasons to be excited for what’s to come not only from Royal Blood’s next single, but also from what’s ahead on the 10-track studio album Dead Company (set for release in November 2026).
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