The DIY List 2014: Royal Blood's rise to the top • DIY Magazine

Royal Blood are #5 in The DIY List 2014, a look back at the year’s best albums, one-off shows, festival performances and achievements outside of the norm.

There was always something special about Royal Blood. From their first carnal offering, all guttural riffs and pounding drums, they drew the attention of the masses. Their first headline tour gave us another clue; fights broke out, carnage reigned supreme and rooms were packed tightly, sweat dripping from the walls.

Over the last twelve months, things have grown bigger and more tremendous for the Brighton-based duo. From dominating the city festivals to commanding one of the biggest crowds of the weekend at Reading & Leeds, theirs is a juggernaut that’s been impossible to slow down. Whoever said that rock was dead? “We’ve just been going a million miles an hour,” agrees drummer Ben Thatcher, “and ‘I’m not sure how we’re managing to go at that speed.”

Since first releasing debut single ‘Out Of The Black’ late last year, Royal Blood have scored a Number 1 album – which consequently went on to sell over 100,000 copies - played Finsbury Park (twice) and sold out a whole UK tour in about twenty seconds flat. Not to mention the fact that they’ve been heralded as the new British kings of rock’n’roll in the process. And how did Ben celebrate the news of their chart-topping debut? “I can’t actually remember…” he pauses. “I did something really normal, like I think I went to get petrol…”