Royal Blood Albums Ranked Worst to Best

Album Ranking

4. Back to the Water Below (2023)
3. Typhoons (2021)
2. Royal Blood (2014)
1. How Did We Get So Dark? (2017)

4. Back to the Water Below (2023)

Best Song: Waves
Worst Song: High Waters

I’ve read up on the online chatter about this album, and I know it’s mostly not positive. In fact, while Typhoons featured a departure in style that alienated a lot of core fans of the band, I think this is the only album I’ve heard people truly call “bad”.

I’m nowhere near calling this album bad. Actually, I adore the stylistic direction this album took. And more so than ever before in a Royal Blood album, I appreciated the experimentation.

While Mountains at Midnight brings a classic Royal Blood sound to the plate, also found in Tell Me When It’s Too Late, they’re not my favorites. I love the Beatles-esque There Goes My Cool, or the contemplative The Firing Line. Pull Me Through has some great piano work, and the groove on Shiner in the Dark is infectious – produced to perfection.

However, my favorite is the cascading and bombastic Waves. Seeing this song performed live during the Royal Blood tour was perhaps my favorite live music moment of the last few years. It was dramatic, heavy, beautiful, and everything I love about seeing live music.

But then we have this bland stretch from Triggers to High Waters that I have never felt the need to return to. And every time I do, I find myself checking the clock to see when the bland stretch is over. I see why this album didn’t work for most, and if there were just one or two more songs I didn’t enjoy, I’d agree. However, I can’t lie – I’m a fan.

3. Typhoons (2021)

Best Song: Limbo
Worst Song: Million and One

Typhoons was Royal Blood’s foray into the “dance” space. They coined the term “AC Disco”, a play on the band ACDC, to give fans a frame of reference as to what to expect on this new outing.

And while I’ll say, this album unfortunately rarely hits the highs of the better Royal Blood outing, it’s a consistently fun listen from start to finish. The weaker songs like Million and One are still a good listen. Even if you are waiting the entire runtime for it to really take off.

The one exception to this rule is Limbo, which fuses the hard and heavy aspects of their first two records with this new style. And it’s done to perfection, especially the live version with an orchestra to boot. Same with All We Have Is Now, which I only really appreciated after seeing the orchestral version. Now, it’s one of my favorite songs of all time. And I truly mean that. It reminds me why I love music so much. It reminds me why I love life. I’m going to go listen to it now…

But that’s my big issue with this album. The production hides the absolute splendor of All We Have Is Now, and some of the BEST songs are completely left off the project. This includes Space and King, which were both deemed unworthy and relegated as bonus tracks. What a complete and utter slap in the face! These are some of the best songs the band has ever concocted, and you can only really find them in low quality on YouTube. What a shame…

If these songs were added, a few minor production adjustments were made, and we dropped a few of the lesser songs, this could have been a classic.

2. Royal Blood (2014)

Best Song: Out of the Black
Worst Song: Blood Hands

This is where it all started. Royal Blood at their most raw, unproduced, and straightforward. And to be honest, that’s what most people are fans of them for. They garnered a pretty huge following instantly after the release, and understandably so.

This is mostly off the heels of songs like Figure it Out and Little Monster, but the entire album is strong. Out of the Black is one of their most powerful anthems – a classic concert closer. Even my personal least favorites – Blood Hands and Ten Tonne Skeleton are good songs. And, all of these songs carry the same ominous atmosphere. The same gritty, straightforward fun that leads to insane and epic moshing multiple times per song.

The crazy thing is, when you listen to these songs on their own, most of them aren’t that heavy. But there is a constant push and pull – ebb and flow. There are so many build-ups and drops, that it almost matches the cadence of EDM. And seeing them live, it pretty much mimics the energy you get in that setting. I couldn’t recommend seeing Royal Blood live more, and it’s mostly because of the songs on this album.

Almost all of my absolute favorite songs to play on guitar are on this album. You have Little Monster, Figure it Out, Out of the Black, Loose Change, Come on Over, and more. And that’s without even getting into some of the fan favorites like Carless.

While my one comment – which I’m not saying as a negative, just an observation – is that a lot of the album does have a similar sound. And with that, it creates a really stable listening experience. I think I slightly prefer the balance found in my number one pick, which features some more variation in the sound. But just slightly.

1. How Did We Get So Dark? (2017)

Best Song: Hook, Line & Sinker
Worst Song: NA

Wow, I literally could not pick a worst song. And even picking a favorite was brutal, as this has changed every listen since the album first came out. My favorite at one point was even Don’t Tell, which I believe is often the black sheep according to fans.

I think I like the slight step up in production quality here. There is a strange oscillating sliminess to the bass that is purely addicting. And the varied sounds on this album have the perfect ratio of experimentation to classic Royal Blood rock. You have the grittiness of the title track, How Did We Get So Dark? and Hook, Line & Sinker. But then you have the catchiness of Lights Out and I Only Lie When I Love You. Then you have the experimental grittiness of Hole in Your Heart or the sluggish heaviness of Sleep.

See, this is the problem when reviewing this album. I end up just praising every track on the album. Yeah, it’s just about perfect, and would have to be in my top 10 of all time. I know the classic fan take would be to put the self-titled outing first, but I have to be honest to my own opinion. But let me know yours in the comments!