12 Non-Headline Bands You Should See At Reading & Leeds

8. Royal Blood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ere2Mstl8ww Where/When: NME/Radio 1 Stage, Reading: Saturday, Leeds: Sunday It takes a special something to get a support slot for a band like Arctic Monkeys while only having one song out. That's exactly what happened to Royal Blood, whose song 'Out of the Black' was the only thing they had readily available when they garnered a support slot with the Sheffield four-piece, at their Finsbury Park shows in May. It was a match made in heaven; the band's sound echoes many parts of the Arctics' recent heavier tendencies, as well as bearing similarities to their touring mates The Black Keys and Queens of the Stone Age. Elsewhere in their limited back catalogue, the Brighton-based duo exhibit hard-rocking excitement that hasn't been seen in years, as intense hip-hop drumbeats polish off the grungiest of riffs. Amazingly, the band have no guitarist, with singer and bassist Mike Kerr simply using his four-string and a bunch of effect pedals to create the monstrous noise that identifies itself within Royal Blood. 'Little Monster' carries on the in-your-face nature of their garage rock sound, and their debut album looks set to continue that trend, slated for release on the very weekend of Reading & Leeds.