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How Did We Get So Dark?

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How Did We Get So Dark?
Two topless women sat beside a table against a white background. The band name is written above in the centre.
Studio album by
Royal Blood
Released16 June 2017 (2017-06-16)
Recorded2016–2017
Studios
  • ICP (Brussels)
  • RAK (London)
Genres
Length34:25
LabelWarner Bros.
Producers
Royal Blood chronology
Royal Blood
(2014)		 How Did We Get So Dark?
(2017)		 Typhoons
(2021)
Singles from How Did We Get So Dark?
  1. "Lights Out"
    Released: 13 April 2017[1]
  2. "I Only Lie When I Love You"
    Released: 8 June 2017
  3. "How Did We Get So Dark?"
    Released: 20 October 2017
  4. "Hole in Your Heart"
    Released: 20 March 2018[2]

How Did We Get So Dark? is the second studio album by the British hard rock duo Royal Blood. It was released on 16 June 2017, through Warner Bros. Records.[3] The band, alongside Tom Dalgety, return as producers from the self-titled debut album, but with the addition of Joylon Thomas. He helped make alterations to the duo's sound, such as harmonies, keyboards, and outsider songwriters, while retaining their hard rock roots.

How Did We Get So Dark? received generally positive reviews from critics, and became the band's second consecutive UK number one album.[4]

Background

[edit]

Royal Blood's self-titled debut album was released in 2014, a time when mainstream rock was scarce. The duo's expectations were low, yet it sold nearly 66,000 copies in the first week, making in the fastest-selling rock debut album in the country since Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds' self-titled debut album in 2011.[5] Royal Blood soon became one of the biggest names in rock and embarked on two and a half years of touring. "We weren't ever expecting things to happen so quickly and so fast," bassist and vocalist Mike Kerr says. This, combined with pressure from people like Jimmy Page- "they’re going to take rock into a new realm," led many to predict the duo was headed for a sophomore slump.[6]

One of the main challenges Royal Blood faced recording their second album was a new environment. This is evident from the first song recorded for it, "Hook, Line and Sinker" which the duo debuted at Reading and Leeds Festival in 2015. They had gotten bored of playing the same ten songs, with Kerr adding "we were so desperate to play it, so we did."[7] They cautiously chose a recording studio, trying sessions in England, Nashville and Los Angeles before deciding on one in Brussels with about 50 song ideas. "It probably took a bit longer than we thought or were planning it to take," admits Kerr. "But I think it was all the better for it. We needed a bit of a time out."[6]

They recruited Joylon Thomas in hopes of building upon their established sound. "We wanted to progress," Kerr says, but not end up making "a kind of weird reggae record." Soul and gospel backup singers were brought in for harmonies but "it wasn't quite right," according to Kerr. Instead, he recorded both backing and lead vocals and layered them on top of each other. Thomas also thought about "other singers and other textures" but concluded part of Royal Blood's character is that there are "just two guys." The only other adjustments to Royal Blood's to make the album are some keyboard parts and songwriters John Barrett and Patrik Berger contributing to three songs, "Lights Out", "Don't Tell" and "Sleep".[6]

Composition

[edit]

How Did We Get So Dark? is stylistically similar to the duo's self-titled debut album, with Geoff Jenke of Eventalaide describing both as featuring a "mixture of hard blues, stoner rock and hard rock with a little bit of psychedelic rock and pop."[8] Polly Glass of Classic Rock similarly felt it continued Royal Blood's "grizzled blues rock tropes,"[9] where as WERS noted more variance in the duo's melodies while keeping their "signature garage-rock sound."[10]

Critical reception

[edit]
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.4/10[11]
Metacritic71/100[12]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusicStarStarStarStar[13]
Classic RockStarStarStarStar[14]
DorkStarStarStarStar[15]
Exclaim!6/10[16]
Financial TimesStarStarStarStar[17]
MusicOMHStarStarStarHalf star[18]
NMEStarStarStarStar[19]
The Spill MagazineStarStarStarStarStar[20]

The album received generally positive reviews from music critics, attaining a Metacritic aggregate score of 71.

How Did We Get So Dark was elected by Loudwire as the 7th best hard rock album of 2017,[21] and Craig Clemens of RX Music listed it as a runner-up for the best alternative rock album of 2017.[22]

Track listing

[edit]

All lyrics are written by Mike Kerr; all music is composed by Royal Blood, except where noted.

No.TitleLyricsMusicLength
1."How Did We Get So Dark?"  3:17
2."Lights Out"
  • Mike Kerr
  • John Barrett
  • Royal Blood
  • John Barrett
3:57
3."I Only Lie When I Love You"  2:49
4."She's Creeping"  3:23
5."Look Like You Know"  3:05
6."Where Are You Now?"  2:46
7."Don't Tell"
  • Mike Kerr
  • John Barrett
  • Royal Blood
  • John Barrett
3:38
8."Hook, Line & Sinker"  3:28
9."Hole in Your Heart"  3:46
10."Sleep" 
  • Royal Blood
  • Patrick Berger
4:16
Total length:34:25
Super deluxe vinyl bonus 7"[23]
No.TitleLength
11."Cheap Affection"2:55
12."Half the Chance"3:18
Total length:40:38

Personnel

[edit]

Credits adapted from the album's booklet.[24]

Royal Blood

  • Mike Kerr – bass, keyboards, vocals, production
  • Ben Thatcher – drums, percussion, piano, production

Production

  • Tom Dalgety – production, engineering, mixing
  • Jolyon Thomas – production, engineering
  • Brian Lucey – mastering
  • Justin Smith – engineering
  • Drew Bang – engineering

Imagery

  • Adrian Samson – photography
  • Pascal Teixeira – art direction
  • Richard Welland – design
  • We Three Club – tiger design

Charts

[edit]

Weekly charts

[edit]
Chart (2017) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[25]4
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[26]13
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[27]2
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[28]2
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[29]8
Czech Albums (ČNS IFPI)[30]43
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[31]8
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[32]28
French Albums (SNEP)[33]37
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[34]17
Greek Albums (IFPI)[35] 19
Irish Albums (IRMA)[36]4
Italian Albums (FIMI)[37]29
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[38]6
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[39]23
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[40]8
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)[41]1
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[42] 25
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[43]4
UK Albums (Official Charts)[44]1
UK Rock & Metal Albums (Official Charts)[45]1
US Billboard 200[46]25
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[47]6

Year-end charts

[edit]
Chart (2017) Position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[48] 31
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[49] 112
UK Albums (OCC)[50] 39

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ Young, Alex (13 April 2017). "Royal Blood premiere new single "Lights Out" — listen". Consequence of Sound. consequence.net. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  2. ↑ "Rock > Future Releases". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 20 March 2018.
  3. ↑ Childers, Chad (13 April 2017). "Royal Blood Offer More 'How Did We Get So Dark?' Album Details, Unveil 'Lights Out' Video". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  4. ↑ McIntyre, Hugh (23 June 2017). "Hard Rockers Royal Blood Start Their Second Album At No. 1 In The U.K." Forbes. Retrieved 8 September 2025.
  5. ↑ Daly, Rhian (31 August 2014). "Royal Blood score fastest-selling rock debut album in three years". NME. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
  6. 1 2 3 Leight, Elias (11 July 2017). "Royal Blood Reveal Why Getting Dark Helped Them Avoid Sophomore Slump". Revolver. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  7. ↑ Britton, Luke Morgan (20 October 2015). "Royal Blood issue update on second album: 'The ideas are all in our brains'". NME. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
  8. ↑ Jenke, Geoff (21 August 2017). "Album Review – ROYAL BLOOD – How Did We Get So Dark? (Warners)". Eventalaide. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  9. ↑ Glass, Polly (29 April 2021). "How Royal Blood left a seven-year stag party behind and made a disco-ready rock classic". Classic Rock. Louder. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  10. ↑ Doolin, Lily (24 July 2017). "How Did We Get So Dark? - Royal Blood | Album Review". WERS. Retrieved 12 September 2026.
  11. ↑ "How Did We Get So Dark? by Royal Blood reviews". www.anydecentmusic.com. Retrieved 8 July 2017.
  12. ↑ "How Did We Get So Dark? by Royal Blood". Metacritic.
  13. ↑ "Royal Blood: How Did We Get So Dark?". 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  14. ↑ Simpson, Dave (16 June 2017). "Royal Blood: How Did We Get So Dark?". Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  15. ↑ "Royal Blood: How Did We Get So Dark?". 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  16. ↑ Yuyitung, Matt (16 June 2017). "Royal Blood How Did We Get So Dark?". Exclaim!. Retrieved 24 July 2017.
  17. ↑ Hunter-Tilney, Ludovic (16 June 2017). "Royal Blood: How Did We Get So Dark? — 'satisfyingly chewy sound'". Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  18. ↑ Houle, Zachary (17 June 2014). "The Whigs: Modern Creation". Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  19. ↑ Beaumont, Mark (16 June 2017). "Royal Blood – 'How Did We Get So Dark?' Review". Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  20. ↑ "Royal Blood: How Did We Get So Dark?". The Spill Magazine. 16 June 2017. Retrieved 16 June 2017.
  21. ↑ "The 25 Hard Rock Albums of 2017". Loudwire. Townsquare Media. 28 November 2017. Retrieved 23 September 2022.
  22. ↑ Clemens, Craig (22 December 2017). "Best Albums of 2017". RX Music. Retrieved 13 September 2026.
  23. ↑ "Royal Blood - How Did We Get So Dark? Super Deluxe Vinyl". store.royalbloodband.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2017. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  24. ↑ How Did We Get So Dark? (booklet). Royal Blood. Warner Bros. 2017. 2-561724.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  25. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  26. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  27. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  28. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  29. ↑ "Royal Blood Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 26 June 2017.
  30. ↑ "ČNS IFPI – CZ Albums – Top 100 – 25. týden 2017" (in Czech). ČNS IFPI. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  31. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  32. ↑ "Royal Blood: How Did We Get So Dark?" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 25 June 2017.
  33. ↑ "Le Top de la semaine : Top Albums – SNEP (Week 25, 2017)". Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  34. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  35. ↑ "Official IFPI Charts – Top-75 Albums Sales Chart (Week: 30/2017)". IFPI Greece. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  36. ↑ "Irish-charts.com – Discography Royal Blood". Hung Medien. Retrieved 13 September 2017.
  37. ↑ "Italiancharts.com – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  38. ↑ "Charts.nz – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 23 June 2017.
  39. ↑ "Oficjalna lista sprzedaży :: OLiS - Official Retail Sales Chart". OLiS. Polish Society of the Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  40. ↑ "Portuguesecharts.com – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 5 July 2017.
  41. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 23/6/2017 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  42. ↑ "Top 100 Albumes — Semana 25: del 16.06.2017 al 22.06.2017" (in Spanish). Productores de Música de España. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  43. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Royal Blood – How Did We Get So Dark?". Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  44. ↑ "Official Albums Chart on 23/6/2017 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  45. ↑ "Official Rock & Metal Albums Chart on 23/6/2017 – Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  46. ↑ "Royal Blood Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  47. ↑ "Royal Blood Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved 27 June 2017.
  48. ↑ "Jaaroverzichten Albums 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  49. ↑ "Rapports Annuels Albums 2017". Ultratop. Retrieved 21 December 2017.
  50. ↑ White, Jack (3 January 2018). "The Top 40 biggest albums of 2017 on the Official Chart". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 3 January 2018.
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