Released on 6th November 2026 via Warner Records was the fifth studio album from Brighton’s rock genre-bending chameleons Royal Blood. Titled Dead Company, the album has been self-produced by the duo. Four singles have already been released in the run-up to the unveiling of the full album: “Ten Over Ten”, “Swallow the Bomb”, “Dead Company” and “Mother Never Told You”.
The last piece of fresh work we heard from Royal Blood was back in 2023 when they released their fourth studio album Back to the Water Below. Touring then followed, including a main stage slot at the 2024 edition of Download Festival. Fast-forward then to the 21st August 2026, where Royal Blood announced that they will be releasing a new album with a supporting UK headline tour during the winter. The album was originally intended to release on Friday 13th November, but it was brought forward by a week to the 6th November instead.
I’m extremely excited to get into this album and tell you all of my favourite things about this body of work.
My first track to highlight is the album title track “Dead Company”. I just love how full of energy and rhythm this track is, right from the beginning and all the way through to the end. It has the potential to be one of those definitive Royal Blood tracks that has you asking the same question over and over – “how has this incredible pulsating sound been created by only two people!?”.It deserves its place alongside the likes of “Little Monster”, “Typhoons” and “How Did We Get So Dark”. The distorted bass and drums are perfectly complementary, and everything just blends beautifully to get me moving, swaying and head moshing from start to finish.
The second track to highlight is “Ten Over Ten”. The intro to this track gives me strong “Run To The Hills” by Iron Maiden vibes; I don’t know if it’s the fast guitars or how it’s played, but that’s the song that comes to my mind straight away. I also really like how whenever the vocals start, the instrumentals calm down just a little bit, only to pick right back up as soon the vocals stop. I know I’ve said it before, but there’s something about Royal Blood’s music that just sounds so catchy and gets imprinted into the mind; the more you listen to them, the more you can’t get over the raw intensity of the sound.
My third and final track to highlight is “Ride”. Once again, I just love how fast and full of attitude, yet somehow slightly seductive this track is! The slow vocals juxtapose perfectly against the fast tempo of the instrumentals, creating an intense rollercoaster of a listening experience. I can just picture this track featuring in the climax of an action movie – one that makes you feel like you’re in the film yourself.
I think that, all in all, Dead Company is an outstanding album, full of intense and pulse-raising rhythms that you just can’t drown out to avoid them being stuck in your head. Royal Blood really are the masters of the craft of mixing it up but retaining that signature swagger, which is something I’ve loved about their entire body of work. Not being afraid to experiment and release something that fans might need to adjust to a little is bold, but they’ve made it work once again with Dead Company. I can only hope we’re not waiting three years for their next album, and I’m looking forward to seeing them on the live tour circuit again very soon – the more chaotic the better!
