Royal Blood’s new album was written from a “dark” place.

Singer Mike Kerr, 33, and his drummer bandmate Ben Thatcher, 35, are releasing their self-produced ‘Back to the Water Below’ album on 8 September, with a taster single in the form of ‘Mountains at Midnight’.

Mike – who has been sober around four years after a drink and drugs battle – told The Cut: “It feels like I was writing from that place of being somewhere that’s very isolated, dark and deep down.

“Whenever I get to that place, it’s not always about trying to escape it. It’s not about trying to swim for the surface; it’s about acknowledging that this is where I’m at and sitting in those feelings. I’ll try not to give everything away, though.”

But he said the record is not just heavy noise to suit the mood of his words.

Mike added: “The biggest danger of being in a rock band right now is walking out onstage, looking cool as f*** and hiding behind a wall of noise without having any art or meaning to what you’re doing.

“That’s the quickest way to get lost. I want to feel what I’m saying. I want it to come from somewhere that’s real… I really sweated over every word, and I’m fully aware that I will go out, attempt to explain it and ruin all that hard work.”

Mike added the band’s set-up may look simple but their job is far from “easy”.

He said: “I’m sure there are people out there who think what we do is easy.

“Go ahead and try it. There’s nowhere to hide in this band.”

He added about the band’s new track: “It feels like the sort of Royal Blood song that should have always existed.”

Mike also told NME about the new album: “It’s always about getting people’s attention, and songs of this nature seem to be rare.

“It sounds so much like us and what we’re known for. As a reintroduction to us, it felt like a bold way to come back and say, ‘Hi!'”