Royal Blood have revealed what happened to the fan favourite live track ‘King’, which was roadtested along with recent single ‘Boilermaker’ but didn’t make it onto new album ‘Typhoons‘.

‘King’ was one of two new songs first debuted on the band’s summer 2019 tour, becoming a firm favourite among fans – many of whom voiced their disappointment when it didn’t appear on the final tracklist of the record. The song now only appears to be available on the US digital deluxe version of the album, along with the other bonus track ‘Space’, but the band have said that it didn’t quite fit in with the more colourful and danceable direction that the rest of ‘Typhoons’ took.

“‘King’ is something that we didn’t feel worked on the record,” frontman Mike Kerr told NME. “It was from a particular era of writing that we’d moved away from. It became so obvious to us that it didn’t belong there.

“It was a jigsaw piece that we would have had to absolutely crowbar in. I’m sure we’ll play it live. It still exists, it just didn’t belong on the record.”

In a four-star review of the album, NME concluded that “‘Typhoons’ is not only their best work to date, but all the better for Royal Blood being free to explore what they’re capable of,” adding that the record “shows what can really be achieved if you break your own walls down and let a little light in.”

‘Typhoons’ by Royal Blood is out now. The band will be embarking on a massive UK arena tour in 2022.