A sweltering evening in Leeds’ brand-new warehouse venue, Project House, culminated in a Monday night done right. Through Crash Records, Royal Blood had offered exclusive-feel, intimate gig tickets as part of limited CD and vinyl bundles. Like hot cakes, they sold out their 6pm show and had to lay on an 8:30pm slot to meet the mad demand. We had entry to the latter.

We got there promptly and the room persisted to swell, with sweaty bodies and an air of total anticipation. And although it wasn’t quite as small a setting as some of these types of gigs you can get, it was a launch party that required (and delivered) epic proportions.

By starting with ‘Out of the Black’, it wasn’t quite album play-through I’d expected, after they’d just dropped ‘Back To The Water Below’ on Friday. Instead, it saw a banger-filled setlist of fan favourites whip the crowd into a frenzy. We’re talking ‘Lights Out’, ‘Boilermaker’, ‘Little Monster’, ‘Figure It Out’ and more — and these hits were craftily interwoven with new offerings. While much fresher, ‘Mountains At Midnight’, ‘Pull Me Through’ and ‘Shiner In The Dark’ still all went down a storm. And the sound couldn’t have been meatier or more massive if it tried.

Keys and backing vocals assisted the thunderous noise the duo unleashed, and, as a result, we were gifted 45 minutes of pure, unadulterated, Royal Blood finery. There was a healthy handful of carnage throughout, to satisfy the ears of all ages, before the biblical crescendo of the finale, ‘Waves’.

Say what you will about Royal Blood’s crowd-engagement festival controversy back in the summer, but this is a band I’d be all too glad to scream and clap for, time and time again.