When “Where Are You Now” by Royal Blood first surfaced in 2015, it felt like a hidden gem in the band’s catalogue. Unlike their album tracks, this song was created specifically for the HBO series Vinyl, a show produced by Martin Scorsese and Mick Jagger that celebrated the wild, gritty energy of the 1970s music industry. Royal Blood—already gaining a reputation for their thunderous two-piece setup—were asked to contribute a track that captured that same raw spirit. What they delivered was “Where Are You Now”, a song that carries both urgency and melancholy, with drumming that plays a central, unforgettable role.
The composition came together in the band’s typical fashion: Mike Kerr’s distorted, riff-driven bass lines set the foundation, while Ben Thatcher built the rhythmic architecture around it. For this track, Thatcher leaned into a style that combines brute force with restraint. His drumming opens with a spacious pulse, almost teasing the listener, before tightening into explosive fills that mirror the emotional peaks of Kerr’s vocals. The duo wanted the track to feel cinematic, as if it could soundtrack not just a TV series, but also the inner drama of anyone listening. Thatcher’s drumming was key to achieving that scale—it gave the song both its heartbeat and its muscle.
The song first reached audiences through Vinyl in March 2016, featured in the season finale. Its placement in the show elevated its intensity, but soon fans demanded to hear it live. Royal Blood obliged, adding it to their setlists at festivals and concerts that year. On stage, Thatcher’s drumming took on an even bigger life. He played with the power of a rock veteran, smashing toms and cymbals in a way that made the ground shake, yet never losing control of the groove. Fans often noted that the track, while not part of the band’s studio albums, became one of the live highlights because of its percussive energy.
For drum enthusiasts, “Where Are You Now” is a reminder of what makes Thatcher so compelling: his ability to balance heaviness with clarity. Every snare hit sounds like a demand for attention, every tom roll like a surge of adrenaline. The track shows that in Royal Blood’s stripped-down world of bass and drums, the drummer isn’t just keeping time—he’s carrying half the storm.
Even years later, the song remains a fan favorite, a testament to how a one-off project for a television series grew into a defining showcase of Royal Blood’s rhythmic firepower.
The drumless version is an audio file of the song without the drum track, designed to let you play as if you were the drummer in the band.
It is an ideal tool for developing your sense of groove, consistency, rhythmic accuracy, and endurance. By playing along with real music, without the original drums already recorded, you learn to hold the song from start to finish, place your fills at the right moments, and follow the structure with greater independence.
When the drums start right at the beginning of the song, 2 bars of click are added before the track starts, allowing you to lock into the tempo and begin with precision.
This version is especially useful for practicing in conditions close to a real performance: you have to maintain the tempo, support the energy of the song, manage transitions, and blend naturally with the other instruments. It also helps you work on your listening, sound, dynamics, and ability to stay solid in the groove.
The drumless track is also an excellent tool for recording yourself, creating your own drum cover videos, preparing for a rehearsal, concert, audition, or exam. It helps you check your timing, musicality, and overall control of the song.
This file is created from the original track: the drum part is removed in order to provide a working version without drums. Depending on the original mix, the audio quality may therefore be slightly affected, and some drum elements may sometimes remain audible.
Ideal for: playing in real performance conditions, working on your groove, improving fill accuracy, building endurance, preparing for the stage, or creating your own drum recordings.
| Artist | Royal Blood |
|---|---|
| Song | Where Are You Now |
| Album | Vinyl |
| Année | 2016 |
| Tempo | 140 |
| Signature Rythmique | 12/8 |
| Longueur | 2:47 |
| Video URL | |
| Musician | Ben Thatcher |
| Page(s) | 3 |
| Version | Album |
| Edition | Warner |
| Transcription | Sebastien POITEVIN |
| Style | Rock |
| Niveau | Intermediate |
| Product format | Drumless music |
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