Royal Bliss

Royal Bliss was formed in 1997 in Salt Lake City, Utah^[1] when guitarist Chris Harding met singer Neal Middleton at one of the latter's local solo performances. They were both high school students at the time.^[2] The two then recruited additional guitarist Taylor Richards, drummer Jake Smith, and bassist Tommy Gunn. After releasing two EPs, the band released their first full-length album King Size in 2001.^[3] The band has attracted media attention for its bad luck.^[4] Smith was in a serious car accident in 2003.^[5] In 2004, Middleton was severely injured in a fall from a balcony and was temporarily paralyzed, needing a lengthy rehabilitation period.^[6]

The album After the Chaos was released in 2005, and repackaged with additional tracks as After the Chaos II the following year.^[7] That album attracted the attention of Capitol Records, which signed Royal Bliss to the Caroline Records subsidiary. The band's first album with the label, Life In-Between, reached the U.S. rock chart in 2009.^[3] Middleton competed on The Voice in 2012 but was eliminated by the judges.^[5]

The band self-released the albums Waiting Out the Storm in 2012 and Chasing the Sun in 2014.^[3] The latter was funded by a Kickstarter campaign.^[8] Their 2016 album The Truth reached some American country music charts.^[9] Harding and Gunn departed during this period, and the band used some temporary bassists and additional musicians, with the fourth position in the band stabilizing with bassist Brian Hennesy in 2017.^[10] This lineup released the album Survival in 2023,^[11] followed by the all-acoustic album Blood, Wood & Steel in 2024.