Kasabian’s new album is “heavy as f**k”.

The ‘Underdog’ rockers felt it was the “right time” to write heavier songs for their fourth album, as they better suit the huge crowds the band now command at their live shows.

Guitarist and songwriter Serge Pizzorno, said: “It feels like the right time for big rock tunes. Not harking back, or rehashing anything. Modern. But big pop tunes.

“It massively changes things knowing you’re going to play tunes to big crowds. When you’re stood in front of 60,000 people, those are the tunes you can’t wait to play.

“You might have some amazing tunes but they’re at a weird tempo, and some nights you want the earth to swallow you up. But when you’ve got songs like [new track] ‘Switchblade.’ it’s like, wow, any other band, anyone else in the world, has got to move out the way. It’s heavy as f**k.”

The as-yet untitled album, which is set for release in late September, includes grunge-inspired tracks such as ‘Velociraptor’, which vocalist Tom Meighan thinks will be a huge hit.

Comparing it Nirvana’s biggest single, he explained: “It’s our ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit.’ It’s that one where everyone goes mental. It’s a rare mutant. I’ve never heard a song quite like it.”

Serge added to NME magazine: “We’ve really got into Nirvana. You can’t do Nirvana, but we can take the essence of ‘Teen Spirit’ and also add in the Midlands rave thing, and that almost Prodigy chorus.”