Fatherson found it easy to get inspired when recording their new album – because they were surrounded by rock history.

The Kilmarnock trio worked on sophomore album Open Book at Rockfield Studios in Wales, a location that some of the world’s most legendary bands have worked in.

“The day we started recording at Rockfield was the 40 year anniversary of Bohemian Rhapsody being recorded there, so that was some big shoes to fill,” recalls Ross Leighton, the group’s singer and guitarist.

“It was a reminder that no matter what we were doing, Bohemian Rhapsody had happened there so know your place. There were all these old references and things around us, from Black Sabbath and Oasis to Coldplay and Rush. Their guestbook was absolutely hilarious, just all the names signing it – Tom Odell was there the week before us, the Staves were the week after.

“There’s something special about that place – Kingsley Ward, who runs it, has all these crazy stories and was happy to natter to us about the time Freddie Mercury did this, or Noel Gallagher did that. It was crazy to be part of that.”

The sessions at Rockfield have resulted in Open Book, an album of huge anthems and heavy-hitting tunes. If the group’s well-received debut I Am An Island suggested a band eyeing up big venues, then Open Book super-sizes everything even further.

It’s a big record, although there’s a few surprises on there, like the sound of the three-piece – school pals Ross, bassist Marc Strain and drummer Greg Walkinshaw – dropping in clips of them playing ping pong.

“There’s samples of us playing ping pong on there, because whenever we weren’t playing on the record we’d go and play ping pong,” laughs Ross.

“They’re hidden in the mix but they are there. At one point we were recording the drums on a bin outdoors in a courtyard at Rockfield too, but that’s the excitement of being in the studio – once the barebones of a song are down you can play around with tape machines and stick 10 pedals in front of a guitar if you want to.”

The album is officially out tomorrow (Friday June 3) and the group will launch it with their biggest headline Glasgow to date at the O2 ABC on Saturday, before a T In The Park appearance in July.

It caps off a period where the band switched back to their roots as a three-piece, having been a foursome for their first album, and a spell where they focused on getting their live gigs up to scratch again.

“Going from four to three was just something that happened, and it’s worked out in a pretty positive way for us,” says Ross.

“We’re trying to concentrate on becoming a good live band again because sometimes you forget about putting on a good show. After a couple of bad shows you need to remember that people are spending their hard earned money to come and see you, so you need to give them that hour of enjoyment, rather than just turning up and being ‘where are we tonight’.

“Watching bands like We Were Promised Jetpacks or Enter Shikari, it makes you think ‘let’s make a good show of this and be proud of what we do live.’”

A good night should be guaranteed at the O2 ABC, a regular haunt of the band even when they’re not gigging there. It’s almost certain to see old and new songs alike spark some serious sing-a-longs.

“I think we’ve always, and I don’t know why, had sing-a-longs with people at our shows,” says Ross.

“We’ll go places and play shows to 50 people, yet it’s unbelievably loud because everyone is singing along to the tunes. So that’s always been an element to what we do – we’re just trying to do that on a bigger scale now.”

Fatherson, O2 ABC, Saturday, £12, 7pm