THEIR music has gone global but, for Band of Skulls, home is where the heart is.

The Southampton trio return to the city this week for a triumphant homecoming gig at Engine Rooms on Thursday.

Over the course of four well received albums, Russell Marsden (vocals and guitar), vocalist and bassist Emma Richardson and drummer Matt Hayward have established a reputation as one of the UK's best guitar bands.

They're in demand worldwide, have successfully conquered America and had their music used for everything from Hollywood movies like The Twilight Saga: New Moon and The Hangover Part II to top video games including Guitar Hero and Gran Turismo 5, via the popular TV shows Gossip Girl and Britain's Next Top Model.

They've appeared on Later...with Jools Holland and were the subject of a Channel 4 documentary showcasing their journey from jamming in Southampton bars to global tours.

Band of Skulls have managed to fit in a Glastonbury slot and supporting Stereophonics at Cardiff City Stadium around a string of UK headline dates in support of their latest album.

But it's coming back to their roots to play a home crowd that really excites them.

"Playing the place where we grew up is really special to us," says Matt, who grew up in Bassett.

"Common People last year was just a magical moment. To walk over there and play was a really big thing for me.

"It's special but nerve-racking. You know a lot of people, which is an added pressure. It's an interesting feeling, but it's always brilliant. We turn it into a real celebration."

Russell, who grew up in Hedge End, added: "It's really important for us to stay grounded and keep our heads screwed on. Being around home and seeing your friends and going down the local pubs is one of the ways we do that.

"Saying we are from Southampton UK on the mic is really important, wherever we are. We make sure we say that every day. It's becoming increasingly important to us that whatever we achieve, remembering where we started is more significant.

The male two thirds of the trio were pupils at Cantell School and met Emma, from Hamble, through mutual friends when she was studying a foundation degree at Winchester School of Art. They were originally known as Fleeing New York before changing their name in 2008.

The album Band of Skulls are currently touring, By Default, was inspired by their home city and was launched with a live in store performance in the city's HMV store back in May.

"It's a pure Southampton record," says Matt.

"You know you can draw from this city, I think it is a really big inspiration to us for a lot of our material.

"When we wanted to start writing this record, we rented a church in Southampton. We're always trying to find interesting places to surround ourselves in.

"The sound of the church was great for that process. It carries the voice like a dream and it just sounds amazing. We could just hear the sound of the record as soon as we got there. We used a lot of the reverbs of the room on the record.

"It just really worked. It was so much better than being in a standard London rehearsal space. We've done that before and The Specials are next door and you spend the whole time thinking God I hope they're not listening to this!

"We loved that we were completely anonymous."

Although the band have kept the identity of their city centre discovery a closely guarded secret, eagle eyed fans may be able to identify the location from the interior photograph which acts as the album artwork on By Default.

It's a departure from the more visceral art on previous albums, all designed by Emma. A talented artist known for her large scale paintings on canvas, Emma used images from her Wimbledon BA in Fine Art degree show for their 2009 debut Baby Darling Doll Face Honey and has continued to design artwork for the band ever since.

After playing the Engine Rooms, they head to Australia, but home won't be far from their minds as they take on the world.

Tickets and details from engineroomssouthampton.com