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Steve Louw’s 2026 album, Traces of the Flood, is a ten-track sonic adventure where each track etches into your aural subconscious, delivering some of the South African singer songwriter and guitarist’s most confident work to date. Released Friday 15 May 2026, the album and is available to pre-order HERE.

The first single from the album is entitled “Time To Move” and is released Friday 27 February 2026 and is available to stream HERE.

After a 13-year hiatus from fronting the band, Big Sky, Steve Louw returned to recording with Headlight Dreams, the first of what followed – 2022’s Thunder & Rain, 2024’s Between Time, and now his fourth solo album release within five years, Traces of the Flood.

Having retained his collaboration with career-long friend and critically acclaimed producer Kevin Shirley (Joe Bonamassa, Black Country Communion, Beth Hart, Joanne Show Taylor), Traces of the Flood celebrates his rich contribution and commitment to Steve’s talent. The musicians that appear on the past four records, from Headlight Dreams to Traces of the Flood, are a band in every sense.

Regarding the players for this album, Steve spotted a kindred spirit he wanted to be a part of in realising Traces of the Flood’s true potential. “I’d seen Bob Britt play with Doug Lancio at a Dylan show in Memphis, and I wanted to have those two guitar players in the band for this record,” he says.

“Kevin liked the old RCA studio in Nashville, having worked there before with Joanne Shaw Taylor,” Steve adds. “It’s quite a funky space. It’s got a lovely vibe. It’s a big room, and all this gear, amps, you name it, are there, so the place has music in its walls.”

Arriving at the studio with “18 songs that were in shape,” Steve recalls, and as is true of the past three album recordings, everyone set to work. Armed with a mix of songs written more recently and a balance of older work, only ten made the cut during the Traces of the Flood sessions.

With absolutely no agenda as to which way this record was going to realise itself, Steve explains his approach, “Train Don’t Run” (From 2021’s Headlight Dreams) and “Traces of the Flood” are like brothers. Still, you would not know that unless I told you, and they were written simultaneously in 2019, so “Traces of the Flood’s’” time only revealed itself in the making of this album.

On “Echo Dream”, “we cut that track with three acoustic guitars,” Steve recalls. “Me, Bob and Doug, and while we were doing that, Greg Morrow did a few drum parts, and that was it. Then, Bob added an electric guitar part, and it was complete.”

Another standout track on Traces of the Flood is “Time to Move”. “The band felt it; I didn’t think I’d do that song if only because I thought it wasn’t ready, but when we started playing it, we fell right into the song’s groove. It was the second last song we played, and after three days of jamming in the studio the song became effortless.”

A track like “CBGB Xmas” came to life in a single, recorded take. “We only had 10 minutes of studio time left to play, so we just knocked it out. You hear how we caught it in one loose jam.”

Each album Steve has committed to tape and launched into popular culture has landed through raw talent, chance meetings and serendipity, coupled with sheer bloody-mindedness to have it realised and appreciated by the world. Traces of the Flood stands as further proof of that commitment.

Energy, urgency and a room filled with players committed to the process; Traces of the Flood is yet another defining chapter for Steve Louw on a road well-travelled.

STEVE LOUW
WEBSITE | FACEBOOK | INSTAGRAM | YOUTUBE | SPOTIFY

The post STEVE LOUW Announces New Album “Traces of the Flood” Featuring New Single “Time To Move” appeared first on The Rockpit.

We went back for a second time, and were once again blown away. Continue reading…

Welcome to another installment of “Quick Jabs.”  This section features a selection of shorter reviews of albums we have reviewed or may have missed in […]

The post Quick Jabs for March 2026 appeared first on Metal-Rules.com.

Known for blending genres as boldly as they speak their minds, Wille and the Bandits release what is regarded as their most ambitious album to date.

Wille says, “Salt Roots is a special record to me because it truly reflects where we are right now, rooted in the coastline that’s shaped us and the experiences that have defined us. It feels honest and fearless. We’ve never wanted to sit comfortably in one genre. We love pushing boundaries, exploring new sounds, and following ideas wherever they lead. That’s what keeps the music alive and human. We’re probably hard to pigeonhole and we like it that way. Our sound is instinctive, raw, and driven by feel. Salt Roots isn’t about fitting a mould,  it’s about making something real.”

Blues in Britian say, “It’s rare to find lyrics with something meaningful to say that are matched by the quality of the music. The band repeatedly pull this off… This could well be the band’s best album yet.”

The ten-track album showcases the band’s signature unpredictability, seamlessly weaving together the diverse musical paths they’ve explored over the years. Each track moves fluidly between styles while remaining grounded in strong songwriting and exceptional musicianship.

Maximum Volume awarded the album an impressive 9/10, stating that, “whatever Wille and his boys do is bound together by unflinching class.” While Get Ready to Rock praise the band for, “reaching new heights of epic story telling brilliance.”

The first single, “Trouble Round The Bend,” saw the band take striking action by wading knee-deep into human waste to highlight the UK sewage crisis through stark and unforgettable imagery. Follow-up single “Wheal Jane,” which earned Track of the Week from Classic Rock Magazine, pushes the band into heavier, more cinematic territory. Deeply narrative-driven, the song explores the perspective of a miner working in Cornwall’s historic Wheal Jane tin mine.

A third release, the Latin-rock infused “Reina del Mar,” draws inspiration from time spent along Spain’s Atlantic coastline, adding yet another dynamic layer to the album’s rich sonic landscape. ‘Salt Roots’ is a rich, expansive body of work that captures a band at the height of their creative powers. The album is available now on all digital platforms, as well as on CD and vinyl via the band’s official website.

Rockposer.com say, “one of the most exciting and authentic bands to have emerged in the UK rock scene in recent years”.

Salt Roots OUT NOW on all platforms

https://hypeddit.com/cjrzbd

www.willeandthebandits.com

The post WILLE AND THE BANDITS Release Their Powerful New Album ‘Salt Roots’ appeared first on The Rockpit.

Dying Wish and The Devil Wears Prada join the rapidly growing group of alternative musicians actively against the current immigration raids.

The post THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA And DYING WISH Announce Collaborative Anti-ICE Charity Shirt appeared first on Metal Injection.

For the two-time Grammy Award winner Tyler Bryant, the spontaneous creation of “Screwed & Tattooed” represents exactly what he envisioned when building his own studio space, a place where inspiration can be captured in real time. He has long favoured recordings that preserve the immediacy of a moment, valuing authenticity and human connection above polish, an approach he feels is more vital than ever in an increasingly AI era.

Tyler says, “It’s not everyday that you get to make up a tune with a hero. As a Texan, I grew up on Rodney Crowell’s records. My early blues explorations landed 15-year-old me at a party in California where I met Rodney for the first time. I had no idea then that, 19 years later, I’d be producing an album for him. At the tail end of making Rodney’s latest album, ‘Airline Highway,’ we found ourselves sitting in my studio with a couple of acoustic guitars. We both have a deep appreciation for low down dirty blues and when my right thumb started riding the A string of my old Kalamazoo acoustic, Rodney started spitting out lines. We laughed this song into existence.
 
My friends came over the next afternoon to jam and I pulled out this idea. It was recorded less than an hour later. This is precisely the magic I hoped my studio would inspire for me and other artists. I’ve always been drawn to “in the moment” captures when it comes to recording. Especially now that we have AI breathing down our necks… It’s time to be as real as humanly possible.”

After years at the helm of Tyler Bryant & The Shakedown, Bryant is now forging a distinct path as a solo artist. Releasing music independently has given him the freedom to follow his creative instincts. Bryant describes this chapter as intuitive, unfiltered, and entirely self-directed.

Screwed & Tattooed is OUT NOW on all digital platforms
https://linktr.ee/TylerBryantMusic

Official Website
www.tylerbryantmusic.com

The post TYLER BRYANT Releases His Fifth Solo Single, “Screwed & Tattooed,” Alongside An Official Music Video appeared first on The Rockpit.

One of the biggest challenges I’ve encountered as a music reviewer is trying to describe a band’s musical aesthetic when their discography is all over the place. Now, I know what you’re thinking: Blut Aus Nord, and you would be correct, but at least there’s an intangible thread connecting the various gnarled branches to their undulating, pulsing roots. Vaarwel, the mastermind and sole proprietor of Russia’s Frozen Ocean, takes his project to where it needs to be, and how he feels it should be delivered, musically. Over the course of 11 albums, as well as various EPs and splits, Frozen Ocean follows their own muse, without any musical correlation between them. It’s a big toss-up what you’re going to get per release, and I can’t help but respect the hell out of that.

I just wish it connected with me as well as The Prowess of Dormition did. Whereas Dormition was melodic black metal with a trip-hop undercurrent, Askdrömmar instead flirts with DSBM, rubbing shoulders with a trippier Lifelover bent. Opener “Mangata” leads off with some ambiance before a simple repeated melody takes over, followed by simplistic programmed drums, and finally other instrumentation. Vaarwel adopts more of a black metal rasp this time around, and just as the song starts to go somewhere, everything fades out, and you hear a sample of a young woman talking. Believing this would build to something, it instead leads into “Bortkastade dödsrunor,” the following track… which leads off with another sample.

The majority of what follows is a “wash-rinse-repeat” cycle among the remaining eight tracks, as they all follow a particular pattern: either a sample or piano twinkling, followed by a riff that’s more than a little reminiscent of mid-era Katatonia (“Kottkvam”), an atmospheric moment that sounds like a tremendous build-up that only goes back to the main riff, and then a sudden ending. Things start to get interesting when “Långt lopp genom mörkret” arrives, with its hyperactive keyboards and lively, energetic rhythms, but that’s track #8 of a nine-track album, and that’s just too far in the tracklisting to turn the ship around. Up until then, it’s just too formulaic and repetitive to leave a lasting mark.

The production also doesn’t help matters any, as it’s squashed and flat. The programmed drums sound like they were mixed a bit too far back, whereas the guitars, keyboards, and vocals are in-your-face, and those sound compressed within an inch of their existences. The biggest hurdle of this album lies in its conception and how it ties in with the Frozen Ocean discography. As a fan of Blut Aus Nord, I know mainman Vindsval will write whatever the fuck he feels like, and because of that, BaN’s discography runs the gamut of sounds and styles. However, the big difference is that you can still hear it’s BaN. Vaarwel doesn’t quite have that distinction when it comes to his music, as his releases are so spread out style- and quality-wise that it’s tough to find an underlying thread connecting any of it.

And that sucks to type, because I remember being impressed by The Prowess of Dormition when it released almost a decade ago. While I wasn’t expecting a repeat of that EP, I also wasn’t expecting to be bored by what’s on offer here. Vaarwel is a talented musician with great ideas, but I’m waiting for those ideas to land. With Askdrömmar, I will continue waiting.

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Rating: 2.0/5.0
DR: 7 | Format Reviewed: 319 kbps mp3
Label: Apocalyptic Witchcraft
Websites: Bandcamp | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: February 13th, 2026

The post Frozen Ocean – Askdrömmar Review appeared first on Angry Metal Guy.

Hardcore punk rock bands sprouted up everywhere across the country in the early 1980s. While we celebrate the bands that broke through, we often overlook the smaller ones that were revered in their own region. One of those bands is Hated Youth. John Oliver Hodges, the guitarist for Hated Youth, has written a book about his experience in the band and growing up in Florida, titled Kill the Punks: A Hated Youth Memoir. Two hundred pages of mayhem, music, and memories guaranteed to make you laugh and squirm.

Hodge’s book leans into the “youth” of Hated Youth more than anything, and that’s where it finds its real pulse. While not as big as some of the bands worshipped at the punk rock altar, Hated Youth had their time in the sun. Hodges details his adolescence as a stoner-metal kid getting in trouble and being sent to the principal’s office. Eventually, he is sent to the School of Analytical Reasoning, a hippie high school, as Hodges would describe it. This is where he meets his future bandmate Eric and transforms into a mohawked punk rocker.

Adolescent mythology walks a fine line between the experimentation of extremes and the embracing of familiar norms. While his friendship with bass player Eric had flourished, John was sometimes a third wheel to Eric and his girlfriend Lucia as they pushed their own boundaries. These adventures, punctuated with multiple screenings of the movie The Road Warrior, give the book a cinematic and feral energy. Despite varying degrees of intensity, the activities aren’t so different from other generations of kids growing up.

A lot of stories recounting the origins of bands coming together start to fall into the same tropes. What makes them great is the presentation. Hodge’s writing is accessible. It moves fast and keeps the reader locked in. There were many times I didn’t want to put the book down. Hodges’ memories are super clear, and the story itself is compelling. While the band may be the catalyst, the real jolts come from the tales in between the shows.

At this point, many punk rockers have told their stories about how they got into punk. Each of these stories is different but shares the same emotional weight in terms of what it meant to them and how it shaped their lives. Hodges’ book still manages to stick out. Kill The Punks: A Hated Youth Memoir feels much more personal than other books about youth and punk rock. The writing is raw and feels closer to something like Henry Rollins’s Get in the Van. The advantage here is that Hodges has many more years of writing under his belt, and it shows.

As if the book wasn’t enough, you can see the Tallahassee Pioneers of Punk from March 5th to March 8th. The exhibition celebrating the underground scene will be on display at 621 Gallery. There will be sets from some bands of the Tallahassee scene playing at the Bark. Bands like Persian Gulf, Insect Fear, Hated Youth, Silly Wabbit, and Frankenfinger will all be playing sets.

In the meantime, you can get Kill The Punks: A Hated Youth Memoir by John Oliver Hodges in either paperback or ebook from Amazon.

With her sights set on a March 5 release for her independent new solo EP ‘REBIRTH’, singer and songwriter CHLOE TRUJILLO has unveiled the final video for “Lies” from the collection.

CHLOE says the haunting and sonically heavy Middle Eastern-tinged track “is all about letting go of those lies we tell ourselves, freeing the ego, limiting beliefs, control, old identities and opening up to receive a higher truth. True spiritual insight comes from piercing beyond illusions, our own and the worlds or society’s and shedding old layers to reveal our truth.”

CHLOE teamed up with producer Alejandro Ordonez and Raubtier Productions (she previously worked with the team for her “Path” video) for the clip’s direction. To fully capture the authenticity of the magical ritualistic moment around the fire which further enhances the song’s message, the video highlights two native dancers, Ba’ac Garcia and M.Baaker.

“Lies” follows the album’s first single, the soulfully expressive metal song “As the Sky is Falling Down.” The track’s ominous guitar underscores the Paris-born and Los Angeles-based artist’s moving and haunting delivery. The delicate hum gives way to a trudging groove, and CHLOE proclaims, “As the sky is falling down, I stand tall, wreckage all around, but I won’t fall.”  Her spoken word transfixes over the turbulent bridge. Listen to the song HERE and watch the video, which includes dramatic scenes of CHLOE shot at the ocean, HERE.

REBIRTH evokes the sound of change out loud. You can hear the past being shed, the present being seized, and the future being manifested through her spirited conjurations of soulfully expressive metal.  CHLOE carefully crafted what would become REBIRTH throughout 2024 and 2025. Her song writing process is ongoing and ever evolving. When choosing the songs for the new EP, she says, “I have a stash of hundreds of songs waiting to be properly recorded, so for this EP I selected four of those to finish. I already have another 6 or 7 in mind for my next release.” Following writing, she teamed up with producer Jake Carmona to bring it to life in the studio.

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The post CHLOE TRUJILLO Releases Video For “Lies” From Her Independent New EP ‘Rebirth’ Out March 5 appeared first on The Rockpit.

Metallica are one of the big four for good reason – meaning, we’re spoiled for choice for the best deep cuts of their discography.

The post The Best METALLICA Deep Cuts From Every Album appeared first on Metal Injection.