Scarlet Rebels

Show Your Colours

roar Classic rock shakedown in the valleys.

Rebranding themselves as Scarlet Rebels, the Welsh classic rockers formerly known as V0iD have beefed up their front line with a couple of new guitarists, including Josh ‘nephew of Pete’ Townshend, who have brought with them a spiffing array of hard-rock riffs. This in turn has reinvigorated the rhythm section and sharpened up singer Wayne Doyle’s songwriting, giving his anthemic choruses a harder edge while keeping a melodic handle on it all.

They get off to a cracking start, scarcely giving the listener space to breathe for the first couple of numbers as they fire off a series of frenzied riffs and pummelling

choruses, but despite the seeming mayhem it’s all tightly controlled; a couple of splitsecond pauses in opener No One Else To Blame exert their own visceral power. Even when they’re confident enough to ease up on the intros, they can seldom resist a power surge later. Doyle’s lyrics roam from redneck presidents (Head’s In The Ground) to mental health (Blinded By The Pain) before letting it all hang out on Returning Light. ■■■■■■■■■■