‘…difficult not to possess a degree of excitement about what Sawtega have offered here; ‘All Blood Dries’ is a debut EP with grit, character, and ambition…’
Coalescing from the darkest recesses of south Wales, Sawtega are a self-described “nettle-core” four-piece with a penchant for retro-toned alternative metal. The band emerged in early 2025, and have already performed alongside several alternative rising stars, including Casyette and Love Rarely. This month has seen the band finally offer up their debut EP, and establish themselves as potential cult icons in the making.
‘All Blood Dries’ sees the band experimenting with what it means to be Sawtega, weaving together ideas from grunge, nu-metal, and doom metal to create a soundscape that alternates between sumptuously gothic and crushingly aggressive. Dirty guitar riffs stab forth with undeniable ferocity, buoyed by percussion that marches forth with apocalyptic weight, whilst vocals offer snarling melodies adorned with guttural screams, delivering lyricism that carries an aura of mystique; it is the perfect formula to bring the record’s central themes of control and defiance to life.
Sludgy debut single ‘Tower‘ opens the EP with jagged riffs and crashing percussion, before settling into verses that pack a surprisingly snappy dance-punk groove. Izzy Warren possesses some real power behind their vocals, and is at their best during the soaring, belted passages of the midsection, unrepentant and bold, before the track implodes for a delightfully nasty breakdown. ‘Bonfire‘ swings in aggressively with an undeniably retro flair, as swaggering distortion-loaded riffs rage with vicious coolness reserved only for 90’s nu-metal, Warren undoing the weighty shackles of obsessive misery they have long been bound by.
It is difficult not to possess a degree of excitement about what Sawtega have offered here; ‘All Blood Dries’ is a debut EP with grit, character, and ambition, taking popular grunge-adjacent concepts within the modern alternative scene and spinning them into something defiant and distinctive. Sawtega’s journey forwards may well be one worth paying attention to.
RATING: 73/100
For Fans Of: Drowning Pool, Ghost, Deathbloom, Evanescence, Zetra
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