South Wales has a habit of producing bands who thrive on tension — the push and pull between melody and menace — and Sawtega arrive firmly in that lineage. The nu‑grunge, nettle‑core trio (their words, but it fits) make their first official mark with Tower, a debut single that wastes no time establishing the band’s aesthetic: cinematic dread, serrated riffs, and a sense of emotional upheaval that feels both personal and mythic.

Rather than easing listeners in, Tower drops them straight into Sawtega’s world — one shaped by cycles of destruction and rebirth, tarot symbolism, and the kind of apocalyptic storytelling usually reserved for horror cinema. It’s a track built on contrasts: tight, rhythmic verses that snap with nu‑metal precision, and choruses that open up into something far more expansive and cathartic.

Frontwoman Izzy Warren explains that the song’s core imagery comes from the Tower tarot card — a symbol of collapse, revelation, and the painful clarity that follows. In Sawtega’s hands, that symbolism becomes a backdrop for a “final girl” narrative, placing grief and resilience in the same frame. It’s heavy, but not hopeless; chaotic, but crafted.

Musically, the band pull from the jagged edges of early‑2000s alt‑metal and the grit of modern grunge revivalists. Fans of Trash Boat, Thornhill, As Everything Unfolds, Chevelle, Kittie, or even the more groove‑driven side of Mudvayne will find plenty to latch onto. But there’s also a freshness here — a sense that Sawtega aren’t just borrowing from their influences, but reshaping them into something sharp and contemporary.

Tower is the first of three singles, each taken from a different EP, hinting at a band with more range than a debut usually dares to show. If this opening chapter is anything to go by, Sawtega are stepping into the scene with a fully formed vision and a taste for the dramatic.

Sawtega are:

Izzy Warren — vocals

Mark Naylor — bass

Dylan Burris — guitar

Keep up to date with Sawtega via their Linktr.ee