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Scarlet Rebels have announced their new album, Flawed By Design, set for release on 13 November 2026 via Earache Records. Pre-orders are available now.
Following the success of Where The Colours Meet (2024), which became the Welsh rockers second consecutive UK Top 20 album, Scarlet Rebels return with a collection of 11 songs that showcase a band at the very top of their game.
For frontman Wayne Doyle, writing the follow-up to a string of critically acclaimed releases brought its own pressures.
“You’re aware that you need to deliver something good, and that’s tough,” he says. “You either fold or you get stuck in and dig deep. And I really dug deep.”
Recorded with returning producer Chris Clancy, Flawed By Design sees Wayne, drummer Gary Doyle, guitarist Chris Jones and bassist Carl Oag build on the foundations laid by previous albums Show Your Colours (2019), See Through Blue (2022) and Where The Colours Meet (2024), delivering a deeply personal record packed with anthemic songs that combine the powerful with the personal
The album is introduced by new single ‘This Is Happening Now’, a track inspired by the uncertainty and division of modern life.
“‘This Is Happening Now’ speaks of the times we find ourselves in. How every single person is affected by the decisions and actions of a few men in suits. We tried to visualise that in the video by showing that ‘on screen’ these people look like they know what they’re doing and what they’re talking about, but behind the scenes and away from the public persona, no one actually has a clue what they’re doing."
Speaking about the album, Wayne adds, “What we’ve produced feels like a natural follow-up to Where The Colours Meet. One record wouldn’t exist without the other. You can tell they’re related, but they each have their own personality. I genuinely feel these are the best songs we’ve ever recorded for one album.
My influences have always been Springsteen, Tom Petty, Foo Fighters, even early Bon Jovi, they write melodies that stick in your head, In the studio, we were going for a bit of an 80s throwback vibe, not the cheesiness of the 80s, but the way those bands and artists weren’t afraid to write these big melodies that really hit people. But at the same time, they were saying something with their songs.”
Flawed By Design is the sound of a band at its peak, from Wayne’s emotive vocals and lyrics, to the powerhouse rhythm section and Chris Jones’ blazing guitar. “Chris is one of the best lead guitarists in the country, but he always reins it back to make sure he serves the song,” says Wayne of his bandmates. “It’s the same with Gary and Carl. This band are on fire right now.”
Yet there’s an emotional core to Flawed By Design, a line taken from opening track God’s Honest Truth, that runs even deeper than its arena-sized ambition. By Wayne’s own admission, it’s the most introspective record he and the band have ever written, something encapsulated by the album title.
