One of the finest blues players in the world, Walter Trout, is coming to South Wales as part of his biggest UK tour to date.

The American virtuoso has just released a new album, Relentless, which pretty much sums up him and his band, the Free Radicals, and their earth-shattering blues.

Lightning guitar solos, raucous vocals and a musicianship second to none are all stock in trade for Trout and co.

Relentless follows the band's acclaimed live album, Live Trout, which caught them whipping it up at the Tampa Bay Blues Fest.

His first live album, it showed those who've not been deafened live that his playing is not studio trickery.

The first bars of the opening number, I Can Tell, predict business as usual - high-octane blues with a thousand emotions thrown into not nearly as many screaming notes, shooting from the Trout's fretboard.

If some of his studio recordings lacked the spontaneity of the guitar hero's on-stage shredding, then he's more than made up for it with these 14 tracks of solid blues.

Such playing has seen Trout rise to become one of the most respected guitarists in the world. He's recorded three albums with John Mayall, toured with John Lee Hooker and Big Mama Thornton, played for four years with Canned Heat and released nine solo albums.

Born to two loving and bluesy parents, Trout has never been far from the nearest 12-bar, and as a boy he saw such greats as Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and James Brown. Today, although a guitar god in every way, his playing is contemporary, and with every solo he stretches a little further.

l Walter Trout and the Free Radicals play The Abertillery Community Theatre, Ebbw Vale, on Wednesday, October 1. Dial 01495 350360 for more information.