Walter Trout returns with new album and UK tour

With bristling energy, unflagging virtuosity and lyrics that cut to the core of human hope and willpower, Walter Trout's new album, 'Battle Scars', chronicles his horrific battle with liver failure.

But the 12-song set, which will be released worldwide by Provogue Records on October 23rd also captures the international guitar hero, on a new high — playing and singing at the peak of his abilities, infusing even his darkest numbers with creative joy that sweeps like a beacon.

"I'm thrilled about this album, about my life and about my music" says Trout, who returned to the stage in June at the prestigious Lead Belly Festival in London's Royal Albert Hall, where he received 3 standing ovations. "I feel that I'm reborn as a songwriter, a singer, a guitarist and a human being. I have a new chance at being the best musician and the best man that I can be. And I'm incredibly happy and grateful."

Contrast that to early 2014, when Trout was lying in a hospital bed without the strength to move or speak, unable to recognize his own children, as he observed his body waste away. He had lost 13 pints of blood and was in a coma for three days.

But on Memorial Day, May 26, 2014, Trout underwent liver transplant surgery and the slow process of healing began.
"At first I wasn't strong enough to play a single note on the guitar, but as I regained my strength, the music came back to me. Now when I pick up the guitar, it is liberating, joyful, and limitless. I feel like I'm 17 again."

One of the reasons Walter is still here and is now fit and healthy is through the overwhelming generosity of his fans and supporters which included a fan-organised YouCaring campaign which was set up by Kirby Bryant, the wife of British blues guitarist and Trout protégée Danny Bryant and this alongside various concert tributes raised $245,000 towards his healthcare.

After Marie, Trout's wife and manager, suggested that he revisit the difficult experiences of his illness, the songs began pouring out. The first was 'Omaha' which resonates with smashing chords and vibrating low strings: a solo packed with pealing midnight howls. The lyrics tell a tale of a man haunted by death.

"I was in UCLA for a month, and later at the Nebraska Medical Center for five months in the liver ward — first waiting for the transplant, and then recovering from the surgery," Trout recounts. "There were days when somebody in the ward died while waiting. I'd hear families out in the hall crying and doctors trying to comfort them. And I knew there was a good chance that I'd be the next one to go. For 'Omaha.' I wanted to capture how that felt and sounded."

Battle Scars is Trout's 18th album released by the Netherlands-based Provogue label and his 42nd overall, counting his pre-solo-career recordings as a member of the historic groups: Canned Heat and John Mayall's Bluesbreakers.

"I don't take this lightly," Trout declares. "Marie says that all of the people who donated to our fundraiser for my medical expenses" — which generated more than $245,000 – "bought stock in me and my liver. When I play for them now, I have a responsibility to give back and offer the very best that I have."

He will be playing six shows in a UK tour in November

Tues 17 November – Stockton, Arc
Weds 18 November – Glasgow, ABC
Fri 20 November – Holmfirth, Picturedrome
Sat 21 November – London, Forum
Tues 24 November - Leamington, Assembly
Weds 25 November – Frome, Cheese & Grain