Category: news

Photos: Péter Tepliczky “Pekkamoto”

Photos: Péter Tepliczky “Pekkamoto”

Red Mess, Thiago Franzim (guitar), Douglas Labigalini (drums) and Lucas Klepa (bass/vocals), started their musical journey in Londrina, Brazil but after what the band describe as “a decade of messing around” decided to relocate to Europe, the trio finally settling on Berlin, Germany as the base for their operations. A few of you out there will already be familiar with the band thanks to the EP’s “Crimson” (2014), “Drowning In Red” (2015) and “Phantom Limb” (2022) as well as their full length releases “Into The Mess” (2017) and “Breathtaker” (2022), the latter of which we reviewed on these very pages. For those not up to speed with the band however Red Mess jam a blend of rock styles that has led the band to describe themselves as “not your regular alternative grunge psychedelic progressive sludge post-punk hardcore groove garage crimson crooked stoner rock band“. This month (August 2025) sees Red Mess releasing their third full length album “Hi Tech Starvation” (Noisolution) a collection of tunes from a band who have a history of delivering ass-kicking groove’n’roll of real quality
Banging from its opening note to its last Red Mess’ “Hi-Tech Starvation” is a delightfully eclectic blend of raucousness, restraint and accessibility, an album that will delight “grungers” and “metalheads” alike…as well as all those who fall in-between.  © 2025 Frazer Jones

The post Stan Bush Announce ‘Born For Battle’ Album Release first appeared on ROCKNGROWL HARD ROCK HEAVY METAL MUSIC PRESS PROMOTION.

Legendary Emmy Award winning recording artist and AOR/Melodic Rock icon STAN BUSH is proud to announce his brand new studio album, entitled ‘Born For Battle‘, out on September 5th, 2025 via Cargo Records UK. Emmy Award winner Stan Bush is best known for his songs “The Touch” and “Dare,” both featured in Transformers: The Movie (1986). “Born For Battle” is Stan’s 15th studio album. With a voice as powerful as ever, and world-class production, the relentless optimism of Stan Bush […]

The post Stan Bush Announce ‘Born For Battle’ Album Release first appeared on ROCKNGROWL HARD ROCK HEAVY METAL MUSIC PRESS PROMOTION.

When a distorted guitar riff cuts through a movie theater’s sound system, something primal happens. The music doesn’t just accompany the action—it becomes part of the story’s DNA, turning ordinary scenes into unforgettable moments that stick with audiences decades later. American cinema has long understood metal’s unique power to amplify emotion, whether it’s channeling teenage rebellion, punctuating an epic battle sequence, or providing the perfect sonic backdrop for a character’s transformation. These aren’t just soundtrack placements; they’re cultural touchstones where Hollywood’s biggest moments collided with some of the heaviest music ever recorded. Read Now

 

Some may remember back in 2023 Desert Psychlist getting a little excited about “Contact” the debut release of Floridian groovsters Florist, an enthralling blend of stonerized metal and space rock that we described as being “music to skateboard through wormholes to“. Well we are about to get excited all over again because Florist, Frankie Consoli (vocals/guitar,/sitar); Kevin Roy (bass); Mike Amador (drums) and Jer Dillow (theremin, synthesizers, percussion),  have just dropped their second album “Adrift” (Threat Collection Records), a release that takes those ideas explored on previous album “Contact” to the next level.

Florist kick off their second album with “432Hz” a thoroughly engaging instrumental that splices together eastern motifs and Hawkwind-esque whooshes and swirls over a groove that for large parts of its existence boasts an otherworldly reggae-ish feel but does in its last quarter wade through heavier waters. Next up is “Another Moon” and here we find Florist jamming a mix of stoner-ish and heavy psych grooves beneath clean easy on the ear vocal melodies, the space like whoops and whirls this band are so fond of utilizing still all very much in place but this time applied with a modicum of subtlety. “Out Of Space” follows and is classic space rock straight out of the Hawkwind for dummies manual, in other words hard driven rhythms supporting fairly simple chord progressions over which clipped clean and slightly punkish vocal melodies do battle with electronic synthesised weirdness, it is quite frankly SUPERB!  “Grow” kicks off slightly quirky and off-centred accompanied by an equally quirky vocal melody but then starts pulling into its spacious grooviness elements of the blues and classic rock, the band even sounding a little Deep Purple-ish in the songs closing stages, albeit a Deep Purple with Hawkwind’s Michael ‘DikMik’ Davies on the keys. Last but one comes “Adrift (Part A)” a tome that finds the band sounding like a cross between Nashville’s Howling Giant and 60’s psychedelic cult legends Spirit, it is followed by “Adrift (Part B)” a song which sees the band donning black robes matched with lurid legwear to bring us an instrumental opus that is parts proto-doom and parts acidic rock and is totally on-point in both departments. 

Those out there holding a flaming torch aloft for the early space rock of Hawkwind and first album era UFO while also harbouring a deep love of 90’s desert rock and mid 70’s proto-metal will love what Florist bring to the table with “Adrift“.

The hard rock and heavy metal world has lost some of its most influential figures in recent years, leaving behind catalogs that continue to inspire new generations of metalheads. These artists may have left us, but their thunderous riffs, soaring vocals, and indomitable spirits live on through their music. Here are 10 hard rock and heavy metal legends whose legacies will never die. Read Now

It’s been three years since I attempted to do an album review but if there is one band that will get me to sit down behind my laptop and do one it’s my friends Burnt Tapes. On August the 8th they will release their long awaited second album, the follow up to 2019’s incredible Never Better (one of my all time favourite albums). The new album is titled New Lungs and being released once again by Lockjaw Records (UK) and Wiretap Records (USA), as well as a tape from Nasty Cut Records (Denmark). Tapes on tape – it’s about time, right?

I feel like I need to address the fact that this review might come across as incredibly biased. These guys have been friends of mine for a long time now, they started out as Burnt Tapes around the same time as I started doing CPRW and we’ve reviewed every EP and album they’ve released, along with countless live shows. I’ve never made it a secret how highly I think of Phil, Pan, Jordan and Tone not just as musicians but as people, so yeah this will probably come across as a really biased review. I’m saying nice things about my friends’ new album, but rest assured that every word I type in this review I really mean and I’m not just buttering up my mates. I’ve had New Lungs on repeat in a dark room where I usually sleep for a couple of months now and I’m excited to share my views on it with you. Let’s take a deep breath and jump right in.

New Lungs begins with the song Crisis Actor. The song starts with a familiar Burnt Tapes tone that has me thinking of Lost In Transit, the final track from Never Better. It almost feels like a continuation or at least a call back, something the band are known for doing. I love this. Crisis Actor eases you into the album with Pan’s vocals over that welcoming riff. Before long the whole band comes in. This song sets the tone for the whole album with its big, emotional build. We then launch into a stretch of the four singles the band released in the run up to the album. Up first is MOTHERSGUILT. The very first line features a common Burnt Tapes trope – grinding teeth. I immediately got a kick out of this. The song explores the theme of feeling like you’re not meeting other people’s expectations of you and using the guilt that gives you as fuel to keep on going. I feel like that’s something that most of us has gone through at times, making the song hugely relatable. The chorus will no doubt earn some big sing-alongs and feel cathartic for many. 

Little Sister was originally released way back in 2023 and gave us a glimpse as to what was coming from the band. Phil takes over lead vocals for this deep and emotional song about a particularly hard and dark time with his mental health that he went through. He tells a story about the journey of reaching a low point and reaching out for help before things get even lower. This is a mid-tempo track with a catchy chorus. The stand out moment on the track however is the guest vocal appearance from Hannah Hermione Greenwood from Creeper on the bridge. This really adds to the emotion of the song. As of yet, Hannah hasn’t joined the band to do this live – maybe at the album launch at the Black Heart in Camden on the 19th of September? That would be cool. Next is the brilliantly titled You Only YOLO Once. This is one of the higher tempo tracks on New Lungs and really showcases the band’s trademark sad boy pop punk moniker. Sonically it’s an upbeat, almost summery-sounding song but when you dig down into Pan’s lyrics you discover a song about his own mental health struggles. The line “every now and then, it hits me like a bullet train” is one I imagine a lot of people listening will find extremely relatable. I know I certainly do. Of course there is another broken teeth reference in the song, because of course there is. I’ve heard that they’re trying to get a dentist sponsorship.

The album’s title track, New Lungs is the fourth and final single from the album. Continuing the more poppy version of their sound, New Lungs once again talks about mental health. The song actually starts out feeling quite hopeful as Pan sings “new lungs set to breathe new seasons, held breath and an unsure sweaty brow, I’m better now, I’m better.” This mood soon changes though as Pan sings about having a toxic relationship with either another person or their own brain and that person/brain and being brought down once again, not knowing who you are anymore. This song features another great chorus and some big hooks that will really pull a live crowd in. Shelf Life Of The Party is another fantastic song title. Phil is back on lead vocal duties and the energy remains. On my first listen to New Lungs this is one of the songs that really stood out to me. It’s about getting older and feeling burnt out, lost, like you’re finished and you’re not the person you used to be. Phil’s vocals bring an intensity to the song that I love and I really hope it becomes a regular in their live set going forward. 

Track seven is titled Office On Repeat. On my first listen of New Lungs, my first thought was that this was the album closer as it has a huge, epic ending. There’s still three more bangers to come though and trust me, the closer is an incredible ending for the album. Office On Repeat starts out as a mid-tempo pop punk song talking about the end of a relationship. As we reach the final third of the song, the tempo and melody changes and we get a big emo ending that will get a big reaction from a live crowd. There’s a few moments on this album that do make me think that this has been specifically written with a live crowd reaction in mind and I’m a big fan of when bands do that. The pace is brought right back up on Future Strangers. Have you ever come to a point in your life where it feels like something has hit a road block, you don’t know what comes next and you begin to question everything? That’s what this song is about. I enjoyed the sliver of hope that track gives you as Pan sings “it’ll all make sense in time.” It’s a simple and powerful lyric that works so well in the song.

The penultimate song is named OnlyFriends. The song starts slowly, similar in style to the classic Things Get Weird. Pan sings softly as the song gradually builds up to its big finale. This slow start really adds to the emotion of the song and really pulls you in. There’s no slow start and then bang, you’re in, OnlyFriends builds and builds and takes you with it. When that big moment does finally come in and it hits you, you feel ready to be hit. Fantastic songwriting. There is also a moment in the song when the band becomes the big stadium rock band they deserve to be when they implement a crowd participation clapping section. The tenth and final song is So Long, Sundays. This might be the most ambitious piece of songwriting that Burnt Tapes have ever attempted and of course they pulled it off. A perfect choice to bring the album to an end. This song is about going through all the hard times that happen in your life and eventually finding your way out of the other side. New Lungs is an album that has plenty of down moments, so having this moment of hope at the end is really refreshing. It serves as a great reminder that no matter how hard things can get, sometimes it will get better and it’s always great to be reminded of that. There’s a moment at the end of the song that I won’t spoil for you but it’s something that I never, ever expected to hear on a Burnt Tapes album. I guess they’ve been hanging out at the New Cross Inn for too long now. 

It’s been six years since the Burnt Tapes released Never Better and you can really hear the progression the band have made as a band on New Lungs. You can hear a change in their sound but everything you ever loved about the band remains. Daly George from The Ranch once again did a phenomenal job with the production on the album, he did a fantastic job bring all of these songs to life. New Lungs has been my most anticipated album of the year since the band released Never Better and it did not disappoint. I’m not even that sad that the reworked version of Go Drunk didn’t make the cut, as each song brings something different but it all flows nicely together. It’s an album that can be listened to as an album or as singles. I do feel like each one of these songs could’ve been used as a single. As I said at the start of this, Burnt Tapes are my friends and this could come across as biased, but I truly believe that this is a fantastic album. I would say that if you loved Never Better then this might be a bit of a grower but you’ll soon come to love it just as much, if not more. Well done friends, loving your work.


Burnt Tapes play an album release show with Modern Shakes and Making Friends at the Black Heart in Camden on Friday the 19th of September. You should come to the party. Get your ticket here.