Rock music from Melbourne, Australia
pic by kirsten bresciani
L-R: Scott wilson, marty powell, josh king, jenni powell, marty wags
Raised on a balanced diet of crunchy guitars, tangy riffs and spicy hooks, Riff Raiders have simmered, sauteed and seared their unique flavour of rock’n’roll since 2017.
The band recorded their third album and released the single, Nothing To Lose, in 2024 - a two-and-a-half-minute bona fide banger complete with an epic video that uses some of the original lights used to cook guests on ABC TV (Australia)’s Countdown.
Rock’n’Roll re-entry
After a change of course (trajectory correction maneuver), Riff Raiders are back in the descent module with brand new single and title track of aforementioned third album, Welcome to Mars (1st Feb 2026).
The new vector sees the band poised to release this collection of genre-blurring rock tracks to their home planet throughout 2026 with a new track impacting every four-six weeks throuhout the year.
From the modern hard n’ heavy Broken Halo to the late 60s British feel of Sound Mirror, the swampy bluegrassy swagger of Climbing the Walls and three-part power pop gem Feels Like Something - you’ll have a new favourite song every month.
Riff Raiders’ trajectory has been heading to the nearest exoplanet since launching debut album Live Like You Mean It in 2018 with their face-melting live shows winning fans all over Earth including key support slots with D-A-D, Baby Animals, The Poor, Palace of the King & The Lazys. Thrusters in full force, the band hurtled full-tilt towards the Feb 2020 release of Double A-Side vinyl single Loaded Gun/Best Day Ever.
Acceleration in overdrive, 2020’s Rock’n’Roll Daydream album was just weeks away from touchdown, the band was midway through an east coast tour of Australia when the world suffered a major malfunction causing maximum drag force…
The album received acclaim from quarantine bays worldwide and in 2021 Riff Raiders were shortlisted for the Best Punk / Rock Act in the Music Victoria Awards. In 2022 the unreleased track Walk of Shame appeared on the Rue Morgue Records compilation Murders in the Rue Morgue Vol II and after a handful of live shows, the band bunkered down in the studio module with producer Mat Robbins.
And now… Welcome To Mars…