Sydney rockers Raising Ravens' first new music of 2025 is the hard-hitting single 'The Storm', a song about embracing life's moments while abandoning the crippling expectations society often places on us.

A crunchy electric guitar that chugs hard intros the song before sweeping into a swirling, chaotic, maelstrom of intensity as singer-guitarist Jess Finlayson's vocals enter, a Paganesque vibe emanated that feels akin to the big riffs and grrl rock of the late '80s, early '90s.

There's a demanding presence to Jess' vocal delivery too, an urgency to the words as she expresses feelings of angst against the realisation that nothing lasts forever, even the negative experiences.

Plus the drumming is a constant force, maintaining a frenetic energy, but allowing space for the juicy bass riffs to flow in-between – it's undiluted, horns-raised rock & roll that demands head-bangs and hair flicks.

While the guitar-drum solo towards the end of the song is pure fire, again dripping in '90s nostalgia, the song careening along with a controlled combustion that ignites the senses.

Ahead of the song's release tomorrow (4 April), today scenestr is amped to premiere the music video for 'The Storm'. Enjoy.

"I started writing The Storm mid last year and it was originally a very different song musically," Jess says. "It was a lot more laidback and pop-rock oriented, but I had one riff that came out of nowhere and just didn't seem to fit anywhere else, so I decided to make it into a chaotic blend of both.

"Once it was written, I gave Rexy (bass) and Skarlett (drums) the raw version of just me with the guitar and vocals and they both wrote their parts. They did an amazing job and it all came together in the studio."

The first Raising Ravens release since last year's EP 'Motives', starting next week, Jess has taken the reigns in booking two nights per month at Ryan's in Wollongong under the banner Dog Days, Ravens Night.

To run the second and last Saturday of each month, Dog Days Raven Nights is as a music community-based incentive to bring more energy to the live circuit and give local and national bands the opportunity to play their original music in an ideal location at a supportive venue.

"Looking forward to working with ya'll on cool shows in a really amazing pub in a beautiful town (one of my favourite places in the world) with an exceptional licensee and fantastic staff <3. Long live rock & roll!"

Raising Ravens will also return to Japan in October, having toured there late 2024.

"Meaning wise, the lyrics were inspired by a world of things going wrong for myself, people around me and specifically my band mates where it just seemed like the disasters would never end," adds Jess, discussing the lyrical themes of 'The Storm'.

"Things got progressively worse for all of us towards the end of the year with some devastating personal losses, so I tried to find hope in the storm by using it as a channel for the realisation that nothing is permanent and even negative experiences can be drawn on, learned from and even alchemised into something positive.

"There is of course the usual element of sarcasm in there, which tends to be a Raising Ravens theme but ultimately it's about renewal from traumatic events."

Sat 3 May - Link & Pin (Central Coast)