Red Mess – Hi-Tech Starvation

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · September 15, 2025

Red Mess are a three-piece heavy grunge/ stoner rock band based in Berlin, Germany. The band formed in 2014, and were originally based in Londrina, Brazil. Consisting of Thiago Franzim on guitar, Douglas Labigalini on drums, and Lucas Klepa on bass and vocals, the band has released several recordings including their debut, 2014’s Crimson EP, 2015’s Drowning In Red EP, 2017’s Into The Mess, 2022’s Phantom Limb EP, 2022’s Breathtaker, and their latest album, 2025’s Hi-Tech Starvation. Hi-Tech Starvation was released on Noisolution on August 1st 2025. It contains seven tracks around thirty one minutes long.

“Huntress” starts off the record with a fuzz dripping groove of heavy grunge. The song really rocks with catchy and inviting vocals. The distortion on the guitars is raw and viscous. The bass tone throughout this recording is massive and unrelenting. I hear a strong nineties vibe with powerful rhythms and crushing riffs that Red Mess are creating. The punchy drums work magnificently with the guitar fuzz and the clean parts also. “Inexistent Color” has a great heavy to light dynamic that is backed with divine vocals. The bass is driving the sound with the growling flow of low end bliss and the explosions of fuzz mixed in. There’s plenty of bluesy guitar leads throughout this album and they mold perfectly with the heavy rhythms. They incorporate some cool drum tapping and QOTSA inspired guitar to start “Ransomeware”. The song is a banger! The music builds up nicely and incorporates some progressive elements and psychedelic textures as well. The vocals are mostly clean but integrate some aggressive yelling on certain parts. The song flexes fluid variety, shifting into some thunderous doom and noise rocking elements too. Red Mess offers an interesting mix of alternative grunge to the fuzzier stoner rock components.

“Intravenous” has a lush atmosphere of melody combined with crunchy riffs and dynamic rhythms. Hi-Tech Starvation has such a rich and varied sound that permeates the album with all kinds of wonderful tones and arrangements. Most of the tracks land between four to six minutes in length, allowing each song to percolate and develop accordingly. However, the fifth track called “Xenon” is just over two minutes. It packs a heavy punch of driving rhythms and pounding beats. The instrumental is a nice segway into the final two songs, “Kind Villain” and “Uncanny Valley”. Both of the tracks are fantastic and carry out a hard rocking groove with some punk and noise rock portions mixed in. Overall, this is an excellent album and each of the seven songs represents the band’s creativity with the songwriting. The music is authentic. They are not trying to sound like or fit into any specific genre. Red Mess has a great understanding of who they are as a band and they offer a remarkable assortment of killer riffs and melodies, sealed off with powerful and emotive vocals.