What makes Wood Burnt Red impossible to ignore?
- Rock Metal Machine
- 5 hours ago
- 7 min read
WOOD BURNT RED
Celebrated UK Southern-rock four-piece Wood Burnt Red are pleased to announce their debut album Hold On Tight released Friday September 4th. The album features eleven tracks written by the band and produced by Tyler Spicer.
The CD and vinyl edition of the album are available to pre-order HERE. The digital edition of the album is available to pre-save HERE.
Hold On Tight is the debut album that Wood Burnt Red was born to make. Rooted in country, driven by rock and roll, and forged from the kind of real-life stories that don't need embellishment — this is eleven tracks of unfiltered truth from one of the UK's most exciting new bands.
They didn't set out to make a polished record; they set out to make an honest one. And the difference is everything. From the anthems that'll have crowds roaring back every word, to the quieter moments that stop you in your tracks, Hold On Tight takes you on a journey through love, loss, resilience, and the moments that define us. It's an album that sounds like a band firing on all cylinders — loud when it needs to be, vulnerable when it has to be, and utterly themselves from the first note to the last.
Released Friday July 17th, the album features Wood Burnt Red’s new single, “Fire Me Up” – a full-throttle, foot-to-the-floor anthem built for roaring crowds and is available on all streaming platforms HERE.
Fresh from the momentum of their acclaimed single “Simple Place,” Wood Burnt Red are shifting into top gear. “Fire Me Up” is a high-octane burst of southern rock energy — relentless, anthemic, and built to move — with the kind of chorus that pounds in your chest and makes you want to kick off your shoes!
Driving riffs, an unstoppable rhythm, and frontman Tom Franklin’s powerhouse baritone vocals combine to create a track that is as much a statement of intent as it is a stone-cold anthem.
The new single marks a significant milestone for the band — their first co-write with Nashville-based producer Tyler Spicer, the creative force behind “Simple Place.” The collaboration sparked something immediate: the melody arrived instantly, the lyrics followed naturally, and what emerged was one of the most effortless — yet most powerful — songs Wood Burnt Red have ever recorded.
With lyrics such as “fire me up and watch me go / foot to the floor, I'll keep running on down the road / you can take that to the bank, I've got plenty more left in the tank,” make no mistake, "Fire Me Up" is a heat-sensitive track that burns with conviction from the very first note.
“We can't wait for this track to come out,” says Wood Burnt Red frontman Tom Franklin. “It's the first song we co-wrote with our incredible producer Tyler Spicer. This collaboration felt like something special from day one. Fire Me Up is a big, heartfelt message to everyone who ever told us we were wasting our time chasing an unrealistic dream. Tyler brought us this idea he had written with us in mind. We instantly loved it, rocked it up, and everything fell into place. The melody and lyrics came naturally. It was one of the easiest songs we have recorded, and we genuinely think it is one of the best.”
“Fire Me Up” is the sound of a band who have found their moment — and they are not slowing down for anyone.
ALBUM TRACK LISTING
1. Best Things (3:11)
2. Fire Me Up (3:30)
3. Count My Blessings (4:24)
4. Bartender (3:09)
5. Drifting (3:17)
6. One Chance (3:07)
7. Every Road (3:13)
8. Times A Healer (2:49)
9. Simple Place (3:52)
10. To The Moon (3:33)
11. Where You Are Now (3:39) ALBUM TRACK BY TRACK
1. BEST THINGS
The album opens with a knowing wink and a wry smile. “Best Things” is a sharp, relatable take on the modern-day paradox of materialism — the pressure to keep up appearances in a world that increasingly equates happiness with possessions we cannot truly afford. With lyrics that cut straight to the bone — “I got a nice home that I don’t own. And a car on the drive that’s not paid for” — the song turns financial reality into an anthem that anyone living on the edge of their means will recognise instantly.
2. FIRE ME UP
The album’s lead single and a statement of intent. A full-throttle southern rock anthem co-written with producer Tyler Spicer, “Fire Me Up” arrived almost fully formed — the melody instant, the lyrics natural, the result undeniable. With a chorus that burns with conviction and a message aimed squarely at anyone who’s ever been told their dreams aren’t worth chasing, this is Wood Burnt Red at their most electrifying. “Fire me up and watch me go. Foot to the floor, I’ll keep running on down the road. You can take that to the bank. I’ve got plenty more left in the tank.”
3. COUNT MY BLESSINGS
One of the album’s most unflinching tracks. “Count My Blessings” goes straight to the heart of addiction — not the habit itself, but the brutal reality of what comes after. The confusion of getting clean and still not feeling whole. The urges that don’t just disappear. The question that haunts so many in recovery: why don’t I feel fixed? Raw, honest, and utterly without judgement, it’s a song that understands addiction doesn’t end — you just find a better way to carry it.
4. BARTENDER
Already a fan favourite, “Bartender” spent eighteen months on Apple Music’s prestigious Today’s Country playlist and racked up over 600,000 streams — and it’s not hard to hear why. A raw, aching plea for relief, it captures that specific kind of hurt that only a barstool and a patient bartender can meet: “I’m in need of something stronger to help me ease the pain. Something that lasts a little longer and helps the memories fade away.”
Timeless, universal, and catchy as hell.
5. DRIFTING
The most personal song lead singer Tom Franklin has ever written — and perhaps the hardest. “Drifting” explores depression from the perspective of someone who had never truly experienced or understood it until it arrived without warning and carried him to places he never expected to go. Written from the darkest corners of that journey, it is a song for anyone who has ever felt completely alone inside their own head. Difficult to write and difficult to perform, it was impossible to leave off the record — because if it reaches even one person and helps them feel less alone, then every difficult second was worth it.
6. ONE CHANCE
Perhaps the most personal song on the album. Tom Franklin first wrote the bones of this chorus back in 2014 — intended as a surprise first dance for himself and his wife Liz, but left unfinished, too close to complete. Years later, it became this: a tender, powerful song about two people shaped by difficult pasts learning to trust again. “One Chance” isn’t just a love song — it’s a promise. That what came before doesn’t have to define what comes next, and that some people are worth breaking down every wall for.
7. EVERY ROAD
Some people get under your skin and never leave. “Every Road” captures that feeling with pinpoint precision — the one you love becomes an addiction you can’t shake, and no matter how far you run or how hard you try to clear your head, every road leads straight back to them. Aching guitars and an irresistible melody make this one of the most quietly powerful tracks on the album.
8. TIME’S A HEALER
The most satisfying kind of revenge — the kind where you don’t have to lift a finger. “Time’s A Healer” is Wood Burnt Red at their most knowing; a song about watching karma do its work on someone who made all the wrong choices and having the best seat in the house when it does. Equal parts cathartic and celebratory, it’s the track that’ll have crowds grinning from ear to ear.
9. SIMPLE PLACE
One of the boldest songs in the Wood Burnt Red catalogue. “Simple Place” is a stark and unflinching reminder that as a society, we’re losing sight of what really matters — humans helping one another, loving thy neighbour. With lyrics that don’t flinch from the darkness around us, it serves as a gentle but urgent wake-up call that love, community, and connection are still within reach. Country music is all about truth — and Wood Burnt Red proves that hasn’t been lost.
10. TO THE MOON
A shot of pure adrenaline. “To The Moon” is the album’s rallying cry — a reminder that your moment is yours for the taking if you’re bold enough to reach out and grab it. Euphoric, uplifting, and impossible to sit still to, it’s the kind of song that makes you feel like anything is possible. Take the bull by the horns. The ride starts now.
11. WHERE YOU ARE NOW
The album closes on something quietly devastating. Written after Tom watched a close friendship be used, manipulated, and ultimately discarded at the worst possible moment, “Where You Are Now” is a song about the people who pass through our lives — and the mark they leave whether they meant to or not. Each member of the band hears something different in it: betrayal, self-discovery, the natural drift of relationships over time. That’s what makes it the perfect closer. It means something different to everyone who hears it, but it hits everyone the same way.
BAND LINE-UP
Tom Franklin – Lead Vocals & Guitar
Rob Graney – Lead Guitar
Russ Staples – Bass Guitar
Ed Baldwin – Drums
WOOD BURNT RED
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