B.F. Raid Announces Album Cover Collaboration with Renowned Photographer Robert B. Post for Combat Zone

After a year-long search to find the right visual representation for their upcoming album Combat Zone, Boston-based heavy metal band B.F. Raid is proud to announce a powerful artistic collaboration with legendary photographer and painter Robert B. Post. Post has granted the band permission to use one of his iconic photographs of Boston's Lagrange Street-capturing the city's infamous red-light district at the height of its grit and notoriety-as the official cover art for Combat Zone.

The image, taken in the early days of the Combat Zone, offers a haunting yet historically rich glimpse into a Boston that no longer exists. Framed by the now-defunct adult clubs, including The Pussycat and Good Time Charlies, the photograph captures a moment frozen in time-one steeped in the kind of tension, danger, and raw electricity that pulses throughout the new B.F. Raid record. Notably, the image also recalls the backdrop to the notorious Robin Benedict murder of 1983-widely considered one of the most sensationalized and disturbing criminal cases in Boston history. The city's underbelly is present in every pixel of the photograph, just as it runs through every riff and lyric of the album.

"Combat Zone is about survival and transformation," says guitarist and founding member Bruce Owens. "We wanted a cover that felt real-not just nostalgia, but something that tells the truth about the kind of world that shaped us. Robert's photograph doesn't romanticize anything-it just shows it as it was. That honesty is what this album is all about."

Robert B. Post, whose work has been featured at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, in European museums, and on countless album covers and editorial spreads, is no stranger to capturing raw subculture and underground energy. Beginning his career as a fine artist and rock photographer in the late 1970s, Post made a name for himself photographing live acts in Boston and New York, including The Clash, Patti Smith, The Cars, and Blondie. His images from Boston's punk and rock explosion form a gritty, essential document of the city's musical history. At the same time, his fine art background informs a painterly approach to composition, tone, and storytelling.

The collaboration between B.F. Raid and Robert Post feels less like coincidence and more like artistic fate. Both are products of Boston's blue-collar DNA-unpolished, unapologetic, and driven by a need to create something real. Combat Zone, the follow-up to the band's 2024 debut Raided Again, marks a step forward for B.F. Raid in both sound and vision. Heavier, more progressive, and lyrically darker, the new record deals with personal demons, institutional rot, and the emotional shrapnel left by growing up in a city that doesn't always love you back.

"Robert gets it because he lived it," Owens continues. "This isn't a stock photo pulled from some archive. This is a work of art from someone who walked the same streets we did. That kind of authenticity is rare, and we're incredibly honored to have it front and center on this record."

The City of Boston Archives had previously granted the band access to a powerful 1963 image of the State Theater taken by the Boston Vice Squad, which will now appear on the back cover. But when the Post photograph became a possibility, it was clear to the band that they had found their true visual anchor. "The State Theater photo had the grime," Owens says, "but the Lagrange Street image has the soul."

Combat Zone is set for release in Fall 2025. The album will be available on vinyl, CD, and digital platforms, with preorders opening later this summer. The cover art, featuring Post's photograph, will be unveiled in full in the coming weeks.

For more on Robert B. Post and his work, visit www.robertpostart.com.
For press inquiries, interviews, or promotional materials, contact B.F. Raid at bfraidband.com.

51 Pleasant St #245
Malden, MA, Massachusetts 02148
United States

About B.F. Raid
B.F. Raid (Boston's Final Raid) is a heavy metal band forged in the working-class neighborhoods of Greater Boston. Known for blending traditional metal with punk attitude and progressive twists, the band delivers high-impact music rooted in storytelling, grit, and lived experience. Members include Bill Kotowski (vocals), Bruce Owens (guitar/keyboards), Matt Howard (bass), and Jamie Forbes (drums). Their debut album Raided Again gained underground traction for its raw production and anthemic songwriting. Combat Zone marks their second full-length release.

About Robert B. Post
Robert B. Post is a visual artist whose career spans over four decades. A graduate of the Academy of Art in San Francisco and the New England School of Photography, Post has exhibited internationally, including at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Bordeaux, France and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. He is known for his rock photography, fine art painting, and mixed-media works that often explore themes of identity, urban decay, and cultural history. Post operates Postart Productions, a creative studio showcasing his diverse body of work.

This release was published on openPR.