Being a spiritual, middle aged bloke holding a lifelong adoration for Corrosion of Conformity, it’s not surprising that this, the third album from New Mexico rockers Red Mesa, definitely hit the old sweet spot.
The intriguingly titled ‘The Path to the Deathless’ can be a diverse affair as it draws in the oppressive, driving heat of desert rock, the murky depths of sludge and the out-an-out ball-swinging brilliance of everything that Lemmy left behind. It is, however, cohesive and demonstrates a depth and intelligence that sits on a par with sound-mates such as Kyuss.
The vocals speak volumes on the record – whether in the blisteringly crooned ‘Death I Am’, the hanging highs of ‘Disharmonious Unlife’ or the strung out yelps of opener ‘Ghost Bell’. Guitars are steeped in that well-used doomy rumble complete with the dirt of sludge yet, simultaneously, leap from the aridity with bluesy solos and runs. The path towards the end of your life can clearly be a happy one. Sometimes.
Red Mesa are clearly a band with a deep connection to the music they produce and this bleeds through in each of the seven tracks on the album. As I listen in an end terrace house somewhere in the West of England, I know I need a desert. A really bloody hot desert. And some flies. Just have to close my eyes, I guess, and let this fine album do the talking.
9/10
https://redmesaband.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/