Albuquerque desert metallers Red Mesa will release their fourth album, Partial Distortions, on April 19 through guitarist/vocalist Brad Frye‘s Desert Records with a Euro pressing on Majestic Mountain, and it is nothing less than the point at which they find their sound. The blend of grueling sludge and uptempo earthy groove on opener/longest track (immediate points) “ÓDR” shows a character that both 2020’s The Path to the Deathless (review here) and the follow-up willful-aural-divergence of the single “Forest Cathedral” (review here) hinted toward, but the balance between nod and aggression, the density of the atmosphere emerged from the tones, and the sense of the band having genuinely dug into their own approach are all palpable across an album that I can’t stop thinking of as a point of arrival. As potential realized.

That’s before you get to the Soundgardenery of “The Assertion” or the suitable roll and more forceful chug of “Desert March,” and, sitting back there waiting for you all the while, closer “Witching Hour,” which premieres today. Hints of a blend of doom, rock, metal and maybe even hardcore that reminds of Solace‘s brooding moments is met with a multi-layer vocal and an explosive back and forth in the hook that is worthy of the album it caps. The thing’s not our for two months, so I don’t want to sit here and review it before anyone’s ready. Think of this as me sharing a song I think you might dig in a spirit of friendship and a hope for making your day, week, whatever, better.

There’s a press quote from me floating around with the album. I was asked to give one and did, pretty straightforward. As a rule, I don’t run press quotes, even my own, because I should be having my own opinions instead of cutting and pasting someone else’s, but I’ll just say I stand by what I put there. This is a new level for the band. And there’s a lot to say about consistency in lineup, expanded input from the rhythm section in the writing process, exploring different sides of one’s personal influences, on and on. I’ll hope to have more to come as we get closer to the release.

“Witching Hour” premieres below. Partial Distortions is out April 19.

Enjoy:

Red Mesa on “Witching Hour”:

“This is our foreboding tale inspired by the creepier elements of Stephen King’s “Pet Cemetery”. The closing track is heavy and dark with Alex taking the lead on vocals. Musically, the song consists of two sections that were organically brought together. The first half of the song consists of two riffs that Brad showed Roman and they recorded it into the voice memos of an Iphone in early 2021. The second half showcases a huge riff that Alex had been keeping in his back pocket for 20 years. Once the ending riff was worked out, the song came together quickly. We have been adding this song to our live setlists and is quickly becoming a staple.”

‘Partial Distortions’ shows a powerful return of the Albuquerque, NM heavy desert rock trio Red Mesa with their fourth full-length. The album will be released on April, 19th 2024 via Desert Records (North America) and Majestic Mountain Records (Europe).

This 6-track album features the same lineup from their 2020 release ‘The Path to the Deathless’ and the 2022 single ‘Forest Cathedral’.

The record shows further collaboration between band members as guitarist/vocalist Brad Frye, bassist/vocalist Alex Cantwell, and drummer/vocalist Roman Barham all contributed musically and lyrically throughout the album.

Red Mesa has been leading the new generation of desert rock by proving that the genre is capable of greater expanses. The trio has expanded their signature heavy desert sound on ‘Partial Distortions’ to include more doom and sludge metal moments. “Blackened desert” sound collages and an overall doomier and downright frightening musical path will confront the listener, as the album is darker musically and thematically. All whilst still dwelling within an optimism that instills hope that amongst the loss, the tragic endings, and the suffering that this existence brings, that life is still worth living.

Presale for limited edition LP and CD have begun on Bandcamp and www.desertrecords.us and majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com/

Album cover gouache painting by Marco Blasphemator.
Gatefold and back cover photos by Hayley Harper.
Graphics and Layout by Dave Walsh.

Recorded by Augustine Ortiz at the Decibel Foundry in Santa Fe, NM in December 2022.
Recorded and mixed by Matthew Tobias at Empty House Studio in Albuquerque, NM in April, June, August, & October 2023.
Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege in Portland, OR in October 2023.

Tracklisting:
1. ÓDR
2. The Assertion
3. Dying in the Cold Sun
4. 12 Volt Shaman
5. Desert March
6. Witching Hour

Red Mesa is:
Brad Frye – Rhythm and Lead Guitars, Lead and Backing Vocals
Roman Barham – Drums, Lead and Backing Vocals
Alex Cantwell – Bass Guitar, Lead and Backing Vocals, Additional Rhythm Guitars, Piano

https://www.facebook.com/redmesaband/
https://www.instagram.com/redmesaband/
https://redmesarock.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://www.instagram.com/desertrecords/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://linktr.ee/desertrecords

http://majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com
http://facebook.com/majesticmountainrecords
http://instagram.com/majesticmountainrecords

Red Mesa, “Forest Cathedral” (2022)

Red Mesa, “Witching Hour” live in Albuquerque, NM, Jan. 27, 2024

Albuquerque-based trio Red Mesa laid a foundation for themselves in straight-ahead, gruff-but-not-necessarily-aggro desert-style heavy rock, and their 2022 standalone track, “Forest Cathedral” (review here, also streaming below), pivoted toward more of a classically doomed style — think Cathedral the band as well as things grandiose and churchy. Partial Distortions, which is the band’s fourth full-length and was recorded over nearly a year’s span, has been in discussion from Red Mesa for at least a year now, and they seem to hint below that the album continues to expand on where Red Mesa started out, which has kind of been their thing all along. Gradual, organic evolution.

Check out Majestic Mountain getting involved for the Euro release, while of course the North American edition will be handed by guitarist/vocalist Brad Frye‘s Desert Records, which much like the band has seen its definitions of ‘desert’ and ‘heavy’ willfully broadened. I do not think that’s a coincidence, and I do look forward to having more to come on the album before it’s out in April. There’s a premiere in the works for sometime between now and then, anyhow.

From the PR wire:

Red Mesa announce new fourth full-length album ‘Partial Distortions’ to be released on April 19th, 2024.

‘Partial Distortions’ shows a powerful return of the Albuquerque, NM heavy desert rock trio Red Mesa.

Desert Records will release the album on limited edition Vinyl LP, CD, and Cassette in North America and on digital download/streaming platforms worldwide.

“Red Mesa bring their signature heavy desert sound with more doom and sludge metal!” – Desert Records

Majestic Mountain Records will release a limited edition vinyl LP in Europe.

“It is an honor for Majestic to be involved in the release of Red Mesa’s excellent new album!’ – Marco Berg/Majestic Mountain Records

Presale will begin in mid-February.

—

The 6-track album features the same lineup from their 2020 release ‘The Path to the Deathless’ and the 2022 single ‘Forest Cathedral’.

‘Partial Distortions’ shows further collaboration between band members as guitarist/vocalist Brad Frye, bassist/vocalist Alex Cantwell, and drummer/vocalist Roman Barham all contributed musically and lyrically throughout the album. Red Mesa employs a three vocal attack as all band members share vocal duties.

The trio has expanded their signature heavy desert sound on ‘Partial Distortions’ to include more doom and sludge metal moments. “Blackened desert” sound collages and an overall doomier and downright frightening musical path will confront the listener, as the album is darker musically and thematically. All whilst still dwelling within an optimism that instills hope that amongst the loss, the tragic endings, and the suffering that this existence brings, that life is still worth living.

Recorded by Augustine Ortiz at the Decibel Foundry in Santa Fe, NM in December 2022.

Recorded and mixed by Matthew Tobias at Empty House Studio in Albuquerque, NM in April, June, August, & October 2023.

Mastered by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege in Portland, OR in October 2023.

Red Mesa is:
Brad Frye – Rhythm and Lead Guitars, Lead and Backing Vocals
Roman Barham – Drums, Lead and Backing Vocals
Alex Cantwell – Bass Guitar, Lead and Backing Vocals, Additional Rhythm Guitars, Piano

https://www.facebook.com/redmesaband/
https://www.instagram.com/redmesaband/
https://redmesarock.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://www.instagram.com/desertrecords/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://linktr.ee/desertrecords

Red Mesa, “Forest Cathedral” (2022)

Red Mesa, “Witching Hour” live in Albuquerque, NM, Jan. 27, 2024

It’s kind of funny while also horrifying to think that post-metal, as a style, has been around for about 20 years. The fifth full-length from Albuquerque trio Distances, called Abstruse, is set to arrive on Jan. 19, and across its 10-song/40-minute span, it recalls the formative period of the aesthetic, with a worth-mentioning-twice crush in its tone and a churn that recalls when outfits like Isis, Rosetta and Mouth of the Architect (among others) seemed to be and arguably were at the forefront of a generational wave. Whatever volume you can give Abstruse when the time comes, it will have earned it, but in pieces like the piano-led “Contralateral,” the synth-drone “Passage” and even in the break before the blasting starts in “Empty Prose,” there is of course an atmospheric mindset being employed in conjunction with all that churning intensity.

These guys have been going since at least 2011, so I’m definitely not early to the party, but as my first experience hearing them, Distances‘ concrete bludgeon mostly benefits from the short runtimes of the record’s component pieces, the band refusing to stay in one place for too long while still giving each statement the breadth warranted. On headphones, it is engrossing if you let it be, and well represented by the magnetic-field iconography of the cover. To be sure, there are mysterious, iron-born electric forces at work here. For a sampler, the animated lyric video for first single “Two Thirty” is streaming below.

From the PR wire:

Albuquerque post-metal trio, Distances, to release LP “Abstruse” 1/19/2024

Albuquerque trio, Distances, pushes forward with post-metal weight while still keeping one foot in atmospheric headiness on “Abstruse”, an album diving headlong into the hypocrisy, obscurity, and contradictions woven into the knots of life. Crushing sonics are accompanied by heavy themes for those willing to claw deeper, where melancholic and contemplative valleys sit between towering, crushing mountain passages.

Available on Digital, CD, and Vinyl 1/19/2024. Pre-orders available 11/17/2023.

Get ABSTRUSE: https://distances.bandcamp.com/

Written, produced, performed, engineered by Distances
Mastered by Augustine Ortiz, Jr.
Artwork and Video created by Peter Hague

Karl Deuble – vocals, guitar
Kris Schiffer – bass
Peter Hague – drums

https://www.facebook.com/distancesband/
https://www.instagram.com/distancesband505/
https://distances.bandcamp.com/
https://www.youtube.com/user/Distancesband

Distances, “Two Thirty” lyric video

Party in the desert, right? Certainly looks that way as the inaugural and maybe-one-time-only Burque Rock City Fest adds Dead Meadow, Greenbeard, Abrams, SuperGiant, Violet Rising and THC Worm to complete its lineup. SuperGiant are local to Albuquerque — which is the ‘Burque’ in ‘Burque City,’ where the fest is happening — this Aug. 4-5, and the first three names are familiar, but I admit I can’t find any info on Violet Rising and as this is my first time hearing/hearing of THC Worm, I’ve included the Bandcamp stream of their Dec. 2022 debut, Dead Horse Incubator, in case you’d also like to be introduced. As one might expect, it’s pretty over the top.

In the end — and I’ll note that there’s still two months to go before the festival actually takes place, so ‘end’ is relative — the lineup here is pretty solid for a lower-key take on what the same crew normally puts together for Monolith on the Mesa. A representative showing set in a different context. If this is a pivot to building something new, they certainly have the contacts, infrastructure and reach to do so, but if it’s a placeholder until 2024, it’s a badass one just the same. If you headed out, I think you probably know what’s coming, and if not, please see the first sentence above.

From the PR wire:

BURQUE ROCK CITY ANNOUNCE FINAL LINEUP!

Burque Rock City Is Happy To Announce The Full Lineup Of Bands For August 4th & 5th Downtown ABQ At The Historic El Rey Theater & Insideout Bar

Burque Rock City Would Love to Welcome: Dead Meadow * Greenbeard * Abrams * Supergiant * Violet Rising * THC Worm

Completing the Amazing Lineup with Previously Announced Bands:

Weedeater * Pike Vs The Automaton * Belzebong * Early Moods * High Desert Queen * Thunder Horse * Sorcia * Prism Bitch * Coma Revovery * Brant Bjork * Yawning Balch * Year of the Cobra * Fatso Jetson * Electric Citizen * Tenderizor * Street Tombs * Red Mesa * Ojo Malo * Nomestomper

Get Your Early Bird Tickets NOW while you can!

Early Bird Day Pass-$100: https://holdmyticket.com/event/412535

Early Bird 2 Day Pass-$200: https://holdmyticket.com/event/412537

Roman Barham, co-founder of Monolith on the Mesa, has been quietly working on Burque Rock City Fest.

Barham says:

“Monolith On The Mesa crew would love to thank everyone who helped make Monolith 2022 an awesome fest. Huge thanks from The Taos Mesa Brewery crew, the Hotel Luna Mystica crew and to all the very respectful patrons that came out and made Monolith On The Mesa 2022 an amazing tribute to our fallen brother Dano Sanchez (deceased Monolith co-founder).

We have decided to take a year off from Monolith and bring it back in 2024 to Taos Mesa Brewery.

Branching south from the Monolith On The Mesa tree is Burque Rock City Fest in Albuquerque, NM At The Historic El Rey Theater & Insideout Bar On Friday August 4th & Saturday August 5th 2023.

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THC Worm, Dead Horse Incubator (2022)

Dead Meadow, Live at Heavy Psych Sounds Fest 2022, San Francisco, CA

[Click play above to stream High Desert Queen and Blue Heron’s Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake split LP in full. Album is out Friday on Ripple Music and available to preorder here for the US, here for Europe, and here on Bandcamp.]

It’s a quick listen to be sure at just 28 minutes, but Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake, which follows a lineage of Ripple Music splits that goes back eight years to the beginning of a series called The Second Coming of Heavy that focused on then-up-and-coming acts like Geezer and Borracho, Red Mesa, Kingnomad, and so on. That series boasted 10 releases and Turned to Stone began in earliest 2020 with Mr. Bison and Spacetrucker (review here) and has continued to roll out two or three split LPs per year since, the latest bringing together Albuquerque desert grunge sludgers Blue Heron and Austin, Texas, purveyors of plus-sized riffs and melody High Desert Queen.

The reason the lineage is relevant — yea, one split begat another split and that split begat another split, on into biblical perpetuity — is that Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake reminds distinctly of the prior series’ specific intent to bolster newer bands; a mission that it directly inherited. Both High Desert Queen (side A) and Blue Heron (side B) present three songs that arrive subsequent to their debut full-lengths, Blue Heron having released Ephemeral (review here) a year ago this week through Seeing Red Records and Kozmik Artifactz and High Desert Queen having made a justified splash on Ripple (pun absolutely intended) with late 2021’s Secrets of the Black Moon (review here), the recording sessions of which birthed the three songs included here.

Cohesion between the two bands in terms of sound isn’t hard to come by. Both are straightforward in their arrangements, putting weighted fuzz out front in their mix and backing it with mostly mid-tempo grooves, more nod than shove, and both have frontmen involved behind-the-scenes in the heavy underground, whether it’s Blue Heron‘s Jadd Shickler serving as a label manager for Ripple as well as Magnetic Eye Records (also under the SPKR Media umbrella, along with labels like Prophecy Productions, Testimony Records and others) and Blues Funeral Recordings (responsible for the PostWax series and releases this year alone from Dozer and Acid King, among others) or High Desert Queen‘s Ryan Garney heading the booking concern Lick of My Spoon Productions, putting on RippleFest Texas and slating shows and tours for his own band and others.

The fourth-wall-breaking, multi-tiered ‘scene’ contributions of Shickler and Garney give another dimension to Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake — emblematic of the DIY manner in which heavy rock and roll has become what it is today; a worldwide subcultural phenomenon most people know nothing about — but none of it would matter as regards this split LP if the songs weren’t there. I’ll confess there was part of me hoping the High Desert Queen tracks — the mega-hooky “Black Moon,” the shorter, floating-but-not-an-interlude “Drift Into the Sun” and the telltale stoner boogie “Roll the Dice” — would be newer recordings, but one takes what one can get, and having “Black Moon” as a late-arriving semi-title-track from that album is welcome, the song fading in on feedback before its forward roll begins in earnest, a somewhat foreboding groove that turns out to be thick enough for everyone to ride opening up in the verse before the layered melody of the chorus.

Like the album from which they (didn’t) come, “Black Moon” and “Roll the Dice” — the lyrics in the latter seem to be the band asking themselves ‘should we go for it?,’ which is laughable with the hindsight of the two years they’ve spent mostly on tour in the US and Europe, where they’re touring even as this split is released — aren’t trying to play coy in their appeal. They make a space and fill it. “Roll the Dice” has an edge of metal in its post-solo finish, but never crosses over to outright aggression, and is much more a standout single in its impression than a leftover. “Black Moon,” with an even stronger hook at the outset, functions similarly, while “Drift Into the Sun” connects the two to create a sense of fluidity between them, strengthening and broadening the whole as a mini-EP on one side. Don’t be surprised when they show up as bonus tracks on the 10th anniversary reissue of Secrets of the Black Moon eight years from now.

Answering back with “Able Baker” (a Richard Scarry reference?), “Day of the Comet” and “Superposition,” Blue Heron run a thread between first-record-era Queens of the Stone Age in tone and oldschool sludge rock burl as guitarist Mike Chavez (who, like Shickler, was also in Spiritu), bassist Steve Schmidlapp and drummer Ricardo Sanchez smoothly establish themselves on side B. Immersion and atmosphere are prevalent as “Able Baker” runs through its five minutes, with a tonal-highlight of a solo in its second half answering the leads in its first, and melody met with due rhythmic force. “Day of the Comet” is deceptive in feeling looser but maintaining the strong grip on structure, and like High Desert Queen before them, Blue Heron cap with the speedier nod of “Superposition,” a righteous showcase that transposes Facelift-era Alice in Chains onto a foundation of modern heavy.

High Desert Queen and Blue Heron offer further complement to each other in the depth and apparent reach of their mix. Both bands sound big without being overblown or sacrificing craft to studio-born largesse. For committed heavy rockers or those who’ve followed along with the series, Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake is a no-brainer. The kind of release you can pick up and see where it takes you. To those who are unfamiliar or have seen the names around but have yet to check out the songs, the sampler-style encapsulation of what they do is likewise convenient and actually-good. While they’re coming off their respective debuts, as noted, Blue Heron and High Desert Queen share a knowledge of what they want to accomplish in songwriting and performance, and that sense of control makes it that much easier as a listener to roll along to where the riffs are leading.

That destination might be the desert, if we want to talk about aesthetic, but the direction is forward, as both clearly have more to say than has been said here or on their respective first LPs. Ultimately stronger for its relative brevity, Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake leaves the audience wanting more from one band and then the other, engaging with new takes on classic methods with a realized intent toward quality and fullness of sound. The only way to lose is by missing it.

Quotes from the bands, PR wire info, preorder and social links, etc., follow in blue:

—

Ryan Garney on Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake:

“It’s an honor to share a split with Blue Heron. From the first time we saw this band play live we were immediately happy to do anything with these musical juggernauts. Incredible musicians and even better people. It’s also great to be able resurrect three songs from the dead. These 3 tracks didn’t make our debut record and we are happy they get to see the light of day in conjunction with three powerful songs from Blue Heron.”

Jadd Shickler on Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake:

“Split releases work best when there’s a reason for them to exist. It’s easy to slap two bands on a record to fill up the album sides, but when there’s something to connect them, that’s when a split makes sense. Blue Heron and High Desert Queen are both from the Southwest, we’ve both got a shared love of massive desert rock and, whether we intend it or not, a lot of grunge influences. We also dig them as people and as musicians. We welcomed them for their first out-of-state show at our 7-inch release gig in 2021, and they hosted us at Ripplefest Texas last year. We respect the hell out of their ambition, their musicality, and their dedication to huge riffs, so it’s a real pleasure to share this record with them. As for the songs, we put a bit of pressure on ourselves. Our debut album came out just a year ago, and we wanted to follow that with a batch of new tunes that are compact and fairly straightforward, but still show our love for starting a song in one place and ending up somewhere radically different.”

HIGH DESERT QUEEN / BLUE HERON
“Turned To Stone Chapter 8: The Wake”
Out May 26th on Ripple Music
US preorder – https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/products

European preorder – https://en.ripple.spkr.media/

Bandcamp – https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-8-the-wake

Pairing up two highly esteemed bands of the Southwest underground scene, “Turned To Stone Chapter 8” is a gigantic masterclass of heavy rock, with six tracks that will take you on a riff-fueled journey with no further ado! Between HIGH DESERT QUEEN’s versatile and massive-sounding heavy and BLUE HERON’s raucous and desert-shaped songcraft, it is no understatement to say that we are in presence of true forces of nature, an alliance between two up-and-coming greats of the US stoner and desert rock scene.

“Turned To Stone Chapter 8” will be available on May 26th in various vinyl formats as well as digitally, with preorders available now on Ripple Music. The artwork was created by award-winning comic and poster artist Johnny Dombrowski.

TRACKLIST:
1. High Desert Queen – Black Moon
2. High Desert Queen – Drift Into The Sun
3. High Desert Queen – Roll The Dice
4. Blue Heron – Able Baker
5. Blue Heron – Day Of The Comet
6. Blue Heron – Superposition

High Desert Queen:
Morgan Miller – Bass
Phil Hook – Drums
Ryan Garney – Vocals
Rusty Miller – Guitar

Blue Heron:
Mike Chavez – Guitar
Ricardo Sanchez – Drums
Steve Schmidlapp – Bass
Jadd Shickler – Vocals

High Desert Queen on Facebook

High Desert Queen on Instagram

High Desert Queen on Bandcamp

Blue Heron on Instagram

Blue Heron on Facebook

Blue Heron on Bandcamp

Ripple Music on Facebook

Ripple Music on Instagram

Ripple Music on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

Two things to immediately note in this second lineup announcement from Burque Rock City 2023. One, it’s Brant Bjork solo, which means Stöner are still on the backburner as he and Nick Oliveri dip back into their own stuff. Two, this will be the first live performance from Yawning Balch, which is the amalgam of Yawning Man and Bob Balch of Fu Manchu. Yawning Man recently brought in Greg Saenz on drums ahead of their European tour, and presumably he’ll do this gig as well, though I suppose it’s always possible Bill Stinson could sit in for it. One way or the other, jams will be had.

I’m hopeful for a new Year of the Cobra album, if not this year then next. They had some exciting growth pre-pandemic and toured like mad, and have been somewhat quieter since, but hopefully this Fall they’re back at it hard. Tenderizor were — I’m not sure if they still are — affiliated with hometown Albuquerque weirdo heroes Leeches of Lore, so that’s a cool local tie, and Red Mesa features Roman Barham, who is organizing this fest and is a co-founder of Monolith on the Mesa of which Burque Rock City is an offshoot, maybe just for this year. Bringing in Fatso Jetson only enhances the desert vibe, and Electric Citizen will be on hand to lend their particular take on classic heavy. With Ojo Malo and Nomestomper and Street Tombs filling out, it’s a solid announcement for the two-dayer; a kind of conceptual preview for the likes of RippleFest Texas and Desertfest New York in substance if not geography. A lot to like, is the bottom line.

Tickets are on sale now, early-bird style. Dig it, and check out the TubeVision show I stumbled on from Brant Bjork, 2003 in San Francisco. Bros.-era. 20 god damned years ago. Pretty badass:

BURQUE ROCK CITY FEST: Announces MORE BANDS!

Burque Rock City Is Happy To Announce Another Round Of Bands For August 4th & 5th Downtown ABQ At The Historic El Rey Theater & Insideout Bar

Burque Rock City Would Love to Welcome:

Brant Bjork * Yawning Balch * Year Of The Cobra * Fatso Jetson * Electric Citizen * Tenderizor * Street Tombs * Red Mesa * Ojo Malo * Nomestomper

First Wave of Amazing Bands Previously Announced:

Weedeater * Pike Vs The Automaton * Belzebong * Early Moods * High Desert Queen * Thunder Horse * Sorcia * Prism Bitch * Coma Revovery

Get Your Early Bird Tickets NOW!! Once Full Lineup Is Announced, Tickets Will Go Up!

Early Bird Day Pass-$100: https://holdmyticket.com/event/412535

Early Bird 2 Day Pass-$200: https://holdmyticket.com/event/412537

Roman Barham, co-founder of Monolith on the Mesa, has been quietly working on Burque Rock City Fest.

Branching south from the Monolith On The Mesa tree is Burque Rock City Fest in Albuquerque, NM At The Historic El Rey Theater & Insideout Bar On Friday August 4th & Saturday August 5th 2023.

More band announcements & more exciting info soon.

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Brant Bjork & The Bros., Live at Bottom of the Hill, San Francisco, CA, Sept. 7, 2003

This is one of those lists of tour dates that should read like homework of bands to check out. Whether it’s Red Beard Wall, Stone Machine Electric, Book of Wyrms, Doomsday Profit, WyndRider, Silent Monolith, Seahag and Mammoth Caravan or Psychotic Reaction, on and on, Albuquerque trio Red Mesa will be keeping good company as they make their way to and from this year’s Maryland Doom Fest in June, and that’s before you account for their being on the road with Doomstress out of Texas.

It’s a solid 14-day run and it comes as Red Mesa are fresh off recording their third full-length for release next year. That will make it the follow-up for 2022’s single “Forest Cathedral” (review here) and 2020’s The Path to the Deathless (review here), their debut having been 2018’s The Devil and the Desert (review here), and it was recorded by Matthew Tobias at Empty House Studio, as were the other two LPs.

More on that likely to come, I’ll note as well that in addition to Maryland Doom Fest, Red Mesa have been added to Burque Rock City Festival and RippleFest Texas, so the next few months should be busy. They sent the following down the PR wire:

RED MESA – Desert Moon Tour 2023

Albuquerque, NM’s high desert rockers Red Mesa are finishing up their new full-length “Partial Distortions” set for a 2024 release on Desert Records. In June of 2023, they will be embarking on a 17 day tour, joining up with Houston’s Doomstress for the initial journey out east, both bands ending up at The Maryland Doom Fest in Frederick, MD.

Here’s the dates:
FRIDAY JUNE 16 SAN ANTONIO, TX LIGHTHOUSE LOUNGE w/ Cortege, Red Beard Wall, Doomstress
SATURDAY JUNE 17 HOUSTON, TX BLACK MAGIC SOCIAL CLUB w/ Doomstress
SUNDAY JUNE 18 ARLINGTON, TX DIVISION BREWING w/ Doomstress, Stone Machine Electric, Pathos and Logos
MONDAY JUNE 19 MEMPHIS, TN THE HI TONE w/ Doomstress, Deaf Revival
WEDNESDAY JUNE 21 ASHEVILLES, NC THE ODD BAR w/ Doomstress, Bonedozer
THURSDAY JUNE 22 FREDERICK, MD MARYLAND DOOM FEST
SATURDAY JUNE 24 RICHMOND, VA THE FUZZY CACTUS w/ Book of Wyrms, Plaguefever
SUNDAY JUNE 25 RALEIGH, NC THE POUR HOUSE w/ Doomsday Profit, Lie Heavy
TUESDAY JUNE 27 KNOXVILLE, TN THE BRICKYARD w/ Wyndrider, Shockwolf, Sun Mantra
WEDNESDAY JUNE 28 NASHVILLE, TN SPRINGWATER SUPPER CLUB w/ Rift, Silent Monolith
THURSDAY JUNE 29 LITTLE ROCK, AR WHITEWATER w/ Seahag, Mammoth Caravan
FRIDAY JUNE 30 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK GRAND ROYAL w/ Psychotic Reaction, BugNog, Sedona Crystal Bitch

For the three Texas dates, Hunter Dawson with Extra Meat (@_huntdawson), who has filmed two videos for the band, will be providing a visual experience into Red Mesa’s set.

Red Mesa is also slated to play two other festivals so far this year; BURQUE ROCK CITY in Albuquerque, NM, and RIPPLEFEST in Austin, TX.

Poster by Josh Schneider.

Red Mesa is:
Brad Frye of Desert Records on Guitar/Lead Vocals
Roman Barham of Monolith on the Mesa on Drums/Backing Vocals
Alex Cantwell: Bass/Backing Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/redmesaband/
https://www.instagram.com/redmesaband/
https://redmesarock.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/desertrecordslabel/
https://www.instagram.com/desertrecords/
https://desertrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://desertrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://linktr.ee/desertrecords

Red Mesa, “Forest Cathedral” (2022)

If you’re unfamiliar — and if you are, that’s fine; I’m not trying to be out here keeping a gate or some bullshit — Ripple Music‘s Turned to Stone split series began after the success of the Cali label’s The Second Coming of Heavy 10-parter and has featured more than a few killers in its time, usually working on a loose theme either curated by Ripple itself or some underground denizen close to their heart. This time around, the two bands are Austin rockers High Desert Queen — about whom I’ve ended up writing pretty much daily for one reason or another the last couple weeks — and Albuquerque’s Blue Heron, who are fronted by Jadd Shickler of Magnetic Eye Records and Blues Funeral Recordings (he also co-founded MeteorCity and the All That is Heavy store before the century turned).

Both bands are awesome, so you’ll pardon if I treat this one as a total no-brainer. May 26 release. Preorders up. Fine. Blue Heron get first-single honors, and you can hear their “Able Baker” (is that you, Richard Scarry?) at the bottom of this post as a herald of more to come. I’ve done a few premieres for the last editions of Turned to Stone, and this press release just came in, so I haven’t made a request yet, but I think that might be where I head after I finish up here, which as it turns out, I just did.

From the PR wire:

US stoner rock units HIGH DESERT QUEEN and BLUE HERON to release ‘Turned To Stone Chapter 8’ split album on Ripple Music this May!

HIGH DESERT QUEEN / BLUE HERON
“Turned To Stone Chapter 8: The Wake”
Out May 26th on Ripple Music
US preorder – https://ripplemusic.bigcartel.com/products

European preorder – https://en.ripple.spkr.media/

Bandcamp – https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/turned-to-stone-chapter-8-the-wake

Ripple Music announces the release of “Turned To Stone Chapter 8: The Wake”, the new split record featuring Southwestern heavy and stoner rock merchants HIGH DESERT QUEEN and BLUE HERON, to be issued on May 26th, 2023. Listen to Blue Heron’s debut single “Able Baker” now!

About joining forces with High Desert Queen, Blue Heron frontman Jadd Shickler says: “We dig High Desert Queen as musicians and as people. We invited them to Albuquerque to play the release party for our first single, which I think was their first-ever out-of-town gig. They returned the favor by having us play with them at Ripplefest Texas last summer, and I think all of us in Blue Heron are pretty impressed by their go-getter attitude. Along with all that, several of us are actual friends outside of band stuff, so it just felt like a natural pairing that Todd at Ripple was on board with. We’re stoked that it worked out, and with luck, we’ll be playing some shows with them to promote the record later this year!”

Pairing up two highly esteemed bands of the Southwest underground scene, “Turned To Stone Chapter 8” is a gigantic masterclass of heavy rock, with six tracks that will take you on a riff-fueled journey with no further ado! Between HIGH DESERT QUEEN’s versatile and massive-sounding heavy and BLUE HERON’s raucous and desert-shaped songcraft, it is no understatement to say that we are in presence of true forces of nature, an alliance between two up-and-coming greats of the US stoner and desert rock scene.

“Turned To Stone Chapter 8” will be available on May 26th in various vinyl formats as well as digitally, with preorders available now on Ripple Music. The artwork was created by award-winning comic and poster artist Johnny Dombrowski.

TRACKLIST:
1. High Desert Queen – Black Moon
2. High Desert Queen – Drift Into The Sun
3. High Desert Queen – Roll The Dice
4. Blue Heron – Able Baker
5. Blue Heron – Day Of The Comet
6. Blue Heron – Superposition

https://www.facebook.com/highdesertqueen/
http://www.instagram.com/highdesertqueen
http://highdesertqueen.bandcamp.com/

https://www.instagram.com/blueheronabq/
https://open.spotify.com/artist/5iNywSwnYX4eMwaQISEpzG
https://www.facebook.com/blueheronabq

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

High Desert Queen & Blue Heron, Turned to Stone Ch. 8: The Wake (2023)