RED MESA – Partial Distortions

Red Mesa’s second album ‘The Path To The Deathless’ brought the world a selection of finely crafted riffs during the pandemic lockdown of 2020. At the album’s most melodic, tracks like ‘Death I Am’ injected an extra spookiness into a classic desert rock backdrop; at its most groove laden, Red Mesa blended the driving elements of early Sabbath’s faster offerings with an extra layer of fuzz that looked back to classic Corrosion of Conformity, and when occasionally stretching for heavier sounds, their slow and oppressive riffs showed a love for the mighty Electric Wizard. In terms of taking a bunch of key influences and chucking them into a giant stoner metal stew, it was the kind of album that genre fans would love.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #51

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore some of the individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This time around, the SB includes a few familiar faces: Roisin McCarney returns with some great pop; Scotland’s The Lines share one of their finest tracks to date, and alt-rockers Then Comes Silence deliver one of their most incessant hooks. There are unfamiliar acts here too, as well as the Bar’s usual variety, as we explore some retro pop, a tune from a brand new singer songwriter, and a couple of other treats. As always, we hope you find something interesting within…

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Watch ‘Adam & Eve’ – the new video from UK nu metal titans Until 9

Until 9’s 2023 EP ‘Dyadic’ shared some absolutely brilliant metal sounds. The Yorkshire based band really weren’t shy in exploring their love of nu-metal, and the release’s best tracks channelled an already retro sound that blended the darker elements of bands like Mudvayne with the force of scene giants like Coal Chamber.

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ACCEPT – Humanoid

In many ways, you have to hand it to Accept. In the metaphorical race for the German hard rock and metal prize, they’ve spent literally a whole career in the shadow of Scorpions. Outside of their home country, they’re rarely name checked as an all-time favourite band, and they’ve constantly trucked on, often biting a collective thumb at the fickle finger of musical fashion. They’ve gone through many line up changes, but they’ve survived when many have fallen. What’s more, as late as 2021, they managed to deliver a career highlight with ‘Too Mean To Die’, a hulking mass of riffs that married their love of 80s metal with a really solid sounding production job. In terms of “late career” albums, it was a genuine winner. You can love them, you can hate them – but you can’t keep Accept down. When on form, they mean business.

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THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #48

Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore the various individual mp3s that have landed in our inbox over the previous few weeks. This time around, we bring you a very melodic number from a sometime Ministry collaborator, a complex one man show from a British prog musician, a quick hit of country, a near flawless slice of power pop, and more besides. As always, we hope you find something new to enjoy, or something that gives you the curiosity to dig a little deeper.

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