High Desert Queen – Secrets Of The Black Moon
Release Date: 15th October 2021
Label: Ripple Music
Bandcamp
Genre: Doom, Stoner, Rock, Heavy stuff.
FFO: Black Sabbath, Clutch, Kyuss,Tom Waits, U2.
Review By: Kenny Newall
Ever wondered what a hologram would look like if it blew its brains out? Well then look no further than High Desert Queen’s debut album cover. And not only that, according to the press release, Secrets Of The Black Moon will “make you reach the tipping point between aural gravity and levitation.” Now, as my drug intake these days is limited to caffeine, weekend alcohol and Tommy Skeoch era Tesla, whilst anything approaching aural gravity tends to play havoc with my joints, I may not quite be the intended target audience. But as the Good Lord said, “you do realise I’m only in this for the Messiah groupies, right?”
So my expectations were quite stunningly deflated by the doomy opener, Heads Will Roll. Not that it’s stunningly deflating, just that I don’t really like doom, Sabbath and Candlemass excepted. But I’m now listening to it for the third, possibly fourth time whilst typing up this review and while I may not be in love, I’m smitten. Enough to give it a few more listens in the coming time to see where it leads. But as for the rest…
Well the rest, especially personal favourite, The Wheel, have massaged my doom misgivings and drawn me in as they’re all rather bonkingly good whilst also rather humpingly tricky to pin down with words. QOTSA, Elder, Lowrider, Alice In Chains, Tom Waits and The Allman Brothers are listed as influences. So obviously that sounds like? Yeah. Quite a mix. And I’ll add Sabbath and, bear with me, early U2. It’s not that HDQ are breaking any boundaries, it’s just that they fluidly and subtly slip in and out of genres. And what I can’t get my head round is that this is a debut. It’s not just the quality, but it’s the hairies to take those influences and say, pigeonhole us all you want, we don’t care. Cos it rocks. It rolls. It dooms. It actually mostly kinda slowly mid-tempos. But it frolics whilst delving and that’s the crux. So the best way to find out what these Austin, Texas newcomers sound like is to go first hand with the handy little video below for the gloriously rumbling, The Mountain Vs The Quake. But don’t hear, listen.
So while it may be difficult to describe what it sounds like, what I can do is say how it feels, and it feels uplifting, immersive, heavily smitten. Like a fine wine complementing some creamy pasta or beer with your cornflakes, whatever it is that gives you the buzz between straight and too far. Something you want to nurse and return to. Beyond, but still in reach.
(4 / 5)
