Volume 1 of the Live In The Mojave Desert albums is the Earthless set and it is a nova.

The Live In The Mojave Desert project gathered five bands in a remote location, recorded live sets and filmed the isolated performances. The model for this was Pink Floyd’s famous Live At Pompeii, which had no audience. In addition to Earthless, the other bands are Nebula, Spirit Mother, Mountain Tamer, and Stoner, all getting video and audio releases.

Earthless is Mario Rubalcaba (drums), Isaiah Mitchell (guitars), and Mike Eginton (bass). I started listening to them for their long-form instrumental rock/metal compositions. More recently they have occasionally included vocals. The music is desert groove, heavy psych mystical guitar-laden jams. It is the kind of thing that can really take you away.

The set includes three songs, “Violence Of The Red Sea” (16:52), “Sonic Prayer” (21:02), and “Lost In The Cold Sun” (39:09). If you are an Earthless fan then you have heard these all before, especially “Sonic Prayer.” You also know, if you’re a fan, that every time the band plays a song you have heard before it is different – the familiarity is there, important segments and melodies and movements, and still it is new and different. Every time. That is one of the main reasons why I listen to Earthless so often. I know the music and it is always new. Highly recommended.

Nuclear Blast Records is in charge of the digital and the physicals come from Giant Rock Records. There are many different versions out there. I suggest watching the video in addition to listening because seeing the performance is in line with the original intention of the project and I believe it enhances your experience. If you want a keeper for the video, a blu-ray edition is being produced.

Band photo by Atiba Jefferson.

Links.

Bandcamp, https://earthless.bandcamp.com/

Earthless website, https://www.earthlessofficial.com/

Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/earthlessrips

Giant Rock Records, https://www.liveinthemojavedesert.com/

Streaming links, https://earthless.bfan.link/live-in-the-mojave-desert