Sky Valley Mistress are a duo from Blackburn, UK who formed in 2012.Their band name is a tribute to the Kyuss album "Welcome To The Sky Valley".They released their debut album "Faithless Rituals" in 2020,which was recorded at the famous Rancho De La Luna in California ,USA.As a live act Sky Valley Mistress are a unique act as they perform as a duel drumming duo where Kayley plays half a drum kit whilst singing and Max plays the guitar whilst operating the kick drum.The duo describe their sound as a mix of Queens Of Stone Age desert rock,Black Sabbath heavy riffs,with Portishead inspired atmospheres.Sky Valley Mistress recently supported The Hives after a chance performance from the back of their hearse!"Luna Mausoleum" is the 2nd album after a 2021 released EP which includes stripped back versions from the 2020 debut album.

After the brief intro "An Eagles Epitaph",this leads into "The Exit List" which opens with a strong guitar solo when is followed by synth driven verses,which in the choruses gains some momentum quite a strong start."Too Many Ghosts" has a faster pace,again stripped back in the verses,another big chorus but less melodic than the previous, but the rhythm is at the forefront of the track with the guitar in the background. The lead in to "House Of The Moon" leads me to believe I'm in for a ballad style track,but this is short-lived as the mood & sound of the track changes with a drums & guitar facing off for the intense chorus,before calm again,there is some layers to the background vocals which sound pretty good."White Night" has the same format as tracks before it with a blues feel,also has some of the best vocal highlights on the album.At around the 9 and a half minute mark the closing track "Blue Desert II" starts for around 4 minutes a very soft,gentle mellow listen,before around half way the track picks up the pace,gets louder before mellowing out again,before a guitar solo & drum work to bring the album to a conclusion.

After reading the bio on Sky Mistress and that they are only a duo & how they perform in a live setting it got my interest.There is some catchy choruses and melodies,good vocals & musicianship,but at times some of the tracks were a bit long winded,if shorter they would have had a bigger impact.That been said it was an enjoyable listen for the most part.