Dustin Arbuckle formed Moreland & Arbuckle with guitarist Aaron Moreland in 2002 in Kansas. They performed together for 15 years and recorded for both Alligator and Telarc Records, sharing stages with Buddy Guy, ZZ Top, George Thorogood, Robert Cray, and Los Lobos.

Brandon Hudspeth, a multiple-time Blues Music Award and Blues Blast Award nominee, fronted Kansas City’s Levee Town and the duo Hudspeth & Taylor.

Dustin Arbuckle & the Damnation include Arbuckle, harmonica and vocals; Hudspeth, electric, acoustic, and resonator guitars; bassist Caleb Drummond; and drummer Colby Aiken, both music-school graduates. The rhythm section is a big reason why the band can range so wide. Their sprawling live sets pivot seamlessly from Delta blues grooves into high-octane honky-tonk, Southern soul, and trucker-rock anthems. This is a straight-ahead blues and roots-rock powerhouse built on an unbreakable spine. Kendall Newby adds harmony on one track. The album was recorded, mixed, and mastered by Duane Trower at Weights and Measures Soundlab in Kansas City, Missouri.

The album kicks off with “Heaven Forbid,” an intense, dark, slow-burning blues built around vivid storytelling from Ryan Taylor. Arbuckle’s expressive vocal and harmonica performance captures the emotional betrayal, vengeance, and reluctant redemption, while the band’s understated arrangement and haunting groove allow the song’s unforgettable refrain, “Heaven forbid I would meet you in hell,” to linger long after the final note.

The title track, “Fight Like the Devil,” written by Arbuckle and Hudspeth, sets an uncompromising tone early on, confronting life’s high-stakes crossroads when backed into a corner, as Arbuckle sings, “When the gauntlet’s thrown and you hear the bell, you better fight like the devil or you can run like hell, yes, fight like the devil or you can run like hell.”

On “Desperate Love,” written by Arbuckle, Hudspeth, and Drummond, the band settles into a gritty, emotionally charged groove as Arbuckle examines the agonizing grip of a volatile relationship that refuses to die easily. He chimes, “In truth I knew right from the start, that we were never meant to be but it felt like love to my lonely heart, and the feelin’ would not set me free. I said woah-oh, no-o, this desperate love, it won’t let me go.”

“Must Be Travelin’ On” is a road-worn anthem, co-written by Dustin and M. Arbuckle, as Dustin chants, “I woke up in the evenin’, and I lay back down at dawn, yeah, the nightime is my time, and I must be travelin’ on. Further down the road there’s more trouble left to find.”

On the atmospheric “Small Branch Motel,” written by Arbuckle, Taylor, Hudspeth, Drummond, and Aiken, Arbuckle sings of the weary solitude of life on the highway, as he groans, “That big ‘ol neon sign outside keeps shinin’ all night long. Tellin’ every traveler on the road ‘Here’s a temporary home’…now where do you go, when your feelings don’t feel well? you can book your room at the Small Branch Motel.”

“Tombstone Blues” is a cover of a song written by Bob Dylan in 1965. Arbuckle moans, “The sweet, pretty things are in bed now, of course. The city fathers, they’re trying to endorse, the reincarnation of Paul Revere’s horse, but the town has no need to be nervous. The ghost of Belle Starr she hands down her wits, to Jezebel, the nun, she violently knits, a bald wig for Jack the Ripper who sits at the head of the Chamber of Commerce.”

The infectious “You’re Gonna Hear Me on the Radio,” written by Taylor, blends classic roots-rock swagger with an optimistic underdog spirit. The song follows a determined dreamer chasing down that elusive first break. It’s a celebration of believing in yourself long before anyone else does.

Other highlights include “Out of Time,” “Always Gone,” and “Jumbo Frets.”

On the closer, “Didn’t I,” another cover, written by Gillian Welch and David Rawlings in 2020, Arbuckle croons, “Didn’t I hear somebody talking? Didn’t I?…Down in the alley, saw you were walking, now didn’t I?…Didn’t I spend all my money? Didn’t I? Buy a tailor-made suit for your honey, Didn’t I? Now, didn’t I save all my kisses, didn’t I? Make your bed, wash your dirty dishes…Didn’t I hear somebody talking? Didn’t I? Didn’t I try makin’ you happy? Wave goodbye to my mom and pappy.”

Dustin Arbuckle and Brandon Hudspeth bring the blues pedigree. The band’s range is wide, having toured with acts across styles from jazz and bluegrass to rock and reggae. There’s not much this band can’t touch. They recommend that you either fight like the devil or run like hell.

Richard Ludmerer