ALBUM REVIEW: The Way Forward – Black Tusk
Sludge is a funny old genre, incorporating as it does the fuzz and swagger of stoner rock, the slow, downtuned nastiness of doom metal and the outright aggression and attitude of hardcore punk. Every sludge band mixes those influences just a little bit differently, so you’re never sure whether you’re going to get a groovy, gross head-nodder of an album or an all-out suckerpunch to the face that leaves you wondering what’s just happened.
Scene veterans BLACK TUSK very much fall into the latter category and, looking at the band’s history, it’s maybe not all that surprising. The band have been through a lot since they first formed as a three piece back in 2005. In 2014, founding member Jonathan Athon tragically died following a motorcycle accident. More recently, and specifically an influence on this album, guitarist/vocalist Chris Fidler experienced a difficult divorce in 2020 (a difficult enough year in its own right) which left him feeling, in his own words, “like my entire world was collapsing.”
Understandable, then, that BLACK TUSK’s new record is appropriately titled The Way Forward and is also appropriately packed with pummelling, punk-infused sludge metal that sounds like it’s absolutely desperate just to exist. It represents a bit of a new dawn for the band, with long-time collaborator Chris ‘Scary’ Adams joining as a second guitarist and Derek Lynch joining on bass.
Opening with a few bars of shrieking feedback and pummelling drums, first track Out Of Grasp is immediately right up in your face and demands that you sit up and listen. The sheer punk aggression on this song, from the multiple vocal attack to the crushing breakdown at the two-minute mark, makes it a perfect blueprint for what’s to follow. Before you have chance to breathe, you are driven headfirst into the wall that is second track (and lead single) Brushfire, two-and-a-half minutes of death-tinged fight music that wouldn’t have sounded out of place on ENTOMBED’s masterwork Wolverine Blues, particularly thanks to the howling leads added by Adams over Fidler’s solidly scuzzy riffs.
Harness (The Alchemist) very much continues mining the hardcore vein, with an excellent DISCHARGE-inspired performance from drummer James May. It’s also another chance for BLACK TUSK to showcase the additional guitars, adding harmonies to elevate and expand the band’s sound to a level above their previous work. Each of the opening four songs comes in at an average runtime of two-and-a-half minutes, helping to add a real sense of urgency to the first half of the album.
Fifth track – and very much an album highlight – Breath Of Life represents a slight departure from what’s gone before. At over five minutes, it twists and turns through its sometimes almost bluesy-sounding passages without losing any of the aggression or attitude that makes this album so enjoyable. There’s even a bit of cheeky synth work here and there from Lynch but again it’s subtle enough to enhance rather than hinder the song.
This slightly more expansive approach is evident again on the brilliant title track (and album closer) and, with things starting to sound a little familiar in the second half of the record, it’s a brilliantly impactful way to finish and hopefully represents a starting point for even more innovation in the future. As well as filling out their guitar sound, the band have also upped the ante on their vocal deliveries, with all four members now contributing vocal performances which again helps to keep things sounding fresh across the whole record and adds even more of a hardcore vibe to proceedings.
The hardcore attitude, gang vocals and punk ‘n’ roll vibes are just as reminiscent of 80s and 90s HC legends like SICK OF IT ALL and MADBALL as they are classic sludge bands. The lyrical themes have links to that scene too, with the album thematically exploring how we fight through the tough times in our lives to try to create something positive. This means the album has a defiant, ‘you-can’t-bring-me-down’ outlook that becomes more infectiously energising with each listen.
BLACK TUSK have made a fresh, uncompromising album with The Way Forward. Aside from a slight dip in the second half, this is powerful, defiant music – whatever the genre – that does an awful lot in its blistering 36 minutes. This is a record that fills you with the urge to fight for the future, windmilling like a maniac while you do.
Rating: 8/10
The Way Forward is set for release on April 26th via Season Of Mist.
Like BLACK TUSK on Facebook.