Black Tusk- Pillars of Ash
By Jeffery McNulty
After Listening to this new Black Tusk record non-stop for the last month I can reaffirm my assertion that they are Meat and Potatoes metal. I do not mean that as a diss, far from it; not every band can be a groundbreaking original but then again, not every band can rock as hard and as consistently good as Black Tusk has over the years either.
I like Creatures of Ash a lot more than their last outing; for one thing, there seams to be a lot more songs featuring the “D.R.I.” style vocals as opposed to the gruff ones but the two mix well together inside some very clever compositions. There are so many killer rockers on this that it’s nice when they mix things up with a drum break intro and even just a straight up punk song. The sound quality is exceptional thanks to production by Toxic Holocaust front man Joel Grind. I’m not talking your Great Aunts dried up roast beast, I’m talking that Sous-vide shit, with heirloom potatoes.
In fact, if I have any beef with this record, no pun intended, it’s that it doesn’t sound dirty enough. Black Tusk are not a fancy band, they are dirty and they are rude and the production, although as gnarly as modern metal recording techniques allow, makes me wish there was more bleed and rough corners.
Sadly, this is the last record their vocalist and bassist Jonathan Athon recorded with them before tragically dying in a motorcycle accident. They are soldering on with Corey Barhorst from Kylessa filling in on tour. I recommend you go see them at the Funhouse on Thursday, March 17th and see for yourself how crushing these guys can be live. And if you’re a Vegan, you can refer to them as Seitan and Potatoes metal.
