Black Tusk came roaring out of the Savannah swamplands nearly twenty years ago, but the sludge metal veterans aren't looking back anytime soon. On their seventh album, "The Way Forward", the band blaze full steam into the future behind the force of their new yet familiar lineup.
"This record represents our steadfast resolve to keep making music together as a band and evolve our sound", says Andrew Fidler, Black Tusk's longtime guitarist and co-vocalist.
"The Way Forward" comes out Friday April 26, but you can hear all 11 hard-hitting tracks now on the Season of Mist YouTube channel.
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"The Way Forward" pulls no punches. Right from the rip, album opener "Out of Grasp" charges head-on to the relentless chop of James May's snare drum. Lead single "Brush Fire" quickly grabs the baton and lights it up like a Molotov cocktail. New bassist Derek Lynch makes one hell of a first impression. "I watch you burn!" he spits, already spewing with righteous fury.
"Derek said he’d never done heavy vocals before, so I was like, ‘Well, here’s the mic. Here’s some words. Yell at it and see if you like it.’", says Fidler. "I was blown away the first time he did it. It sounded good as fuck.”
Black Tusk recorded "The Way Forward" at Hidden Audio, a studio run by frequent collaborator and now official member Chris "Scary" Adams. Not only did Scary handle the production, but he locks horns with Fidler, making this the band's first album to feature a two guitar attack. On "Dance on Your Grave", Fidler lays down a boot-stomping riff so Scary can rip into a solo that never stops climbing.
Of course, no band makes it 19 years without having to shovel their share of shit. "The big theme of this record is putting your life back together", Fidler says. Black Tusk have switched labels and lost members, all while navigating the bumps in the road that come with being tour musicians. But "The Way Forward" leaves those past misgivings in the rear view. "Sometimes the worst things you've ever seen or done end up being the best thing that's ever happened to you", May says.
"Breath of Life" opens with murky synths that swirl like a depressive fog, but that's just the quiet before the storm. Over fuming distortion, together, Black Tusk reach for something that sounds close to a silver lining. "Mercy in suffering, all I see", they scream in unison.
“The title is kind of a double play,” Fidler says. “It’s the first record with the new lineup, and this is the direction we’re taking the band in. We’ve been doing Black Tusk for 19 years now, and we still love it. That’s why we called it The Way Forward.”
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