Black Tusk is an American

sludge metal Sludge metal (also known as sludge or sludge doom) is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that originated through combining elements of doom metal and hardcore punk. It is typically harsh and abrasive, often featuring shouted vocals, heavi ...

band from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, formed in 2005.

History

The band was formed in 2005, when its members were all living on the same street. With the dissolution of Andrew Fidler's (guitars, vocals) and Jonathan Athon's (bass, vocals)

crust punk Crust punk (also known as crust or stenchcore) is a form of music influenced by English punk rock and extreme metal. The style, which evolved in the early 1980s in England, often has songs with dark and pessimistic lyrics that linger on politic ...

band and James May's (drums, vocals) street punk band, Fidler and Athon went down the street to May's house and asked him if he wanted to play with them. During the next few days they jammed continuously, and within a few months they had recorded the EP ''When Kingdoms Fall'', which was released via Wrecked Signal. Two years later the band self-released their first full-length studio album, ''The Fallen Kingdom'', followed by another a year later with ''Passage Through Purgatory'', released through the local label Hyperrealist Records. In 2009, Black Tusk released a series of split albums with bands such as ASG, The Holy Mountain, and Fight Amp, before sign to Relapse Records in November. The band released its debut for Relapse, '' Taste the Sin'', in May 2010. Black Tusk is mostly associated with

Baroness Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or knig ...

and

Kylesa Kylesa is an American heavy metal band that was formed in Savannah, Georgia. Their music incorporates experimentalism with heavy riffs, drop-tuned guitars and elements of psychedelic rock. The group was established in 2001 by the former member ...

, for their shared hometown of Savannah, as well as for their sludge metal sound. The band is linked to Baroness' guitarist and vocalist John Dyer Baizley, who is also a painter and creates all of Black Tusk's artwork. On November 9, 2014, band member Jonathan Athon died due to injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident. He was placed in a medically induced coma and, per his wishes, was pulled from life support after it was determined that he had irreparable brain damage. Black Tusk 2012

On December 10, 2014, the band confirmed they would be touring with

Black Label Society Black Label Society is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three vid ...

in early 2015, with Corey Barhorst filling in on bass duties, as well as confirmed they finished the recording of their next album prior to the death of Athon.

Musical style

Black Tusk's members describe their music as "swamp metal", a term that has been described by

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

as "the murkiest, dirtiest sludge to come out of Savannah since Kylesa". The term is a reference to the climate of Savannah in relation to the music that the band create. Reviewing the album, '' Taste the Sin'',

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

stated that the band's blend of

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (also known as simply hardcore) is a punk rock music genre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots can be traced to earlier punk ...

and

stoner metal Stoner rock, also known as stoner metal or stoner doom, is a rock music fusion genre that combines elements of doom metal with psychedelic rock and acid rock. The genre emerged during the early 1990s and was pioneered foremost by Kyuss and Slee ...

"works to capitalize on the immediacy of its chosen genres and not to bend them into obscurity." Black Tusk acknowledges its punk rock origins, but prefer not to cite a list of bands that influence them because they feel that it is ineffective since they are not "trying to emulate any one band's style or any one genre's sound."

Members

Current

*Andrew Fidler – guitars, vocals *James May – drums, vocals *Derek Lynch – bass, vocals *Chris "Scary" Adams - guitars

Former

*Jonathan Athon – bass, vocals *Corey Barhorst - bass, vocals

Discography

Albums *''The Fallen Kingdom'' (2007) *''Passage Through Purgatory'' (2008) *'' Taste the Sin'' (2010) *''Set the Dial'' (2011) *''Pillars of Ash'' (2016) *''T.C.B.T.'' (2018) EPs *''When Kingdoms Fall'' (2005) *''Tend No Wounds'' (2013) *''Vulture's Eye'' (2014) Splits *''Low Country'', with ASG Other appearances *''

Metal Swim ''Metal Swim'' is a heavy metal compilation album released by Adult Swim. The album was released as a free download otheir website It consisted of rare and unreleased material from various metal bands. Track listing # Death Angel – "Truce" ( ...

'' –

Adult Swim Adult Swim (AS; stylized as

dult swim Dult is a village in Batala in Gurdaspur district of Punjab State, India. It is located from sub district headquarter, from district headquarter and from Sri Hargobindpur. The village is administrated by Sarpanch an elected representati ...

and often abbreviated as s is an American adult-oriented night-time cable television Television channel, channel that shares channel space with the basic cable network Cartoon Network and is programme ...

compilation album (2010)

Music videos

References

External links

{{Authority control Musical groups established in 2005 Heavy metal musical groups from Georgia (U.S. state) American sludge metal musical groups American stoner rock musical groups Relapse Records artists Musical groups from Savannah, Georgia Musical quartets