Black Tusk - The Way Forward

Angry Metal Guy 60

Black Tusk is one of those bands that are eternally 3.0, and I’ve always been completely content with that. My first experience with the Savannah, Georgia veterans was 2011’s Set the Dial, a veritable riff-fest of sludge to counter the swampy slogs I had only been acquainted with (namely Thou and Eyehategod). In ways, the trio stood shoulder to shoulder with the likes of Mastodon and Baroness without the lofty ambition: you come for the sludge, you stay for the riffs. Or something. But that’s it, you bang your head to that filthy, slightly southern fried riffage, and you like it or you don’t. The trio is now a quartet and represents a new chapter of Black Tusk.

That doesn’t mean that Black Tusk is settling down. With new member Derek Lynch on bass and vocals, the trio simply adds more firepower to their arsenal. The Way Forward embodies a theme of change lyrically, and hints of melodic and rhythmic complexity are added. Black Tusk makes no argument for elevating itself past “Mastodon but less ambition and more riffs” but if you’re looking for thick-ass riffs flying around your head with punky simplicity and sludgy meatheadedness, look no further. The Way Forward is Black Tusk through and through, even if its main weapon of the riff can sputter periodically.

The Way Forward by Black Tusk

As you may have guessed, The Way Forward is Black Tusk’s version of “THA RIFF” but sludge style, and that has not changed since the act’s foundation. Tracks like “Out of Grasp,” “Lessons Through Deception,” and “Flee from Dawn” conjure the sludgy riffs of Mastodon’s Blood Mountain, punky speed colliding with feedback squeals and tough-guy vocals, which are given more variety with Lynch’s contributions: a totality of barks, shrieks, and growls far more forward than in previous incarnations. The three main highlights are “Harness (The Alchemist),” “Breath of Life,” and closer “The Way Forward,” which embrace chunky riffage to the umpteenth degree, while also enveloping it in a suffocating haze and melodic touches that add to colossal quality, enhanced by instrumental interlude “Ocean of Obsidian.” “Breath of Life” in particular flows extremely organically, its centerpiece status justified as a climactic spoke, while the emotive progressions of the title track end the album on a very sweet note.

While the riffs dominate the entirety of The Way Forward, a run in the back half falls tragically short because of its lack of variation. “Dance on Your Grave,” “Against the Undertow,” and “Lift Yourself” start deceptively well enough, sludge’s main attraction of thick riffs and feedback dominating in the ways you expect, but then nothing changes over the course of each respective three minutes, the same riff repeating ad nauseam until a bitterly frail conclusion. “Lift Yourself” in particular feels like the weakest whimper in Black Tusk’s catalog. Not that riff-centric shenanigans are meant to sear into the brain, but even good tracks like “Brushfire,” “Lessons Through Deception,” and “Out of Grasp” are hardly memorable, offering beatdowns but little else. Unfortunately, while Black Tusk does a good job ascending from the monotony of T.C.B.T., it does not justify its plight beyond its own discography like Set the Dial or Taste the Sin.

The Way Forward embraces more vocal variety, but little else feels like a progression – if anything, the highs feel higher and the lows feel lower. Black Tusk is still punky sludge with kickass riffs to boot, but with a three-song streak of gnarly mediocrity coursing through the back half, it’s hard to embrace The Way Forward in its entirety. If “Against the Undertow” and “Lift Yourself” are any indication, then we should be worried; however, if “Breath of Life” and “The Way Forward” are the trajectory, then we should celebrate. However, with more tracks falling into kickass territory like “Harness (The Alchemist)” and “Flee from Dawn,” we shouldn’t even think about Black Tusk’s future and focus on getting lost in the sauce and bashing our brains around with punky, riffy sludge.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: n/a | Format Reviewed: STREAM
Label: Season of Mist
Websites: blacktusk.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/blacktusk
Releases Worldwide: April 26th, 2024

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