Black Tusk (band)

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Black Tusk
File:Black Tusk 2012.jpg
Black Tusk in 2012
Background information
Origin Savannah, Georgia, United States
Genres Sludge metal, stoner metal, hardcore punk, thrash metal
Years active 2005 (2005)–present
Labels Relapse
Associated acts Baroness
Website blacktuskterror.com
Members Andrew Fidler
James May
Past members Jonathan Athon

Black Tusk (often written as Blacktusk) is an American heavy metal band from Savannah, Georgia. The band was formed in 2005, when its members were all living on the same street.[1] With the dissolution of Andrew Fidler's (guitar, vocals) and Jonathan Athon's (bass, vocals) crust punk band and James May's (drums, vocals) street punk band, Andrew and Athon went down the street to James' house and asked him if he wanted to play with them.[2] During the next few days they jammed continuously, and within a few months they had recorded the EP When Kingdoms Fall, which was released on Wrecked Signal.[3] 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.[3][4] 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.[5] The band released its debut for Relapse, Taste the Sin, in May 2010.[6]

Black Tusk is mostly associated with Baroness and Kylesa, for their shared hometown of Savannah, as well as for their sludge metal sound.[1][4] 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.[2] Black Tusk's members describe their music as "swamp metal," a term that has been described by Allmusic as "the murkiest, dirtiest sludge [metal] to come out of Savannah since Kylesa".[6] The term is a reference to the climate of Savannah in relation to the music that the band create.[2] Reviewing the album, Taste the Sin, Pitchfork Media stated that the band's blend of hardcore punk and stoner metal "works to capitalize on the immediacy of its chosen genres and not to bend them into obscurity."[7] 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."[2]

On November 9, 2014, band member Jonathan Athon died due to injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident.[8] 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.

On December 10, 2014, the band confirmed they would be touring with Black Label Society 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 Jonathan.[9]

Band members

Current members

  • Andrew Fidler – guitar, vocals (2005–present)
  • James May – drums, vocals (2005–present)

Current touring members

  • Corey Barhorst – bass/vocals (2014–present)

Former members

  • Jonathan Athon – bass, vocals (2005–2014) (died 2014)

Discography

Albums

EPs

Splits

Other appearances

Music videos

Year Title Director Album
2007 "Triumph Of The Wolves"[10] The Fallen Kingdom
2010 "Red Eyes, Black Skies"[11] Kevin Custer Taste the Sin
2013 "In Days Of Woe"[12] Tend No Wounds
"Truth Untold"[13] Brad Kremer

References

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  9. http://www.metalsucks.net/2014/12/10/black-tusk-will-continue-on-without-jonathan-athon-announce-european-tour-with-black-label-society/
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External links