Pillars of Ash

Personnel: Andrew Fidler (vocals, guitar, piano); James May (vocals, drums, percussion); Jonathan Athon (vocals).
Audio Mixer: Joel Grind.
Liner Note Author: Kim Kelly .
Recording information: Cloud City Studios, Portland, OR (10/2014); Falcon Studios, Portland, OR (10/2014).
Illustrator: Jacob Speis.
Photographer: Geoff Johnson .
The Motörhead/Melvins-loving, Savannah, Georgia-based stoner/sludge/punk metal unit's much anticipated sophomore studio outing, Pillars of Ash is a straight-up haymaker of an album; an oil-stained middle finger rising out of the brackish water of a swamp forest. The last Black Tusk offering to feature bass player Jonathan Athon, who passed away in November 2014 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident, the 11-track set is both workmanlike and punitive, and its charms are rank and crust-lined. Stand-out cuts like "God's on Vacation," "Black Tide," "Still Not Well," and "Desolation in Endless Times" are blast furnace-forged and spilling over with pit sweat, and what they lack in melody and nuance they more than make up for in pure, groove-laden hardcore goodness. Like their fellow Peach State decibel-pushers Baroness, who also had to overcome a bout with misfortune, Black Tusk have found that the best way to distill despair is via absolute volume, and Pillars of Ash is defiantly cacophonous. ~ James Christopher Monger