Constructive Criticism: Black Tusk
Skot Rudy is the bassist of Blood and Ink metalheads Debtor. He also is a good writer who has a lot of appreciation for good music (especially of the metal, hardcore, and country persuasions). Check out what he has to say about Relapse recording artists Black Tusk… the good, the bad, the ugly. Skot gave the album 2.5 of 5 stars… too bad we do our ratings out of 10 here sonny boy! Get with the program Skot… everyone else get with the reading!
The South kinda creeps me out: thick accents, fried food, confederate flags, alligators, and stoner metal. That being said, I was a little uneasy pressing the play button to start this album knowing Black Tusk comes right from the thick of it all. After a few seconds of trembling over my curser, I embraced what lied ahead.
It started out well… a nice build up from the drums, and then all out energy from this self-proclaimed “sludgy” 3-piece. With a title of “Embrace the Madness” and energy that backed it up, I was excited for what was yet to come.
As Taste the Sin progressed from track to track the energy was constant and hard-hitting. Unfortunately, the consistent all-out energy lost the hype it had after first hitting the play button. After a few tracks, the songs started sounding the same and the latter half of the album was a complete blur. The album had no ups or downs, no highs or lows, and was completely one-dimensional. Sludge indeed.
To be fair, the parts are definitely better than the whole when it comes to Taste the Sin. Going back, each song stands pretty well by itself. If I heard this album in parts, one or two songs at a time, I probably would have the same excitement for it as I did when I first heard “Embrace the Madness”.
Recommendation to the band – If you want your energy to stick, stay with the EPs and splits. If you really feel the need to record full-length albums you need some more depth in your music.
Recommendation to listeners – The songs on this album would do great on a mix or shuffled in on your iPod.
either way, we can drive all night... 
DOH! I know that you use ten stars. I need to straighten up my act.
Also… I giggled when you called us “metalheads”.
I know, I giggled too!
I should have called you, a bunch of hardcore and metal fans with some lame country/western dude on bass.