The Banger Blast ⛧ The Black Tusk Interview ⛧
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The Black Tusk Interview
With Andrew Fidler (guitar, vox) & Sara Whizbanger
**Deep Gratitude to Will Yarbrough of Season of Mist for the connection, communication, and support!**
How do I kick off an interview I did with Black Tusk? Do I talk about my love for this band and how their music has scraped me off the floor when I needed it most? Or do I mention the joy I feel when I bear witness to a friend who’s hearing them for the first time, how they might listen in a kind of stillness a metalhead has, that rocking back and forth, the nodding, the smile that starts quietly and ends in a, “Fuck yeah!!”
I have been a fan of Black Tusk since I first caught wind of them in 2010. I was living in Seattle then, and the Funhouse hadn’t yet relocated to El Corazon, but it was one of my favorite venues for live music. Dark, small, low-ceilinged, sweaty. The stage was maybe two feet off the ground, so watching a band play was intimate, like you were having a conversation with them. I went for Weedeater and gained a new love in Black Tusk (I can’t even remember who else played). Since Taste The Sin was released on Relapse Records in 2010, my love for this swampy, sludgey band from Savannah, Georgia, with its punk rock roots and devastatingly gorgeous lyrics full of honest emotion, grief, and what it’s like to walk this misbegotten rock we’re on, has only deepened. When I got to interview them through their now-label Season of Mist (thanks in full to Will Yarbrough for making this happen), I may have let out a yelp.
I was invited to attend one of their shows last month in Mezzago, Italy, but was called back to the States. (Incidentally, I also missed my friends’ band, Savage Master, in Colmar, France, because our unexpected departure happened on the day they played!) That was a gut punch, but sometimes life happens to you. You roll with it.
Like many bands I love, Black Tusk is not in my immediate circle of friends, though after this interview with Andrew Fidler, I feel like I’ve gained a close acquaintance. We are six (or less) degrees away from one another, as is the norm in our community of The Small & Mighty. As I read back his responses, I wanted to know more. I wanted to crack a beer and laugh, share stories, and do what we do as folks drawn to a similar energy, sight, and sound do best.
Black Tusk’s latest release, The Way Forward (April 26th, 2024, Season of Mist), is their seventh studio album. It marks a new era for the band, six years after T.C.B.T.’s 2018 (Taking Care of Black Tusk on Season of Mist) release that explored the contents of grief, continuing to pick up the pieces after the loss of their bandmate, bassist Jonathan Vincent Athon in 2014. That death reeled the community. Following Athon’s untimely death at thirty-two, the band released Pillars of Ash (2016, Relapse Records), the last album Athon would play on. Two years later, an album of healing with T.C.B.T. and a six-year break until this year’s The Way Forward.
This year’s album is not without change, with a revitalized lineup and the addition of a second guitarist, Chris “Scary” Adams, and a new bassist, Derek Lynch, who adds vocals to the track “Brushfire.” Lynch replaced Corey Barhorst (BT 2014-2020 and Kylesa 2002-2007 & 2008-2011). “Scary” Adams recorded, mixed, and produced the album at his studio, Hidden Audio. The Way Forward is the first Black Tusk album with four members.
Fidler founded Black Tusk with Athon and James May, BT’s drummer; like each member, Andrew is a driving force behind the band, and in this interview for The Whizbanger Show’s Banger Blast, he guides us through The Way Forward’s themes, drawing inspiration from the band’s collective challenges in life, which are always relatable. The album’s signature raw energy and sound are amplified by the band’s continued commitment to their unique all-in-vocal approach, with each member contributing to dynamic vocal textures. It reminds me a bit of Neurosis’s The Word As Law and Pain of Mind, and if you listen closely, you’ll hear what I mean. That punk texturing and this killer call-and-response the band members do reminds me of that old classic from my Bay Area pals. The Way Forward is a testament to Black Tusk’s enduring power, resilience, and ability to reinvent themselves while sounding like no one else (also not dissimilar to Neurosis, but I digress).
In this interview, Andrew Fidler offers a deep dive into the band’s identity and history, noting how much of the band’s raw intensity comes from a punk attitude and focus on crafting powerful riffs over technical complexity. Growing up in Savannah’s vibrant music scene in the 90s organically shaped their sound and the DIY community ethos. The band members all have punk backgrounds, which influences their DIY ethic and approach to writing music together.
The Way Forward explores themes of loss and perseverance, mirroring the band’s journey. Fidler also notes how the music industry’s shift towards streaming presents challenges in how their music is consumed, particularly with the rise of single tracks over cohesive albums (and I concur - The Way Forward is best digested from front to back all at once). Despite these (and other) industry challenges, Black Tusk has cultivated a dedicated fanbase for over 20 years and demonstrates their love and connection with their audience.
Photo by Adriana Ira Boatwright
Black Tusk plans to continue writing, recording, and touring. Members are also involved in side projects, including recording and digital music creation. The interview also uncovered some fun facts, like a disastrous Waffle House experience, their preference for DNA Lounge as a Bay Area venue (side note: my husband went to that show in my stead. I was in Ohio), and their appreciation for the support artists receive while touring Europe.
Thanks ever so much (again) to Will for the hook-up and to Andrew Fidler, original member, guitarist, and vox for Black Tusk, for answering my questions. And away we go. Please enjoy.
Oh, before I forget to mention. Favorite track: Lift Yourself.
Sara Whizbanger: Black Tusk has been called “sludge metal,” but you refer to your sound as “swamp metal.” Tell me about the difference and how you labeled your sound as such.
Andrew Fidler: This is a tricky one because nobody really knows what to call us. We don’t fit neatly into one subgenre of metal, I think. This started happening early on in our career; that’s why we started referring to it as swamp metal. Mainly because we hail from a low-lying area with a heavy atmosphere if you will; we grew up punk, listened to metal, appreciated all kinds of music, and kind of brewed it all together, and the swampy result was our sound.
People call it sludge metal, I guess, because there are most certainly slow parts in our songs, and I feel our older catalogue has a good amount of slower-tempo songs. Perhaps these days, I would say that we are more akin to a punk metal sound than a sludge metal sound. We also catch the stoner and doom labels, not sure about that one, haha. But I would say that within our sound is something for everyone. I think we are appreciated by lovers of heavy music all across the spectrum, and that’s why we can play with anyone and fit on any festival.
Ultimately, I would just ask that people listen and form their own opinions rather than take mine or anyone else’s word for what sub-genre of metal we fit in.
Sara Whizbanger: Your music is raw, visceral, and (for me, anyway) in its own undefined energy. Can you talk about where that intensity comes from musically and personally?
Andrew Fidler: It's a punk attitude that comes across in our music, I think. For me personally, I want to focus on the riffs and building a feeling and a mood with the music, maybe not so much on the math and technical side of things. I feel like people go home with riffs stuck in their heads, not solos. We do have some incredible guitar work on the new record now, thanks to Scary and Derek's amazing contributions to the songwriting process. But back to your question, the intensity comes from our own emotions and angst; it's what made us punks when we were young, and that devotion to music has carried on.
SW: Loss and grief are recurring themes in your lyrics. How has life experience shaped your music and your creative process?
AF: Well, life is a series of ups and downs you know. Being an artist, if you will, music has given us the creative platform to deal with our emotions and process losses and gains and life experiences. Being that we play heavy music, we can explore and process the darker aspects of life and death and addictions and betrayals, and the human experience in general. And yes, most of the lyrical content of our songs is pulled from life experiences, both first-hand experiences and observations.
SW: I have read that The Way Forward reflects the band’s journey through loss and perseverance, especially with getting this album completed and out the door. Can you share a specific moment during the songwriting or recording process that embodied a moment (or moments) where you may have felt some catharsis that kept you going?
AF: There were no issues getting this record completed and out the door. We had a difficult time getting Pillars of Ash completed. It came out 2 years after we recorded it. TCBT was a struggle to write as some of us were dealing with personal demons in the wake of Athon’s death, and if it wasn’t for the perseverance of Corey [Barhorst], that record might not have ever happened.
For The Way Forward, we were in the beginning stages of writing when COVID happened and Corey left the band, and Derek joined. James [May] moved to Athens, and the rest of us stayed in Savannah. My construction company helped Scary build a professional recording studio on his property, and we traveled back and forth between Savannah and Athens, and we got this record done over the course of the 2 years in COVID world. Logistics were the only hurdle for this record. Musically, the 4 of us locked in and created what I think is our best record to date. Now, for clarification, I also love all the old records. Each one is a snapshot of where we were musically and creatively in a certain period of time. To compare one to the other wouldn’t do any of them justice.
SW: What prompted the band's decision to have two guitarists on this album, and how has the experience influenced the overall sound of Black Tusk?
AF: Scary has been a long-time collaborator with Black Tusk. He has recorded pre-production for every recording from Taste the Sin to the present and he recorded both TCBT and The Way Forward. During the TCBT sessions, Corey and I wrote and recorded the guitars for two guitar players, and after the record was released, Scary joined the band to tour the record and has been a member ever since. And with The Way Forward, Scary and Derek, and I REALLY wrote the record for two guitars. Also, for our live sets, we have gone back and reworked old songs to accommodate 2nd guitar.
It's funny, Derek is actually the best guitar player in this band, haha and he wrote several leads and many riffs on this record. It has added layers and a fullness to our sound that I love.
Photo by Adriana Ira Boatwright
SW: Savannah has an incredibly rich musical history. How has your hometown influenced your sound and sense of community as a band?
AF: We came into the scene as teenagers in the 90s, with our punk bands. Savannah has been home to some amazing bands. When we were growing up, we had bands like DAMAD and Tank 18 which are big influences on me, and a slew of other local and regional heavy and punk bands. You got to remember, this was before the internet was a thing, so it was all word of mouth and zines like Slug and Lettuce and Maximum Rock n Roll and friends who had punk distros to get our music.
So, throughout the South, we built this incredible community of venues and show trades to keep things growing and reaching new ears. It was another time; I don’t know if something like what we had could really exist today. It’s all changed (picture an old man shaking his fist at the sky, hahaha). Now, we are the old scene veterans in Savannah, haha.
SW: For all of you, please tell me about your love for music growing up. Black Tusk is unique, and even with the addition of Chris “Scary” Adams on the second guitar, you still have your own vibe. I really want to know which of you were punks growing up. (Full disclosure: I grew up in the Bay Area in the 1980s, and I always want my favorite bands to be old punks because we were all punks when I grew up. And then crossover was born!)
AF: Well, you are in luck because we all grew up punk haha. Athon and I came up as this mixture of street punk and crust punk, and our first band together, Hammurd Shit, was like a dystopia meets Discharge kind of band, I guess. We were definitely of the Crust Punk side of things. James came up a metal head and a street punk. He had a straight-up street punk band called The Bricks and a big green mohawk. Scary grew up in Virginia playing in music in bands influenced by Avail and Strike Anywhere, things like that. Derek is a little bit younger than the rest of us and came up playing in hardcore and garage punk bands.
SW: The music industry has changed dramatically since you started (even more so since COVID). What are the biggest challenges and opportunities you face as a band today?
AF: The music industry today is absolutely NOTHING like it was when we started. Not a single thing is the same, haha. We are a legacy band at this point, the last of the bands that existed (and among the last that still exist) before everything changed with streaming and the internet. It's funny, if you look at our top songs on Spotify, which are chosen by the algorithm, we have nothing to do with it; they are all instrumental songs. Those instrumental songs were written as the intros to records, which were all written to be played as an entire piece of music that goes together, not as songs to be streamed individually. But now that everyone consumes music digitally, those are the first tracks on the record, and when someone is clicking their way through a catalogue, 90% of the time, they are gonna play the first song, which just so happens to be an instrumental, haha. So, in writing this new record, we still wanted it to go together as one piece of music but also be chopped apart for streaming, with every song able to stand on its own.
Photo by Adriana Ira Boatwright
SW: You've cultivated a dedicated fan base. What does that connection with your audience mean to you, and how do you nurture it?
AF: 2025 is going to make 20 years of Black Tusk. We’ve had younger bands come to us on tour and tell us how [our] early records influenced them to create music, start bands, and go on tour. Some of those bands are bigger than us now, haha. It's very heartwarming to hear that something I have dedicated the majority of my life to, I'm 42 years old, has brought joy and creativity to other generations. At our shows now, most of our fans are our age, haha. It's like we’ve watched the audiences grow up as they’ve watched us grow up! Hopefully, this new record will connect with the younger generation, and we will get a new wave of fans to join our older ones. We’ve always said as long as people keep listening and people keep coming to shows, we will keep creating music and touring.
SW: What's next for Black Tusk? Are there any new projects or creative explorations on the horizon for the band or projects for any of you independently?
AF: What’s next? We plan on writing and releasing more music and continuing to tour. Scary has a recording studio, Hidden Audio, where he records bands almost full-time. Derek creates digital music under the name Kola Hak, which you should 100% check out.
Photo by Adriana Ira Boatwright
Fun questions because life is too fucking serious:
AF: What’s the weirdest food story from a Black Tusk tour?
AF: Food story….Hmmm… there was this one time a long time ago that we were eating at a waffle house after a night of partying, which was not uncommon in the early days, haha, and James ordered a chop steak and eggs. Now, for those of you who don’t know what a chop steak is, it's ground beef, and he orders it rare. I remember the waitress gave him a look of “that’s really the way you want it” and then puts the order in. It comes to the table as basically a raw hamburger patty hahaha! It was so gross. James did not eat it, and he didn’t send it back b/c he said that’s what I ordered, wtf was I thinking? Hahaha!
SW: What is your favorite venue to play in the Bay Area?
AF: Of the venues in the Bay Area that are still around, I would say the DNA Lounge is top-notch.
SW: Who controls the playlist on the road?
AF: Whoever wants to.
SW: What’s the weirdest gift a fan has given you?
AF: mmm I dunno, I can’t really think of anything.
SW: What is each band member’s favorite band outside of punk and metal?
AF: It's hard to say. We all listen to lots of different stuff, and I can’t say anyone has a “favorite” band, really.
SW: Do you know any show tunes? What are they, and would you play them live?
AF: No.
SW: Do you have any tour rituals?
AF: Waiting until the last minute for everything, haha.
SW: What’s the first thing you do when you get home from tour?
AF: Kiss my kids.
SW: What’s your favorite country to tour and why?
AF: All of Europe. I feel that being an artist on the road is more supported and appreciated in Europe. There are government-funded programs for it. The US is also great for fans, but not so renown for its hospitality to touring bands, haha.
SW: Where have you had the best pizza?
AF: Pizza gives me heartburn now, haha. But the best pizza is in Savannah, GA, at Vinnie Van GoGo’s.
Bonus stuff:
SW: Anything else you want to share?
AF: Go get The Way Forward however you can, look out for new music in 2025, and thanks for reading my rambles, haha! See you on the road.
Very cool interview! And rare chop steak sounds horrible, haha