Am I the only one who doesn't hear the comparisons to The Jesus Lizard that Black Elk has received from a handful of reviewers? I'm not saying that makes it a bad album, but besides a few isolated pieces of songs here and there, saying that this sounds like The Jesus Lizard is kind of a stretch.
What I do hear is maybe a bit of The Melvins and late-era Black Flag filtered through a crunchy metallic sheen that helps some songs ("Toss You to the Wolves" and "Baby Liver") and hurts others ("My Lil" and "Eyebone"). The only thing that comes to mind that I can really liken to the sound of Black Elk, and this may not make sense now so bear with me, is what The Bled would sound like if they shed their trendy tendencies and went noise punk. Mostly for the better but sometimes for the worse, that same kind of swagger is present here.
This brings me to the vocals. The screaming that shows up from time to time seems kind of strained and out-of-place. This guy's other, more burly and The Melvins-inspired vocal style works much better and fortunately it's prominent in some of the songs.
The guitar parts on the album are generally interesting and even intriguing in some places, but occasionally chug off into nowhere. Fortunately, the more inspired moments make up for it. And no matter what the guitarist is playing, it's served up raw and meaty. But with this kind of music, that's just plain mandatory. There is some noodling, but it's pretty sparse. Black Elk are more about straight-ahead riffing. Unfortunately, the bass doesn't shine through too well most of the time, but when it does, it's good and gnarly.
Another thing I have to mention is the artwork for this album. It looks totally badass, and if nothing else, is eye-catching too. The general aesthetics of Black Elk are in the right place, and I can hear what they are aiming for sonically, but it hasn't been fully realized yet. A year down the road I would love to hear an epic, gnarly masterpiece full of guitar raunch and crazed vocals from Black Elk. I know they have it in them; we've just got to wait for the delivery to catch up with the ideas they are hatching.
