вторник, 14 января 2014 г.

Elias Hulk - Unchained 1970

ELIAS HULK is a Heavy Prog band originating from Bournermouth,England. The band was founded by bassist Jim HAINES, drummer Bernard JAMES, guitarist Grenville FRAISER, vocalist Pete THORP, and guitarist Neil TATUM in the late 1960s. The quintet toured around Europe for a time before releasing their debut studio album, 'Unchained', a heavy blues-rock & Krautrock inspired session that did well mostly in Germany at the time. "Unchained" could perhaps be described as a cross between Cream and Sabbath with a dose of psych influence. Hard and sludgy rock with some trippy softer moments, not as overtly bluesy as Cream could be, and certainly less dark than Sabbath were, but with elements of both. The album starts off quite poorly with the first two tracks being repetitive, boring, and quite juvenile songwriting. "Been Around Too Long" has a strong Doors vibe to it, somewhat laid back, with delicate guitar work that is right out of the Robby Krieger playbook. Of course here we have real bass guitar, and it is wonderfully strong and up front in the mix. "Yesterday's Trip" is just thundering bass and drums riffing with guitar leads on top. "Anthology of Dreams" sort of combines the heavy blasting with somewhat lighter vocal verses, combining the two sides of the group. "Free" is quite the departure with light percussion behind nuanced dual guitar leads, one playing trippy chords with the other nicely soloing on slide, some good atmosphere here. "Delhi Blues" continues the most diverse part of the album with continued slide against an Eastern feel and a raga drumming style. HULK didn't last long after that, breaking up in 1971. The members went off to start, continue, and join various side projects.

Line-up / Musicians

Peter Thorpe/vocals
Neil Tatum/guitar
Granville Frazer/guitar
James Haines/bass
Bernard James/drums

Discography

Unchained 1970