As the ice cold winds howl around Norway, working its way through the icy fjords and snow covered mountains, the distinct, voracious stoner sound of Siberian Tusk was born. As a result of these warring environments around them, Siberian Tusk have crafted an engaging stoner rock sound with the grit, edge and chaos of punk rock. Slowly but surely creating a sound that is packed with tension and raw power, the band’s second album Reapers By Trade is an album drenched in creative aggression that is full of vigour and boldness. Building on the foundations that their debut album Save My Soul laded down, Siberian Tusk have become the architects of their own unique brand of stoner that has been continually invested in and developed over the space of the last six years.
Reapers By Trade is packed full of ball busting, gritty, rough edged riffs. A straight to the point white knuckle ride from start to finish incorporating classic elements of the bluesy stoner grooves that we all know and love with a new fuzz fuelled punk edge. In some areas, there are some similarities between Siberian Tusk and their Danish equivalents in Bersærk. With a tendency to lean on a thick, overdriven sound with memorable anatomic riffs set between hulking chugged chords and emphasised with behind the beat grooves, it would be fair to believe that there is something in the deep blue waters of the North Sea that both bands drink with a healthy thirst. The old school punk influences definitely gives this album a distinct charm and edge, but as the band also create across various genres outside of Siberian Tusk, this plethora of influence comes together and pushes and pulls the music into previously unknown areas. Reapers By Trade has a unique sting to it, as if it is taking part in the divine disciplinary and devotional practice of self-flagellation. Through grimacing teeth comes furious vocals that captivate as well as strike fear into the listener’s heart, as the raw aggression bursts its way through vocalist Begil’s lips. This devotion to this vehement sound works in the band’s favour throughout the first half of the album.
The first half of the album starts off with a band, bursting into ‘Rich & Poor’ after a cacophony of strangely processed feedback loops. The song’s catchy chorus is anthemic and will take on the ear worm role long after the album is finished. ‘Goes Around’ has a heatwave desert vibe very reminiscent of the more ominous Clutch songs. As it slowly builds it beats down harder than a midday Sahara sun. ‘Fucked Up’ is a dark and aggressive track that discusses the consequences of some unknown poor behaviour. After ‘Reaper Blues’ the album seems to run out of steam and lose its footing. As the momentum shifts to slower songs you are eagerly anticipating that fast paced kick to come back in but instead the album seems to re-tread the ground it has already covered on the rest of the album. Whilst there is some glimpses of a Black Sabbath influence being put to good use, the last three songs seem to blend into one with no discernible difference between them. That being said, Reapers By Trade is a solid stoner rock album and does exactly what it says on the tin, big riffs and gnarly grooves.
Whilst it would be unfair to say that this album has suffered sophomore syndrome, by comparison to its predecessor it felt a bit lacking in some areas. Even so, Siberian Tusk have put in some solid groundwork to experiment more with their sound, and progress further on their quest to put a punk edge into stoner rock.