I don’t quite recall which album I was listening to when this album showed up on my dashboard under the ‘also suggested for you’ section on Apple Music the other night, but I do remember adding it fairly quickly as I was digging whatever music I was listening to. There’s not a whole bunch of easily findable information on the band at a quick glance and search on the internet. Elias Hulk was an hard rock/prog rock/psychedelic rock band from England, which released only one album before splitting up some time after recording said album. According to a forum online (metalmusicarchives.com), the band recently reunited and is working on new material, but I can’t find any other information about the band. With the shroud of mystery around this band, I’m excited to give this album a listen. With that said, I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
“We Can Fly” starts out with some super fat, heavy clean bass getting the groove started. There’s already a super interesting heavier sound to it that’s somewhat reminiscent of the psychedelic sound of Geezer’s album, Groovy (2020). Oh wow, this is super sweet; the bass is almost like an engine as it spurs the song forward with some deep, low, fat, muddied notes – super sweet. The drums only add to the engine feel as they deeply rattle in the background, feeding more energy to the soundscape. The rest of the instrumentation comes in for some contrasting accentuations to the bass line at times, giving an interesting addition of different tastes to the flavor of the track. Oh wow, the rest of the instrumentation basically falls away for some super sweet extended drum breaks that seem to take hold of the listener as they continue. Oh wow, the feeling of resolution when the rest of the instrumentation comes back on is nearly tangible. This tune really grooves down low at times with the work from the drums and bass that reminds me of Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath, while the guitar work nearly has a playful whimsy which contrasts the rhythm section really nicely. Sweet track, and I’m excited to hear more.
“Nightmare” starts with some super high and chaotic energy that reminds me of other psychedelic progressive rock bands from the same time period. The bass has a really interesting fat and chunky distortion to the quick lines it lays down into the soundscape, almost like train tracks for the drums to drive the tune down. The song features the guitars a bit more than the first one, and with a really tasty psychedelic flavor as well. I’m super intrigued at this point. Sweet tune.
Oh wow, “Been Around Too Long” does a total turn from the chaotic energy for something a bit more laid back with a nearly melancholic sound from the vocals. Oh wow, this is super interesting, the band plays such a tasty blues-inflected clean, laid back jam, with some clean lead guitar that drops some really tasty notes into the soundscape while the rhythm guitar and bass fill the soundscape with some dream-like sounds, all as the drums have an almost airy quality that provides a lot of dynamic sound to the album so far. Great track.
“Yesterday’s Trip” has a bit of a chaotic start, which slowly takes form as the band has moved into the next movement on the album in this track that seems to be more on the psychedelic side of the scale than hard rock, though the prog rock elements serve as a nice meeting point for the hard rock and psychedelic rock genres in this track. Oh wow, I really dig the different movements in this song – the meandering solo guitar at the end of the track is super tasty. Super tasty track.
“Anthology of Dreams” starts out with some classic late 1960s psychedelic rock sounds featured prominently alongside a super fat, fuzzy bass guitar that drives forth the heaviness of the tune as the bass plays alongside the rhythm guitar and drums to keep the tune grooving forward. Oh wow, I’m really digging this track. The chorus in the track has a super tasty sound between the vocal performance and the reliable groove from the instrumentation, which almost reminds me of December’s Children a bit. Great track.
Oh wow, “Free” sounds like it’s almost a cover to an early lost tune by The Doors with the gentle percussion and the pseudo-raga feel of the slick and strange guitar work. Wow, the bridge changes up the feel to seemingly incorporate elements from earlier in the album to interconnect the songs even more. Wow, great tune.
Oh wow, “Delhi Blues” starts out with a bit of raga-inflected guitar work or possibly even a sitar, which plays an intricate raga movement with a bluesy tinge. Oh wow, the background instrumentation has a nearly drone-like quality with the quick, repetitive strumming from the rhythm guitar and bass guitar, while the drums sturdily make the track progress forward. Oh wow, this is sweet – this track feels like such a nice natural progression of the previous tune. The entire soundscape is encapsulated in this near-hypnotic playing of the different background instruments while you are further enveloped into the playing of the band. Great track.
“Ain’t Got You” starts out with a super groovy, fat, muddy, and bright bass while the guitar gently creates small waves across the surface of the soundscape. Oh wow, the rest of the instrumentation comes on really strong after a moment with some super tasty psychedelic flavors; there’s a super tasty shuffling beat from the drums, the guitars are dripping into the soundscape with the wah pedal work, an the bass guitar is grooving the tune along from the background. I really dig the vague distorted layer over the whole soundscape in this one, which sort of causes all of the instrumentation to seemingly blend together to an extent, while making the clearer notes all the sweeter when they occur. Really sweet track, and a great way to wrap up this album.
Wow, this album is pretty sweet. The band seems to take you on their own sort of journey that is a mix of hard rock, psychedelic rock, raga rock, and progressive rock, while keeping the songs feeling generally connected to one another throughout. There were times when one song would end and another would begin in such a way that they didn’t ever feel like separate tracks, only a slight change in a movement in one larger song – seemingly hard prog rock with some psychedelic and raga underpinnings and a pretty nice dynamic range as the genres shift a bit throughout the playing. If you dig heavier prog rock from the late 1960s or early 1970s, and you dig psychedelic rock, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the experience at least as much as I did.
-A