Hailing from Savannah, GA the heavy metal band Black Tusk formed in 2005 when guitarist Andrew Fidler, Jonathan Athon and Jame May's respective hardcore punk bands dissolved. The three musicians, who were neighbors at the time, began jamming together consistently and recorded the EP When Kingdoms Fall as Black Tusk. The band self-released its debut album The Fallen Kingdom, in 2007 before signing with Hyperrealist Records who released the band's 2009 sophomore album, Passage Through Purgatory. As the band began to tap into its punk roots, its records began reflecting elements of hardcore punk and stoner metal for a sound that played on the strengths of different genres rather than fusing them together. Black Tusk released its fourth studio album Set the Dial, in 2011.
