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
1.Anthology Of Dreams 2.Nightmare 3.Been Around Too Long 4.Yesterday's Trip 5.We Can Fly 6.Free 7.Delhi Blues 8.Ain't Got You
