One thing I’ve been having fun with is collecting the Exclusive vinyls offered at my local Record Store, Noble Records. Each month he generally has one or two releases that are exclusive to his store. Usually that means a colored variant of archival release. It has allowed me to branch out and listen to things I would normally never ever hear or get the chance to hear. And I will say, 90% of his releases I have found to be quite enjoyable and made me really appreciate a lot of these cult bands that seemed to fall by the wayside or discarded from this rock & roll business. I have reviewed two of these before and I thought, it is time to start diving in to more of this and do a review. So, here we are with one of those exclusives.

For this review, we are going to look at a band that had one album and was done. A One And Done band called Elias Hulk. The album was released in the UK sometime back in 1970. The band was originally called Alias the Hulk due to their love for Marvel Comics and The Incredible Hulk. Eventually the name was shorted to Elias Hulk. The band consisted of members James Haines (Bass), Bernard James (Drums), Neil Tatum (Lead Guitar), Granville Frazer (Rhythm Guitar) and Peter Thorpe (Lead Singer). And as far as sound, they are a cross between a heavy bluesy rock with some psychedelic hard rock mixed and some Eastern elements that add a cool uniqueness to their sound. And if that wasn’t enough, it is a little proggy as well. I would say that it is a pretty accurate as we definitely have some heavy moments and then some not quite so heavy, but all sounds are still rock and still kick ass.

The reissue is on Guerssen Records and let me tell you, they do a bang up job. Their releases are top notch with 180gram vinyl, spectacular packaging that his high grade A+. This particular release has an insert that tells the story of the band and they are informative and entertaining. They also included a poster inside of that crazy, kick ass album cover with Hulk surrounded by a couple naked deceased woman that I am assuming they made him angry and you won’t like him when he’s angry. The vinyl for this one is a strikingly beautiful red color and looks great spinning on the turntable. Enough of that, let’s get to the music.

SIDE 1:

The album starts out with “We Can Fly” and it is a monster. The dark, brooding bassline, the crunchy riffs and succulent drum beats let you know this is a band ready to rock. The vocals have an effect on them that are a little off putting at first, but end up feeling right at home among this monstrous playing. Plus, how many songs have a bass and a drum solo on the very first song. This is the way you open an album and let the world know that Elias Hulk is a total beast!

“Nightmare” brings us a real bluesy rock track with some nasty ass guitar playing and more heavy handed drumming. The strong, aggressive vocal delivery see this border on straight up metal. The song lives up to the title as it will haunt you afterwards, but in a good way. Love it.

They slow down, lay on the groove and deliver a brooding track called “Been Around Too Long”. But that brooding doesn’t last long as the tempo picks up, some organ comes in and the whole vibe changes on you as the bass line surrounds you mixed some cool guitar picking. It becomes wickedly psychedelic track and shows the band is far from one-dimensional. This is the most proggy song on the album to me as so many style changes.

Then get ready for the trip of your life as we get “Yesterday’s Trip” as they talk about their last acid trip. A wild rocking ride, a pure psychedelic trip and some find musicianship along the way. One of the gems of this album and one of the reasons this is one of my favorite Noble Record exclusives so far. Trippy to the end but such brilliant playing too!

SIDE 2:

“Anthology of Dreams” is up next and it is some more heavy psych playing and probably more trippy then the prior track. The bass on here is so dirty and cool. The song also has a cool bounce to the beat and will get that head moving. This is another song with some great percussion as well as there is so much going on in the background. There isn’t much singing, but what there is on point as Peter’s voice is perfect for this type of rock & roll and he really goes for it at the end. Another stellar track.

We get a bluesy intro with “Free” with some more stellar picking and such a killer bass groove. I love the playing on this album. Vocally, it is a little somber but Peter again is top notch as he sets the tone of the whole song. Then the tempo races forward with an almost galloping style then starts back over with that whole somber vibe.

With “Delhi Blues”, we get more of an Eastern musical styling with the effect put on the guitars. Really cool style change and a little trippy too. The bass and drums accompany to lay down the groove, but the guitar is the star here. An instrumental track that takes you across the globe stylistically. It is so unexpected and yet so welcomed.

And to end the album we get “Ain’t Got You” which is a rocking track that sees the boys turn it up a notch. You think, great a slow ballad, but no, it is explosive and a pure rocker. There is more wizardry on the guitar and that rhythm section is knocking your socks off. But wait, they change things up and bring us more proggy goodness. They slow it back down, the tempo changes and we get more of a dark, brooding vibe. But don’t fret it comes rocking back, but quickly fades out and is over. A very unexpected ending.

This album will keep you on your toes as you don’t know what will come next. Peter, James, Bernard, Granville and Neil take you on a wild ride of heavy psych, bluesy rock, heavy metal, Eastern style, prog rock goodness. The one thing I love about collecting the Noble Records Exclusives, is these little gems that pop up I would’ve never discovered and would’ve been worst for not having done so. These album have me visiting styles of music I never thought I would enjoy, but have found myself loving every minute of it and searching out more. There are so many unknown, undiscovered, cult classics out there we never hear and it is a shame. These archival reissues are great for finding these golden nuggets of goodness. Elias Hulk might’ve only had one album, but what an album it was. Some damn fine playing, great vocals and stylistically creative songs. It might not be for everyone, but for me, I’ll gladly take it. My Overall Score is a 4.5 out of 5.0 Stars as it isn’t perfect, but it is pretty damn close.