STRESSED ELEPHANT

A band hailing from my city, Bison is not the typical sort of metal band you could consider 'progressive.' The sound here is much more primal and riff-based then alot of other bands that are writing foward thinking material. Their recently released studio effort 'Dark Ages' proved that they could successfully blend the energy of 'have-good-times' stoner metal with the complex timbres and arrangements of progressive music. Being that 'Dark Ages' was one hell of a rocking album, it shouldn't be taken lightly when I say that the single it spawned ('Stressed Elephant') is a real monument to the band's strength and power.

Although this song (like all others on 'Dark Ages') is primarily fueled by Bison's self- described 'love of the riff,' there's alot other than sheer heaviness going on here. Whether it's the beautiful horn section that leads the intro, or the bluesy acoustic segue that leads out of the song, there's always something interesting going on. In any case however, those that will get the most out of 'Stressed Elephant' (and the rest of the album, for that matter) will be those that can appreciate the heavier, stripped raw side of metal that rarely peaks it's head into the progressive world.