Red Fang - Whales and Leeches (2013) [Gorgatz]

Red Fang - Whales and Leeches (2013) [Gorgatz]



- I N F O -

Formed in 2005, Red Fang from Portland, OR is the latest effort from long time bros and collaborators Bryan Giles (Last of the Juanitas, Party Time), Aaron Beam (Dark Forces, lachrymator), David Sullivan (Party Time, Facedowninshit, Shiny Beast) and John Sherman (Party Time, Bad Wizard, Trumans Water, All Night). The four have boiled down their disparate sounds to create the ONLY sound: RED FANG. Tour to Live.

Red Fang’s self-titled first album was received extremely well with the huge hit, Prehistoric Dog. Their second album, produced by Chris Funk and mixed by Vance Powell, Murder the Mountains was released in 2011 on Relapse Records. Red Fang undertook a full European tour in 2012 and released their full-length Whales and Leeches in October, 2013.

Oregonians Red Fang fall into this camp. This band of slightly-older dudes has been making music for years, but it seems only recently that the world has really began to embrace its sound. In the last few years, the band has toured with Mastodon, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Black Tusk, and more — both here in the States and abroad (Europe and Australia). And now, with third album Whales and Leeches, Red Fang may really be ready to take the next step up. Are the songs strong enough for worldwide domination? Let’s examine.

Opener “DOEN” starts off promising enough, with a fierce syncopated riff and building drum entrance, but once the song kicks in it feels a bit more typical than I was hoping. Nonetheless, this tune is relentlessly ripping, and a solid beginning to an album that most assuredly rocks aplenty, allbeit in a slightly humdrum fashion at times.

The next couple tracks, “Blood Like Cream” and “No Hope”, somehow seem to channel a punkier version of The Offspring in various melodies (especially in the choruses) — an influence that some may be overjoyed to hear represented, but not this guy. Red Fang are decidedly at their best when they embrace a mood and sense of purpose that doesn’t get in its own way with awkward progressions.

By the time we reach the middle chunk of songs the band hits a nice stride with an arresting run of powerhouse jams. Mastodonian ditty “Crows in Swine”, haunting anthem “Voices of the Dead”, and dissonant rocker “Behind The Light” are shining examples of how far Red Fang has come, and how diverse this outfit can truly be.

“Dawn Rising” brings it all together in a seven minute gem that touches upon several moods, from the peppy intro to the soulfully sludgy brooding Sabbath-y verse to the glimmer of hope offered in the momentarily major-key chorus to the thick headbanging groove laid down five minutes in — this one runs the gamut of heaviness.

“Failure” contains one of the most effective anthemic melodies and some of my favorite lyrics on the album. There is a nice display of group singing here (as there is on a few other key tracks), which serves to elevate the group’s sound to much more than just typical stoner metal. “1516″ returns to an edgier Mastodon Jr. status, although not as effectively as the aforementioned “Crows in Swine”. “This Animal” doesn’t do too much for me aside from a slightly fancy ending, but album closer “Every Little Twist” has a very nice laid-back, almost QOTSA vibe about it.

- T R A C K L I S T -

1. DOEN
2. Blood Like Cream
3. No Hope
4. Crows in Swine
5. Voices of the Dead
6. Behind the Light
7. Dawn Rising
8. Failure
9. 1516
10. This Animal
11. Every Little Twist

Bitrate: 320 k
Genre: Stoner
Subgenre: Stoner Metal
Size: 99.85 MB