Author: Primož Novak
Artist: Red Fang
Label: Relapse Records
Release: year_month
Runtime: 41:27
Rating: 3/5
With their first two albums, the American stoner metal quartet Red Fang drew plenty of attention mainly thanks to their comedic music videos, while the music itself wasn’t anything innovative in a scene that’s oversaturated these days. Two years after the successful Murder The Mountains, which they promoted on countless tours, the time has come for the third studio effort, which they’ve named Whales And Leeches.
The drunk and stoned quartet hasn’t strayed from the course they set with their previous albums this time around. Still, third time’s the charm, they say, but it can also be a stumbling block. With a lot of bands, the third album is where the lack of ideas shows, which is why the general reaction tends to be weaker. Red Fang start off by hitting us with some slightly faster tracks like Doen, Blood Like Cream and No Hope, where the heavy stoner riffs stand out and flirt with punk too. You have to give it to Red Fang: they know how to write fast songs. Here they still hold on to a certain originality that’s been there since their self-titled debut. It’s the slower songs where things stumble, and they never really get to shine.
The closer we get to the end of the album, the more it feels like the band has lost its way, because there are simply too many dreamy tracks. The bright spot among the slower songs is the more sludge-leaning Dawn Rising, which features guest vocals from Mike Scheidt of the renowned sludge outfit YOB. It has a slow, morbid sludge rhythm section with an interesting tempo shift that makes the track compelling, in the vein of some slow Black Sabbath number. But after Dawn Rising, Red Fang don’t offer anything that really grabs you. Plenty of the songs could simply be written off as filler. If nothing else, Red Fang have at least kept the authentic sound that defines a genre built around a more »organic« sonic aspect.
It’s hard to say whether Red Fang were under pressure from the label or the studio, but this time they didn’t live up to expectations. Whales and Leeches is just one more release that could easily get lost in an already overcrowded scene. Red Fang could undoubtedly have taken more time to make something that stands out more. And if worse comes to worst, they’ll just shoot another comedic music video …
Lineup
Bryan Giles – guitar, vocals
Aaron Beam – bass, vocals
David Sullivan – lead guitar
John Sherman – drums
Production
Chris Funk
Tracklist
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
12. Murder The Mountains (bonus)
13. Black Water (bonus)
