Red Fang

Murder the Mountains (Relapse)
By Mike Delano

Hey, isn’t that the freaky mutant from Sepultura’s Arise on the cover of this album? Who knew it was available for photo shoots – if I had only known I coulda saved a bunch of dough on my own band’s album cover (John Baizley doesn’t work for cheap)! There aren’t many other connections to draw between Red Fang and the Brazilian thrash legends, however: These Portland guys are solidly in the sludgy, fuzzy metal camp. Like any good band, though, simple categorizations don’t do them justice. The band’s two vocalists (guitarist Bryan Giles and bassist Aaron Beam) will take you back to the golden Oliveri years of Queens of the Stone Age. One minute, like on “Malverde” or “Into the Eye,” they’re stomping around the stage in full Mastodon/Clutch glory, but then the smoke clears, and on something like “Wires,” it’s a full-on Wolfmother modern retro revival. The best part? It all works, and once they drag your ass into the desert for a weed-induced vision quest on “The Undertow,” you’ll know the future is bright for these dudes.
(www.relapse.com)