Red Fang Hit A Sweet Spot On Fuzzy & Trudging ‘Arrows

Red Fang’s first full-length studio release in five years, Arrows, runs the gamut of metal subgenres as the Portland, OR quartet decided to record whatever they damn well wanted this go around. 

Hooking up again with longtime producer Chris Funk, the band (Bryan Giles – guitar, vocals Aaron Beam – bass guitar, vocals David Sullivan – lead guitar John Sherman – drums) kick off the record with weirdness immediately as “Take It Back” delivers an ominous bass-driven sparseness while offering with distant yells, leaving a haunting residue. The group plows through more expected sounds via mid-era Black Sabbath-inspired trudging “Unreal Estate” but they do not limit themselves to simply stoner rock trappings. 

While both the title track and the excellently titled “Fonzi Scheme” would fit snugly into that label, the band flashes acoustical/theatrical metal inspiration on “Why”, play with short bursts of hyped up-tempo/aggression for “Rabbits in Hive” and even give a nod to groove inspired nü-metal on the less successful “Two High”. The mashing “Dr. Owl” seems to try to combine all of the subgenres into one track while “Funeral Coach” chugs along before pressing down on the accelerator to wrap up the record. 

Having written and recorded the album pre-pandemic the group still touches on subjects we have become very familiar with over the last year. Aging, post-truth, relationships, even breathing through masks all get an airing lyrically as the distortion and drums pound the speakers.       

Everything from future horror movie soundtracks, to thrash blasts of rage, to smoky 70’s fuzz flows out of Arrows and while the overall result is a bit hit or miss, Red Fang returns back to their sweet spot; recording together for the simple love of playing heavy music.  

 

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