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An old school Stoner trek that journeys a little too far.-
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| Red Fang: Murder the Mountains |
Stoner Metal
Relapse Records
April 12th, 2011
- Malverde - 4:02
- Wires - 5:43
- Hank is Dead - 2:36
- Dirt Wizard - 2:58
- Throw Up - 6:22
- Painted Parade - 2:28
- Number Thirteen - 4:45
- Into the Eye - 3:59
- The Undertow - 5:02
- Human Herd - 3:52
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| Review Information |
Release length: 41:58
Review posted on April 12th, 2011
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| | Overall Score: 8/10 |
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| Discography |
Discography covers all information available up to day of review and is updated if future albums are reviewed. |
| Full-Length(s): |
Red Fang (2009) • Murder the Mountains (2011)
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| EP(s): |
Tour E.P. 2 (2007)
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| Split(s): |
Malverde / Favorite Son (2008)
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| CD Single(s): |
Prehistoric Dog (2009) • Witness (2009) • Wires (2011)
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| Review |
There seems to be a rather large explosion in the Stoner Rock and Metal scenes as of late since artists like Mastodon and High on Fire have broken through, making it possible for bands of this style, as well as Sludge and Doom Metal styles, to be noticed moreso by a mainstream audience, and not just fans of Metal. Since then, the Stoner style has found it's way into all sorts of different music styles, as well as has a strong, growing foundation in the underground Black Metal scene. But, it of all these bands and all these new approaches to the style, the ones that really seem to stand out are the ones who bring it back to the roots of the style, which is exactly what Red Fang do, and with their second full-length recording, Murder the Mountains, it's obvious the band is both maturing musically, and has a pretty clear direction towards resuscitating the older Rock and Metal approaches to the style before the big boom this style is seeing.
Of course, there's no denying some of the more popular acts in the style have had an impact with the group. Murder the Mountains starts things off with a heavy traditional Stoner Metal track that takes on more of a Mastodon influence from the band's earlier era. The catchy, yet still heavy hook-driven music with simple lyrics and a harsher, stern vocal approach compared to the later clean singing style through much of the release really gives it a commanding and somewhat epic vibe for the style, and it's slower pace really allows the bass to shine with this recording. But, while this song feels like a much harsher call to arms for the band, the rest of the release seems to play out like more like an old-school Stoner Rock release, which is easily this band's strong point.
"Wires" immediately brings things into a completely different direction, and it's hard to sit back and not be impressed. The song is simply infectious from the moment it starts, and the clean singing vocals work perfectly with the track, supported nicely by the sixties-era keyboards to further push the old-school Rock sound, coming with a vibe of bands like Pink Floyd, but at the same time with a bit of a more melodic easy going feel of The Beatles. Granted sometimes the music can become a little dull, like "Hank is Dead" which feels the same way Hank probably feels, being a rather lifeless track that takes thing a bit too mainstream and almost departs from a Stoner Rock vive completely. Luckily that hiccup isn't really repeated again, and the band actually manages to take the sterner music of "Malverde" and mix it with the more Rock oriented material of tracks like "Wires" on some of the songs that follow. "Throw Up", the longest track on the album, clocking in at six and a half minutes, really takes the best of both worlds here and places them nicely for the listener. The music has a good deal of heaviness and intensity to it, again allowing the bass to shine through and make a good impression, and the clean vocals mixed with those harsher ones sound great. The closing to the song, however, feels a little more early nineties popular Rock, coming off more like something you would expect from "Guerilla Radio" by Rage Against the Machine. It's not bad, as the band does let it face, but then it just feels awkward when the band comes back with the repeating simple guitar chord being performed untilt he song ends normally.
There isn't much to be said about this album in a negative fashion other then "Hank is Dead" being a rather weak track. In the long run, each track on here is really enjoyable, and often offers a large degree of a unique sound to it. Sometimes the tracks can feel a little similar of others on here, like "Number Thirteen" and it's early Stoner Rock foundation with clean singing and slight melody to the music similar to that of "Wires". Luckily, there's no real pattern being established here outside of some similar paced music, but the flow of the song seems a little different, and even feels a little harsher in comparison, but not by much. "Into the Eye" is another track like "Throw Up" which offers clean singing and harsher vocals, but it takes the slower pace of "Malverde", using chords to make it a little more full and drop the Mastodon element of the recording, making it unique enough to stand on it's own as well. The overall quality of the album is nice too, having more of a modern day sound to it, but just muddy enough to really take hold of the distortion on the guitar and just give it, the drums, bass, and even the vocals the extra kick that they need.
But, while the music is enjoyable, the main issue with the album is that the music itself sometimes just is not engaging. With the first listen, Murder the Mountains becomes an enjoyable experience, but there's not too special outside the band's stronger old-school Stoner Rock tracks, and some of the heavier Stoner Metal cuts. Aside "Hank is Dead", "Dirt Wizard" is a rather forgettable track with nothing all too fantastic to offer the listener, especially after the first time through thanks to a rather cliche approach to the music and coming off a little more generic then anything. "Human Herd" doesn't really feel like Stoner Rock actually, and feels more like a similar to the style vocal approach that sounds off-key, but housing music that one would expect to hear on an Alternative Rock radio station with a simple guitar solo that feels hollow against the bass, making for a rather weak closing track for the album compared to the promise that the band gives off on many other tracks here.
Red Fang shows plenty of potential on Murder the Mountains, and it's definitely worth giving it some time. Fans of Stoner Rock and Metal acts from the past and present will definitely find something on here to enjoy, but sometimes the music just isn't that interesting, or doesn't even really work with the album in the first place, being too far away from the source material. Either way, don't miss your chance to experience the glory of the Stoner styles that Red Fang brings to the table, as there's plenty of solid songs on here that will instantly bring a smile to the Metal fan's face, coupled with some that won't see a repeat play past the second, maybe third spin.
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Digital review copy of this release provided by:
Relapse Records.
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