Year in Rock 2011 Nominee: Red Fang

RED FANG
Wires

From: Murder the Mountains
Released: April 12

If you were wondering when the inevitable sludgy metal entry was going to make its first appearance this year, wonder no more. Making their recorded debut only two years ago, Red Fang have already turned a lot of heads in the metal community. After doing some small shows with the likes of Helmet and Crowbar, Murder the Mountains was released to critical priase.

Listening to Murder the Mountains, it's easy to see why. From cover to cover, its rocks hard; riffs are tasty, groove intact, heavy as fuck. It's as though the boys were sitting around one night sipping on a brew and listening to Melvins' classic Houdini, lamenting the fact that they didn't make albums like that anymore, when they suddenly realized that they could probably make an album like that. As it turns out, Murder the Mountains isn't quite up to snuff when compared to all-time sludge masters like Melvins, but be patient. This is their official debut album, after all. Once the band plays more shows and hones their skills, they'll unleash a true beast on us. Just ask Mastodon, who recently selected Red Fang as opening band on their fall tour. They didn't turn out Leviathan until album two, and just knowing the two bands are sharing space with each other on the road has me very excited for what Red Fang does next.

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