Review & photos by Andrew Bansal
November 20th 2016, Teragram Ballroom, Los Angeles CA: Portland, Oregon stoner metal group Red Fang have hardly put a foot wrong since their 2005 inception, establishing themselves further as heavyhitters of the genre with every album and tour. Following up their stellar efforts on the 2009 self-titled debut, ‘Murder The Mountains’ (2011) and ‘Whales And Leeches’ (2013), Red Fang released their fourth LP ‘Only Ghosts’ via Relapse on October 14th 2016, and embarked on a four-week North American headline tour in November to present new and old material live, with support acts Torche and Whores. The tour started in California and arrived at the Teragram Ballroom in downtown Los Angeles on November 20th. On a chilly, rainy night, it seemed like Red Fang had brought the flavor of their hometown with them, but the weather did not deter heavy music lovers from congregating at the venue in anticipation of a deafening barrage of riffs from these three bands.
Atlanta, Georgia sludge trio Whores. began proceedings with a 30-minute set of ultra-heavy jams that got this audience perfectly warmed up for what was to follow. The band played in the LA area last year at Los Globos on a tour with Retox, formed a great first impression then, and put on an even better show here, on a much bigger stage and in front of a larger crowd, predominantly of first-timers. Their debut full-length ‘Gold’ came out this year via EOne Music and was well-represented in this set. The trio of Christian Lembach (vocals, guitar), Casey Maxwell (bass) and Donnie Adkinson (drums) locked in together and laid down a deadly onslaught that instigated several mosh pits and shook the very foundations of this building. They could very well be described as a stripped-down Red Fang, and as a result, were right up the alley for this crowd. An ideal opening act for this lineup, and yet another group of heavy perpetrators from Atlanta that will be seen and heard a lot more in the foreseeable future.
Next up were Miami, Florida stoner/sludge group Torche, who’ve been in existence longer than Red Fang, are admired and respected by listeners as well as fellow musicians, and are just as influential, with four albums that each broke new ground in this style of music. In comparison to Whores., Torche brought forth a more melodic element, thanks to vocalist/guitarist Steve Brooks’ singing talents, and it even lends them a poppy, post-metal vibe to their sound, which forms an enjoyable contrast with the heavy riffs and ear-piercing rhythm section. Their set gained momentum as it went on and gradually garnered the appreciation of this audience, the heavy breakdowns as well as fast melodic passages institaing mosh pits that only kept getting bigger. This band was formed by Steve Brooks after Floor split up, but despite Floor’s reunion in 2013, Brooks has continued Torche with unwavering focus, as evident from the latest album ‘Firestarter’ (2015). Led by a legend of the genre in his own right and backed by solid musicians, Torche is a band that is incapable of delivering anything less than an excellent live show, and performance proved as much.
And at 10:55, after the stage was aptly set for them by two perfect opening acts, Red Fang came and conquered Los Angeles all over again with an all-killer, no-filler show that delivered the best of the new album ‘Only Ghosts’ as well as hard-hitting selections from the back catalog in an expertly compiled 14-song set. With so many bands resorting to ampless/direct input methods for their stage setup nowadays, the beauty of the old-school amplified live sound has become all the more profound, and Red Fang is as much of a favorable example for it as one could imagine. With their simple, tried and tested ways of real amplification, they’re able to achieve the cleanest, heaviest and loudest live sound as compared to any other stoner rock/metal band in existence, and with a minimal setup, they achieve maximum output. In a live setting, this is how they do full justice to the musicianship they exhibit on their albums, but at the same time also adding the extra dimension that makes the live show worthwhile and not just sounding like a mere recreation of the studio recordings. Red Fang has come through Los Angeles several times over their career thus far, and regardless of the venue, their sound is always top-class. The Teragram Ballroom was treated to much of the same quality from these heavy music geniuses, and basked happily in it.
With guitarist Bryan Giles and bassist Aaron Beam hammering away flawlessly on their instruments and both delivering powerful lead vocals while doing so, plus guitarist David Sullivan and drummer John Sherman also doing a mighty fine job, Red Fang was in its element and this audience witnessed the very best from this quartet. Mosh pits were at their most intense during this set, as expected, and pleny of participants even indulged in crowd-surfing and stage-diving, but for the most part, doing so with proper etiquette. ‘The Smell Of The Sound’ and ‘The Deep’ were standout tracks from ‘Only Ghosts’, while ‘Blood Like Cream’ and ‘Malverde’ were highlights amongst the older material.
By Aaron Beam’s own admission, this crowd did not just “stand around with arms folded, like LA crowds are supposed to”, and certainly gave the band the response their performance deserved. The packed house at the Teragram had its attention glued to the stage for the entire set, and rightly so, as this Red Fang set can be worthily deemed as the epitome of superlative stoner rock.
More Red Fang photos:
Red Fang set list:
01. Wires
02. No Air
03. Malverde
04. Crows in Swine
05. Blood Like Cream
06. The Deep
07. The Smell of the Sound
08. Flies
09. Cut It Short
10. Sharks
11. Hank Is Dead
12. Throw Up
Encore
13. Dirt Wizard
14. Prehistoric Dog
Remaining Tour Dates:
11/25/2016 – Austin, TX @ Mohawk
11/26/2016 – Dallas, TX @ Three Links
11/27/2016 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Studio
11/29/2016 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade (Hell)
11/30/2016 – Durham, NC @ Motorco
12/01/2016 – Washington, DC @ Rock and Roll Hotel
12/02/2016 – Philadelphia, PA @ Underground Arts
12/04/2016 – Boston, MA @ The Sinclair
12/05/2016 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
12/07/2016 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Spirit Lounge
12/08/2016 – Cleveland, OH @ Beachland Ballroom
12/09/2016 – Detroit, MI @ El Club
12/10/2016 – Chicago, IL @ Metro
12/11/2016 – Bloomington, IL @ Castle Theater
12/13/2016 – Denver, CO @ Bluebird Theater
12/14/2016 – Salt Lake City, UT @ Urban Lounge
12/15/2016 – Boise, ID @ Neurolux
12/16/2016 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox