Red Fang Are the Cleanest Sludge Band Live I’ve Ever Heard

We don’t often post live sets, but this one was just too good to pass up. Taken from the band’s performance at last year’s Brutal Assault Festival in the Czech Republic, this clip catches the band at the tail-end of their touring cycle for 2013’s Whales and Leeches.

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While “Red Fang pro shot” should be enough to get your mouth watering, I do want to draw attention to a few, related, aspects of the band’s performances. First, they sound shockingly good, and not just because the audio sources have been well-treated. Festivals can often cripple bands due to unfamiliar, hostile acoustics and short set-up/soundcheck times – especially those like Red Fang who are more accustomed to clubs and mid-size venues. And when you have a band like Red Fang who tune low, play a bit on the sloppier chop side, and have every stringed instrument fully distorted (including bass), that sound can often get mucked up.

Which leads me to my second point: they sound this good because the band is tight. They’ve really figured out a great balance in terms of levels and dynamics between each instrument. And this isn’t an isolated incident – I saw them play at the notorious vampire-hipster den 285 Kent in Brooklyn a few years ago, a converted warehouse/giant tin can that had dreadful acoustics, and they managed to make even that room sound great.

So enjoy some tunes from the show, including “Malverde,” “Crows in Swine,” and “Blood Like Cream,” below:

Written by

Max is managing editor of Gear Gods.

Latest comments
  • That level of musicianship only comes with age. I don’t care what anybody says, but IMO, heavy metal musicians really hit their prime in the late thirties-early forties. There is no substitute for experience.

    • maybe, if they survive till that age :)

  • That beard looked quite nasty imo.

  • this is really good if you’re nice and toasty, otherwise it’s kind of lackluster.

  • This is awesome. Is that a frankenstein sg with a fender neck? Whatever he’s playing, I love it.

    • I read somewhere on the internets that it’s some Fender Mustang model that’s been sanded down and modified.

  • That, kids, is called “the pocket”.

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