Top 5 On Friday – Ranking the 5 Red Fang albums

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · Published November 8, 2024 · Updated February 18, 2025

Red Fang is an American stoner rock/ metal band from Portland, Oregon. Formed in 2005, the band is composed of guitarist and vocalist Bryan Giles, bassist and vocalist Aaron Beam, guitarist David Sullivan and drummer John Sherman. I first heard the music of Red Fang when I obtained a copy of their 2008 Tour EP 2, released on Wantage Records. The CD contained five songs, four of which were included on their debut Self Titled album, and a cover song from the 70’s rock band Dust, called “Suicide”. I liked those songs a lot and have been following the band ever since. Red Fang are known for their heavy sound akin to early Mastodon and Baroness but with a more stoner groove. The band are incredible live and sound massive and tight. They are also known for their highly entertaining music videos in which I included some of them at the end of this post. Enjoy!

I am going to rank in order their five full length albums. Similar to my previous post about the Truckfighters (link here), these are my picks of my favorites from Red Fang. Nothing is absolute and can change but at this moment in time, this is where I rank their albums. Red Fang has never released a less than stellar record and this is only my opinion.

5. ARROWS

Red Fang’s fifth album Arrows was released in 2021. The songs are great but not as immediate or catchy as some of their others. The recording production sounded a little off on this one, in my opinion. However, I still enjoy this record a lot and periodically listen to it, every now and then. Some of my favorites tracks from Arrows includes :“Arrows”, “Two High”, “Fonzi Scheme”, “Rabbits In Hives”, “Dr. Owl”, and “Funeral Coach”.

4. WHALES AND LEECHES

Whales And Leeches was a breakthrough album for Red Fang. The band played live on David Letterman’s Late Show performing “Blood Like Cream” and I finally saw the band play live in December of 2013 after the record dropped. I played this album a bunch of times when it came out, often for my then five year old son, who loved it! Some of my favorite tracks on Whales And Leeches are: “Doen”, “Crows In Swine”, “Voices Of The Dead “, “Behind The Line”, “Dawn Rising”, and “Every Little Twist.”

3. ONLY GHOSTS

This album was released in 2016 and is fantastic! The production is great and the songs are catchy too. Red Fang experimented a bit with this recording and carved out a very viable sound with killer riffs and grooves, such as songs like “Cut It Short” and “Not For You”. Some of my other favorites include: “No Air”, “The Smell Of The Sound”, “I Am A Ghost”, and “Living In Lye.” The band was firing on all cylinders with Only Ghosts and I felt the album should have been more popular for the band.

2. SELF TITLED

By the time Red Fang’s Self Titled album came out, I was already familiar with the first four tracks because they were on the Tour EP. The full length album contains two EPs together to fill the record. The last six songs were new to me when I heard the full record but they were all great. Red Fang created one hell of a debut album with this one! “Prehistoric Dog” remains as one of the most brutal and high energy songs from the band and they still usually close their live sets with that song, for good reason. It’s freaking awesome! Some of my other favorites are: “Reverse Thunder”, “Night Destroyer”, “Good To Die”, and Bird On Fire”. It’s a heavy and colossal record that started it all for the band.

1. MURDER THE MOUNTAINS

Murder The Mountains, released in 2011 was the pinnacle album for Red Fang. Relapse Records signed the band and they released this sophomore record, proving they were here to destroy. Every song is a killer on this release! From the opening track “Malverde” to the epic “Wires”, Murder The Mountains has it all! “Hank Is Dead”, “Dirt Wizard”, and “Throw Up” are all fantastic songs and deliver a heavy dose of stoner metal riff rock, at its finest. Red Fang utilize two singers, guitarist Bryan Giles in his raspy and aggressive delivery, and bassist Aaron Beam in his more melodic singing voice. Both styles work well together and Red Fang create very interesting songs using both together. Tracks like “Number Thirteen” and “Into The Eye” demonstrate this magnificently. This album introduced a varied approach using melodies on more laid back numbers like “The Undertow” and “Human Herd”. The songwriting and track listing was well crafted and Red Fang leveled up big time with this album.

Well, that’s my order of my favorite Red Fang albums. The band has released many singles and cover songs throughout these years too. I can’t wait to hear another full length album from these guys. Red Fang is a force to be reckoned with. If you ever have the chance to see them play live then please do yourself a favor and check them out. You will be blown away! Thanks again for reading and let me know your thoughts on Red Fang.