Album Review: Red Fang – Arrows

Album dazzles the mind with righteous noise

Oregon native band Red Fang has been performing rock music since 2005, and earlier this month, they released the album Arrows. Aaron Beam’s bass guitar playing and vocals fill each track with powerful sound. David Sullivan’s and Bryan Giles’s guitar playing brings energy with heavy riffs, and John Sherman’s drum playing boosts each tune with hard-hitting drum beats. Arrows is a dynamic album that shows the passion Red Fang puts into their music.

“Unreal Estate” is a loud, booming composition that has Sherman playing his heart out on the drums. What is noticeably enjoyable is the drumming style Sherman has because each drum beat fills the air with thunderous, hard-hitting sound, and the crashing sound of the cymbals brings excitement to this piece due to the fast pace. “Unreal Estate” is a great tune, and Sherman isn’t afraid to show people what he can do as a musician. 

The jolting track “My Disaster” has amazing guitar playing from Sullivan and Giles. Right at the beginning of this piece, the sound of Sullivan creating a screeching guitar sound gives a warning about what lies ahead inside the madness, and Giles joins Sullivan with wicked riffs that create more havoc on this track. Both Sullivan and Giles stay attuned with each other on “My Disaster,” and the notes both guitarists play contribute to the non-stop musical insanity.

“Anodyne” is a total jam that is a bit different from the other songs because the tone is at a lower octave, but what captures the attention of this composition are Beam’s vocals. While listening, his vocals are strong and powerful due to how he manages to sing on a lower range while lightly shouting out the words. “My Disaster” is a fun song that will have people singing along while Beam blows their minds with his sharp vocals.

The headbanger “Rabbits in Hives” may be a short composition, but Beam’s bass guitar riffs jolt the veins of those who are listening. Throughout the entire track, fast-paced riffs are heard rhythmically vibrating in the background. Beam is a gifted bass guitar player who isn’t afraid to show off his skills, and on “Rabbits in Hives,” he does a fine job of staying on the same musical pattern with the rest of the band.

The emotional track “Why” is one of the most well-written pieces on Arrows because of the meaning behind the words. The lyrics “Why not to try to fight at all?/ Why not scale the skies?/ Why would any fix be a fix?/ Why do you feel?” gives an insight into how people question things in their lives that cannot be fixed or why shouldn’t people have a chance to do something positive for themselves. “Why” is an emotional piece that is filled with strong feelings, and fans will appreciate how beautiful the lyrics are.

Red Fang brings a heavy dose of hard rock music on Arrows, and each track shows how much Red Fang has grown through their instrumentation and vocal performance.

Cait Stoddard: Hello! My name is Caitlin and my job is writing music news stories and reviewing metal music albums. I enjoy collecting vinyl, playing video games, watching movies and going to concerts.
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