Based out of Portland, Oregon, Red Fang captures the loud and fast, anything-goes spirit of classic rock with their heavy stoner-influenced jams. The quartet, consisting of Bryan Giles, Aaron Beam, David Sullivan, and John Sherman, make guitars the focus of their gimmick-free brand of driving rock & roll, eschewing any prog leanings and putting the emphasis on the riffs. The sound is tied together by a sense of punk urgency that spurs the stoner jams into action and gets the songs moving at a raucous gallop. The band made their debut in 2009 with a self-titled album released by Sargent House. For their follow-up, they struck up an unlikely partnership, heading into the studio with producer and multi-instrumentalist for the Decemberists, Chris Funk. The move would pay off for the band, who would release their second album, Murder the Mountains, on Relapse in 2011. The band revisited the partnership again for their third album, Whales and Leeches, which arrived in the fall of 2013. The following year saw the band perform on the Late Show with David Letterman -- musical director Paul Shaffer even sat in with the group -- and in 2016, they released their much anticipated fourth studio LP Only Ghosts, again via Relapse. ~ Gregory Heaney