3 out of 5

Label: Relapse

Produced by: Ross Robinson

There are a lot of groups operating in the stoner rock / 70’s rock vein, whether erring toward a more ramblin’-man sound of The Sword, or toward something more indicative of metal / hardcore, a la Baronness.  Red Fang appearing on the Relapse label might make one assume they land on the heavier side of that spectrum, but with the hype preceding their 2016 release Only Ghosts – which would be produced by relative superstar Ross Robinson, and drop alongside a Letterman performance – their potential for being poised for larger things may have translated into playing it safe: Only Ghosts is solid, but not all that surprising, and lacking in some definable quality to make it stand out from those other, similar groups.

There are great moments sprinkled across the album, when the group lands on a riff and combines it with a propulsive beat, some guttural yowls, and some kind of chant-worthy chorus – the title track sticks out in this regard – but more often than not, a sort of post-Nirvana 90’s grunge malaise comes to mind, when a lot of heavy guitars and dudes growling vaguely about relationships happened on the radio: producer Robinson and mixer Joe Barresi have maintained a warm, full sound, but have otherwise shorn off any indication of rawness, reducing most cuts to a somewhat same-soundy register.  Easy rhymes don’t inspire much, lyrically, and song structures rarely head off the beaten path. Thankfully, the dudes of Red Fang are all clearly talented jammers, never missing a beat and playing with energy, so it’s more a case of sensing restraint than feeling like they’re aiming above their station.

Alas, restraint doesn’t necessarily encourage relistens, so I’ll likely wander off to other groups to get my stoner metal fix.