Whales and Leeches

Whales and Leeches is the third album by the American stoner metal band Red Fang, released in 2013 on Relapse Records.

Whales and Leeches
Studio album by
Red Fang
ReleasedOctober 15, 2013
RecordedType Foundry Studio, Portland and Walker, Portland.
GenreStoner metal
Length41:14
LabelRelapse
ProducerRed Fang, Chris Funk
Red Fang chronology
Murder the Mountains
(2011)		 Whales and Leeches
(2013)		 Only Ghosts
(2016)
Singles from Whales and Leeches
  1. "Crows in Swine"
    Released: September 2012
  2. "Blood Like Cream"
    Released: August 27, 2013
  3. "No Hope"
    Released: September 23, 2013
Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic71/100[1]
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[2]
Pitchfork[3]
Exclaim![4]
Punknews[5]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Aaron Beam, Maurice Bryan Giles, David Sullivan and John Sherman, except where noted..

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."DOEN" 3:18
2."Blood Like Cream" 3:33
3."No Hope" 2:58
4."Crows in Swine" 3:01
5."Voices of the Dead" 2:43
6."Behind the Light" 2:44
7."Dawn Rising"Beam, Giles, Sullivan, Sherman, Mike Scheidt7:01
8."Failure" 4:57
9."1516" 3:37
10."This Animal" 2:42
11."Every Little Twist" 4:40
Deluxe edition CD bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
12."Murder the Mountains"1:54
13."Black Water"4:40
iTunes deluxe edition
No.TitleLength
14."It's Always There" 

Personnel
Red Fang
  • Aaron Beam – bass guitar, vocals, additional guitars, production
  • Maurice Bryan Giles – guitars, vocals, production
  • David Sullivan – guitars, production
  • John Sherman – drums, production
Additional musicians
  • Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – keyboards, piano, and synthesizer on "Crows in Swine"
  • Mike Scheidt – vocals on "Dawn Rising"
  • Pall Jenkins – vocals and musical saw on "Every Little Twist"
Production personnel
  • Chris Funk – production, engineering, organ, synthesizer, tambourine
  • Graeme Gibson – engineering
  • Adam Selzer – engineering
  • Vance Powell – mixing
  • Eddie Spear – mixing assistant
  • Pete Lyman – mastering
  • Orion Landau – artwork, layout

Critical Reception

There was a high level of critical reception for the album, with reviews varying from mixed to positive.

Quietus felt that the album was appreciable by a broad audience with its catchy refrains but was repetitive and lacked the substance of the band's prior works.[6]

Punknews was slightly positive, again raising concerns that certain songs was repetitive. However Blood and Cream was exulted as their catchiest song to date. Overall, the reviewer notes that though the album is indistinguishable from others in the genre, for those who like "loud sludgy riffs, face-melting solos and Ozzy-esque vocal hooks, Red Fang will satisfy your appetite".[5]

Exclaim! had mostly positive comments on the album, stating that though similar in nature to their prior music, the music was a major refinement on prior efforts, to form a particularly aggressive variation of stoner rock.[4]

AllMusic reported positively, feeling that Red Fang had managed to operate on two levels with the release, managing "to get psychedelic without abandoning the non-stop riff-fests that made their first two albums such a welcome change of pace". In doing so, it was rated with other successful stand outs of the genre for retaining quality while adding complexity, coupled with being suitable for a wider range of audiences.[2]

Pitchfork had mixed or negative analysis of the album. While the technical competence of Red Fang were appreciated, an absence of substance in the music, coupled with extreme repetitiveness, was felt to make the album difficult going and unsuitable for repeat listening.[3]

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References
  1. "Red Fang "Whales and Leeches" review". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 2014-05-25.
  2. Gregory Heaney. "Whales and Leeches review by AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  3. Grayson Currin (23 October 2013). "Whales and Leeches review by Pitchfork". Pitchfork. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  4. Natalie Zina Walschots (25 October 2013). "Whales and Leeches review by Exclaim!". Exclaim.ca. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  5. "Tori Pederson". Punknews.org. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
  6. Tom O'Boyle (4 November 2013). "Whales and Leeches review by Quietus". Quietus. Retrieved 18 January 2019.
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