With the usual slew of European bands touring through Germany, it's always refreshing to get an all-American line-up every now and then. And this particular tour was an absolute leviathan for RED FANG, with two separate legs of the tour containing a total of over 40 shows in three months. Being supported by LORD DYING and THE SHRINE on the majority of these shows, their show in Munich was a night not to be missed!

Opening up the night was the Sludge Metal infestation of LORD DYING, signed to Relapse Records, a relatively new band with just a single album to their name. Accordingly, their entire set consisted of tracks off of "Summon the Faithless", with the exception of delectable little tit-bit in the form of a new song that Munich had the pleasure of previewing.  With a good sound quality, catchy songs, and balls-to-the-wall attitude, this Sludge Metal quartet practically had the audience salivating for more. Hell, they even managed to get a crowd-surfer, some massive headbanging, and calls for an encore; a none-too-shabby feat for an opening band. They might have been up in the scale, but I expect them to be in a few years time.
 

Setlist:
1. Dreams of Mercy
2. Descend Into External
3. Summoning the Faithless
4. New Song
5. What Is Not... Is
6. Greed Is Your Horse
7. In a Frightful State of Gnawed Dismemberment

Following on from these guys was the Californian outfit THE SHRINE. Having released the album "Bless Off" less than a month ago, their set, needless to say, contained much of this newer material. Whilst THE SHRINE may perhaps not have managed to get the crowd going quite as much as LORD DYING had done, they nevertheless put on a sterling performance, and definitely succeeded in paving the way for RED FANG. I guess that it was all about the feel because the band's material is pretty good, and their stage presence is also quite impressive, however, the crowd needed much more juice to get them started and up next it was the rightful moment.
 

Setlist:
1. Tripping Corpse
2. Worship
3. Whistlings of Death
4. Bless Off
5. The Duke
6. Zipper Tripper
7. Nothing Forever
8. Primitive Blast

The headliners of the night were RED FANG, the very same band who managed to get the crowd so pumped up at their gig in Munich four years ago that the bar ran out of beer, something practically unheard of in arguably the beer capital of the world! Having just released their third full-length album at the end of last year, their setlist contained a nicely balanced mix of newer offerings as well as older anthems. Being a Stoner Metal/Rock band fronted by a charismatic yet oh-so-super-nerdy, I was hardly expecting a rough night. Yet throughout most of their set, RED FANG had a pit going which morphed into fevered whirling dervishes that engulfed half of the audience during anthems such as "Wires" and "Sharks". All in all, RED FANG certainly put on one of the better shows I have seen this month, and the crowd clearly vociferously agreed with this sentiment, with hoarse cries for more long after RED FANG had played their encore songs. It was definitely a night for the books, a stellar performance for an audience that clearly fell for this headliner, a true kind of Metal molester that plenty would want to check in the future to come, stay tuned to these guys in your area.
 

Setlist:
1. Hank Is Dead
2. Voices of the Dead
3. DOEN
4. Throw Up
5. No Hope
6. Number Thirteen
7. Dirt Wizard
8. Humans Remain Human Remains
9. 1516
10. Into the Eye
11. Malverde
12. Crows in Swine
13. Blood Like Cream
14. Wires
15. Sharks
16. Prehistoric Dog