Fangtooth - Fangtooth (CD)

Review
Forgotten Path
4/10

There are more and more traditional Doom bands nowadays. Not a long time ago we were wondering about the rendition of the mood presented by the bands of 80s and 90s in The Wounded Kings music. Now it seems to be a customary thing - there are a couple of presented solid albums of this recovered genre every year (for instance, here should be mentioned the works of Orchid and Uncle Acid and Deadbeats from 2011). The latest part of this new trend is Fangtooth. This band was formed in 2007 but they debuted in 2011, exactly on the wave. It was one of the reasons why the band was completely unnoticed - the publishing of albums of this genre became so great that a purely unheard band from Italy could hardly become close to inveterate fans of Doom hearts. Perhaps they could have been made famous by the record company but it didn’t happen; there are just a few reviews on the internet and just a few listeners on the sites of music registration or evaluation.
Maybe it wasn’t the only reason for that fact of abundance? Indeed it becomes clear by the moment you turn on the CD - though the band manipulates the techniques and forms of Traditional Doom, they don’t manage to convey the atmosphere and leave a bigger impression than any album of this genre and it also has a few annoying things about performance - for example, clear but frequently unpleasant and weak vocals, too outstretched and compositions where everything is repeated until it really pisses you off (if we compare them with some Reverend Bizarre we will feel a delicate difference because these outstretched places are the main hook and they cover the real cordiality and atmosphere - it seems that they play something similar, just the riffs of Fangtooth don’t persuade and the tempo is just something like a failed duplicate). One more significant problem of Fangtooth is that they don’t avoid incorporating accent characteristic to Stoner Rock/Metal and that everything creates the impression of mash. The tempo is sometimes changed but there isn’t a clear accelerant so there is an obvious problem of moderation and integrity.
On the other hand everything has two sides: if on one hand it seems that the mixing of genres and outstretching the compositions are unmotivated things, on the other hand they uncover a not too bad technique of performance, ignoring that the showing of this ability is boring...
So the debut of Fangtooth is one of the less valuable music examples - perhaps if the band had released their production in 2008, they’d have thrilled the ear of some music lover who misses the good old days, but nowadays such a band is just a mediocrity.

Author: Bloodie

Review
Friedhof Magazine
7/10
27.05.2012

El Fangtooth (Anoplogaster cornuta), además de ser un tipo de pez bastante singular por su extrema “belleza” y “delicada” mandíbula, vive en las profundidades más recónditas y oscuras del océano, siendo fuente inagotable de fantasías literarias. ¿Y a qué viene este estudio ictiológico? Pues a lo acertado en hacer uso de la nominación del pezqueñín para darle también nombre a este proyecto italiano una vez conocemos su lírica y las imágenes incluidas. Más o menos. Echadle imaginación.
El cuarteto siciliano, formado en 2007, navega por el ancho mar del Doom Metal (esta ocurrencia tiene poco mérito), bajo la tutela de uno de los sellos más especializados en el género. Título homónimo para su debut, temática relacionada con el mar, dioses, mitos y leyendas, siguiendo la imaginería por ejemplo, de unos Ahab (coincidencias en el uso pictórico entre “La Balsa de la Medusa” de Delacroix de los primeros y el “Ulises y las Sirenas” de Herbert James Draper por Fangtooth, todos con el mar como trasfondo). Tradicionales y con sonido “vintage” o lo que hoy se viene conociendo como Retro Doom, Fangtooth, pues eso…, no nos revela nada nuevo. Sin embargo aprovechan bien este “revival” tomando influencias de Black Sabbath, Candlemass o incluso unos Electric Wizard, con muy buenos y pegadizos riffs, ya sean originales o no, y desarrollando un Doom con mucho sonido Groove o rockero. Y es que, la base de todos es esta. Rock oscuro y pesado que da lugar a nuestro clásico género de hoy. Nada nuevo bajo el sol si miramos unos Ghost o The Sword, aunque con diferencias obvias, entre ellas, mayor cadencia y pesadez rítmica, diferencias melódicas (nada épico o bizarro) o líricas. Todo muy correcto, salvo las voces. Algunos coros de relleno son bien oportunos y otros, me sobran, eso sí, dan mayor carga emocional. Sin embargo la voz clara principal denota poca fuerza y una calidad cuestionable, rematada por un esporádico tono operístico amateur que empaña el resultado final. Admisible para un debut dentro de un género, como todos, saturado en el que ser centro de atención es muy complicado pese a que merecen una oportunidad.

Author: Kramthal

Review
Metal Hammer 2011
6\10

A doom metal egyre sürübben hajö-zott vizein evez a 2007-ben alakult olasz Fangtooth, s ez a hetekkel ezelött megjelent album az elsö kiadvânyuk.

Alapvetöen hagyomänyos doom zenét jâtszik a fiatal négyes, s a lemez alap-jân könnyen megâllapîthatô, hogy tanultak az elödök müveiböl. A Candlemass hatâ-sa éppûgy kimutathatâ, mint a Trouble-é, a Cathedralé vagy a régi Anathemâé, de az egykori Hellhound kiadô csapatai (Saint Vitus, Revelation stb.) szintén ismeretesek az itâliai doomsterek szâmâra.

A riffek, témâk között fel-felbukkannak erôsebbek, de olyan, ami igazân kiugrônak lenne nevezhetô, ritkân. Sfack énekes/gitâ-ros hangja tipikus „hanyag" doom-orgânum, a Saint Vitus/Revelation/Unorthodox-vonalra illeszthetô.

Egyelôre egy arctalan zenekar képe rajzo-lödik ki e debüt alapjân, de a vészjôslo han-gulatû Cry Of The Nephilim nem rossz dal.

Author: M. P.

Review
Zero Tolerance
2/6

Italy’s Fangtooth take things waaaay back to the traditional doom end of the spectrum, following much in the fashion of their countrymen in Doomsword…only without the songwriting. Off-key vocals and ho-hum composition make their self-titled debut a comparative snoozer.

Review
Hardsounds
6.8/10
15.06.2011

Nuova uscita discografica per i Fangtooth, combo siciliano sorto dalle ceneri dei Karnstein. Grazie al fondamentale innesto del nuovo bassista Joseph Roginson i nostri, dopo aver sperimentato altri generi e aver acquisito esperienze in altre band, hanno deciso di dedicarsi nuovamente al doom. E la loro fatica è stata premiata con questo cd che rappresenta il loro esordio. Siamo di fronte ad un lavoro di doom classico e tradizionale di matrice ottantiana che fa tornare subito alla mente dei mostri sacri del calibro di Candlemass, SaintVitus e Witchfinder General. Ciò che sorprende in maniera molto positiva è che la band non si limita semplicemente a riciclare gli stili e le ritmiche dei succitati gruppi, ma riesce a fonderli e a miscelarli ad ottime ritmiche sludge dando la tutto un'aurea molto personale ed affascinante. Altra caratteristica che non potrà non essere notata è la bassa qualità della produzione che, mentre per ciò che riguarda e chitarre potrebbe anche essere accettata, non rende giustizia alle sonorità della batteria che sono molto confusie e che, in alcuni punti, sembrano quasi ronzare. Questo mentre il lavoro vocale finisce per non essere mai incisivo, anzi, a essere troppo scolastico e accademico. Citazione a parte merita sicuramente "Martyr", il brano che riesce a spiccare in maniera più netta dal calderone musicale grazie a riff trascinati in cui si alternano delle ritmiche di chitarra classica che sfiorano i lidi del flamenco, e che s'innestano perfettamente con i ritmi sulfurei generati dalla band. Quindi i Fangtooth devono provare a smussare quegli spigoli che ancora inficiano la loro produzione in modo tale da riuscire, finalmente, a ritagliarsi un posto di sicuro rispetto nel panorama metal tricolore e non solo.

Author: Donato Tripoli