You may not know Red Fang by name, but if you’ve been near the internets recently, you’ve probably seen the video for their debut single “Prehistoric Dog”. It’s ‘gone viral’ as the kids say, and rightfully so: it’s easily one of the best videos of the last five years. Incorporating host of visual delights, including excessive beer consumption, live action role playing, creative recycling and Monty Python-esque gore, you owe it to yourself to seek it out immediately. In fact, the video is so good that you might be distracted from the fact that Red Fang are much more than an awesome video. That would be doing the four Portland natives a great disservice, as a trip through the self-titled Red Fang debut will assert quite definitively that they are nothing less than a full-on four-piece Metal onslaught.

It’s a good time to be in a metal band. Mastodon and The Sword are nabbing Grammy nominations while classic acts like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest draw the same huge numbers they did in their 80s heydays. Even more notably, the crowds are comprised of increasingly larger numbers of young fans with their parents. Who says metal doesn’t promote good family values?

Like The Sword, Red Fang owe more to the Black Sabbath or Motorhead end of the spectrum. There’s some heavy cowbell and ride action going on here, and it’s not even close to being ironic. Red Fang aren’t a one trick pony, either. On tracks like “Sharks”, they change tempos at will, and before you know it, you’re pretty much helpless to avoid flailing around like you’re a dozen beers in at a Melvins show. It’s not normally in my nature, but by the middle of said song, I was very glad that I live alone. By the end, I was pretty sure there were good reasons for that status. In my defense, the song is named “Sharks” and metal rules of conduct mandate a certain level on enthusiasm.

For a four-piece, Red Fang make a hell of a lot of a racket. There are times when they get almost Nirvana with it, due in no small part to drummer John Sherman’s non-stop pummeling. This guy hits hard, whether it’s on the swaggering “Good To Die” or in slower, sludgy parts like the ones on “Humans Remain Human Remains” that come close to the Melvins side of the Nirvana sound. Perhaps maybe a bit too much: the chorus hook and its similarity to “Heart Shaped Box” may very well precipitate a call from Ms. Love, especially given her recent squandering of her ill-gotten gains. Musical similarities aside, the vocals are hardly warmed over Creed-ified Kurdt Vedderisms. Props also have to be given to singer/guitarist David Sullivan. Here is a man with some pipes on him. He’s equally comfortable with a gritty rasp or a grungy yowl and adds the final piece to the headbanging awesomeness that is Red Fang. There’s a pronounced animal theme here, but lest you think they are a one trick pony, rest assured that the themes of fire, destruction, thunder and human remains are also addressed. Such things are comfortable in their familiarity.

All of the metal planets have aligned on Red Fang. If you consider yourself a fan of heavy music, it would be impossible for you to not like this record. Each track has a barbarian swagger that doesn’t ignore the fact that while we are basically evolved apes, we’re not dumb apes. Check the average Red Fang crowd maybe four beers into their set and tell me you don’t see evidence of Darwinism. Red Fang the band will definitely appeal to your primal side, but Red Fang the record shows that you can bang your head and still think with it.

Metallica, the bay-area giants that legitimized “thrash metal” with albums like Kill ‘Em All, Master of Puppets, …And Justice For All and “The Black Album” were welcomed into the hallowed confines of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 4, 2009.

Their inclusion, though absolutely deserving in every conceivable way, poses a wider question to my ever curious mind: Will the inclusion of now two “metal” acts, (Black Sabbath being the other. Let’s face it, Led Zeppelin and The Who don’t count as metal.) clear the way for other metal and proto-metal acts?

The governing body of “The Hall” is still skittish when inductions are concerned. The Hall has inducted piano music lightweight Floyd Cramer, but has passed up The Stooges. They’ve welcomed jazz “rockers” Steely Dan and the doo-wop group The Moonglows, but took forever to induct The Ramones and The Talking Heads. So, what would make you think The Hall will get heavier anytime soon?

There are several bands that fall into the metal, punk, thrash and hardcore categories that are entirely deserving of the honor of induction. Here is a list of bands that are eligible and in my mind, should be included. Bare with me, it’s a short list.

Motorhead: Without Lemmy Kilmister and the boys, the genre of thrash (and Metallica) probably would never have existed. Their album, Ace of Spades, is a benchmark of lawn killing volume and speed.

Megadeth: Dave Mustaine, former member of Metallica, focused all his aggression and hatred into classic ear splitting albums such as Rust in Peace, Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, Countdown to Extinction and Killing is My Business and Business is Good. And as an added bonus, the band takes it’s name for the loss of lives from a nuclear detonation. Now that’s Metal.

MC5: The Detroit based house band for the Black panther Party was the first to “Kick Out The Jams”. Their explosive shows, incendiary guitar work of Fred “Sonic” Smith and Wayne Kramer and controversial political stances helped set the stage for both punk and metal.

The Stooges: Again, another band that helped in the invention of metal and punk. For god sake, listen to Raw Power and tell me Iggy Pop and his Ann Arbor, Michigan brethren don’t belong.

Black Flag: No they aren’t metal, but hardcore punk arose from the “forbidden beat” created by metal and more precisely, Motorhead. Black Flag gave birth to thousands of punk and thrash bands either by groups attempting to copy their sound or by guitarist Greg Ginn’s indie record label SST.

The Melvins: Masters of sludge and drone, no Melvins equals no Nirvana. No Nirvana equals none of the good bands and some of the bad (I’m talking to you, Bush and Candlebox) that appeared in the 1990’s wake of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”.

Judas Priest: Rob Halford is the King of the 1980’s wave of British Metal. British Steel is an album for the ages.

And there is just a taste of the metal, thrash, hardcore and punk bands that have shaped the musical landscape over the past 30+ years that are up for induction. They have all, either directly or indirectly, changed the public’s perception of what is great, what is groundbreaking, what is acceptable and what is not. And in the process have warped my brain for the better.

I must extend my congratulations to Metallica. They truly are one of the greats of this or any other time. Who knows, maybe next year someone from my list will be asked into The Hall, but my bet is that the voters will probably go with The Carpenters instead. Man, could they wail!