The Lord Weird Slough Feg, or Slough Feg for short, are no strangers to the virtual pages of this here webzine, albeit in the form of countless appearances on our Top 10 Albums of *insert year here* lists. As far as new output goes, despite being a dominant force of the ’90s, ’00s, and even ’10s, these genre-defying masters have managed to gone halfway through the ’20s without a single new release…until now. Not only that, but said release is a companion to what might very well be the most revered entry in the Slough Feg canon, Traveller (2003). Introducing Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades!
Now historically speaking, the sequel is never as good as the original. One need not look further than Queensrÿche’s Operation: Mindcrime II (2006) to test this theory. However, Slough Feg, or rather The Lord Weird these days, have yet to disappoint me, and I’d trust them to revisit a narrative before I do most other metal bands. For those unfamiliar with said narrative, the original Traveller is an intergalactic epic based on the sci-fi roleplay game of the same title. Centered around the adventures (and sometimes misadventures) of Baltech Budapest, Traveller saw the band depart from the Celtic leanings of their earlier fare in exchange for a straightforward USPM inspired epic metal sound.
Fast forward a little over 20 years later, and Slough Feg have returned with a tale equally as compelling as its predecessor, both musically and narratively speaking. So not to belabor us with a full blown sequel, the band have treated us to this humble “supplement 1”, which I assume implies more supplements to follow. This here first supplement opens with the overly energetic “Knife World”, which wastes no time with its guitars on guitars on guitars assault. I’ve long considered Mike Scalzi to be one of the most underrated guitarists in metal, and I’ll gladly add “Knife World” as an exhibit in said argument. The guy is like Dave Murray, Adrian Smith, and Alex Lifeson, all wrapped up into one, every riff, solo, and lick screaming with inexorable emotion.
As Supplement 1 progresses, Slough Feg treats us to their diverse array of metallic sounds. After all, this is a band who has made a career of never sticking to any one given focus for a prolonged period of time. While “Knife World” might be a nostalgic slab of ’80s USPM glory, the instrumental “The Black Circle” comes lumbering in like a Black Sabbath interlude circa Mob Rules. “Mission of Mithril” and “Ephemeral Glades” evoke the “Thin Lizzy gone epic metal” sound this band is famous for, while “Magnetic Fluctuations” serves as the obligatory battle hymn that every USPM/epic metal release needs. “Ice Shelf Stomp” grooves around with ’70s hard rock swagger, before “Vargr Reprise” brings this killer EP to a colossal finale.
While all of these songs are radically different on their own, put them all together and you’ve got not just another brilliant Slough Feg release, but a more than fitting follow-up to the Traveller mythos, one that leaves us pondering, “What will happen next?” Hopefully we won’t have to wait 22 years for “supplement 2”! For the time being, however, I’ll most definitely be immersing myself further in the musical nuances of these songs, and studying those lyrics in all their fantastical glory. Long live Baltech Budapest! Long live weird metal!
8 out of 10
Label: Cruz del Sur Music
Genre: Epic Heavy Metal
For fans of: Brocas Helm, Manilla Road, Thin Lizzy
Leave a Reply