|
Line-up:
Mike
Scalzi - Vocals, Guitar
John Cobbett - Guitar
Adrian Maestas - Bass
Greg Haa - Drums
Release Date:
May,
2005
Tracklist:
1.
Robostus
2. I Will Kill You/You Will Die
3. Portcullis
4. Hiberno-Latin Invasion
5. Climax Of A Generation
6. Atavism
7. Eumaeus The Swineherd
8. Curse Of Athena
9. Agnostic Grunt
10. High Season V
11. Starport Blues
12. Man Out Of Time
13. Agony Slalom
14. Atavism II
Read
also:
Interview
with Scalzi Website:
www.slough-feg.com Check
also:
Surprise Of May 2005
|
Just
to make things clear, Slough Feg is the same band with The Lord Weird
Slough Feg… it just decided to make the name more convenient! It
really need hard balls to turn your back to the sound of your most
successful album, the one that everyone has hailed, and produce
something completely different (approach-wise). Well this is what
Slough Feg decided to do! After their amazing, yet very successful “Traveler”,
they decided to adopt a different approach to their power metal (the
mastermind of the band told us that it would have been boring to
produce a similar CD - read the interview in the interviews section).
Consequently the “shiny”, futuristic and thunderous sound of the
previous album gives it place to the raw, heroic, magical and lyrical
“Atavism”. Sometimes the brave are rewarded. Thus, Slough Feg
offer us here possibly their best album so far!
What
is ever more important is that the band manages to create its own
distinct sound, something that is extremely difficult for a power
metal band these days, that the genre is saturated. I dare to say that
despite the sometimes fast and marching riffs and songs the whole
Atavism structure is based upon solid hard rock foundations. If you
deconstruct the songs you can find premature rock elements (Gallagher,
Queen, Beatles). Here the band allows us to understand their love for
(the eternal Gods) Thin Lizzy - an inspiration that haunts all their
songs. But it’s not only that: as Mike has told us (and to be honest
I hadn’t noticed it earlier) some songs present even hardcore
elements, deriving from bands like Black Flag and Dr. Know (listen for
example to “Atavism II”). Slough Feg here work as a grinding mile
that digests all the aforementioned influences along with the
traditional heavy metal of Maiden, Priest, Sabbath and Manowar, the
cult epic approach of Manilla Road (listen to “Eumaeus The Swineherd”
and “Curse Of Athena” and you’ll understand) and the folk bard
atmosphere of Lizzy and Blind Guardian.
The
result is a unique album of pure heavy metal music: monolithic riffs,
acoustic bridges, “sticky” refrains, heroic atmosphere, thrashy
elements, and lyricism. The band plays like there’s no tomorrow,
catching the listener’s attention at once. You know that hits
aren’t an ordinary album. Is a musical journey to nobler, magical
eras? I urge you to discover this diamond. Does it now, so that is
won’t end up a hidden treasure some ten years latter and you have to
spend a fortune to acquire it!
by Alex Savvatianos 9/10
| 