{"id":27302,"date":"2013-02-15T06:27:22","date_gmt":"2013-02-15T11:27:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/?p=27302"},"modified":"2014-01-24T09:06:30","modified_gmt":"2014-01-24T14:06:30","slug":"the-lord-weird-slough-feg-box-set-cd-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/2013\/the-lord-weird-slough-feg-box-set-cd-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Lord Weird Slough Feg | Box Set<\/em>"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines<\/span>
\n– News Editor \/ Senior Photojournalist —<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"LordIf you\u2019ve heard of the San Francisco (by way of Pennsylvania) heavy metal band Slough Feg, you probably seen the word \u201ccult\u201d used to describe them. That\u2019s a fair description, seeing as how the band has been active since 1990 without ever getting much attention. Much like Broca\u2019s Helm and Manilla Road, Slough Feg (which started out under the name The Lord Weird Slough Feg) has been a secret that was closely guarded by their very dedicated fans.<\/p>\n

Newly signed to the Metal Blade label, the band\u2019s cult days may be behind them, and their fans may have to share this very creative band with the larger metal community. This new box set, which reaches back to the band\u2019s early days as The Lord Weird Slough Feg will help with that. Now the band\u2019s long out of print albums \u2013 1998\u2019s Twilight of the Idols<\/em>, 2000\u2019s Down Among the Deadmen<\/em> and 2003\u2019s Traveller<\/em> \u2013 are once again available in this 3-disc offering.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tough to describe Slough Feg\u2019s sound, as there really aren\u2019t any bands quite like them. If you can imagine the galloping leads and sheer energy of the first couple of Iron Maiden albums coupled with the Celtic melodies and folk elements of Skyclad plus the dramatic vocals of the early Falconer albums, that\u2019s probably close to the mark. NWOBHM meets folk metal maybe? That vibe is especially strong on Twilight of the Idols<\/em> and Down Among the Deadmen<\/em>, which sound like what Iron Maiden might have been had they hailed from the Scottish highlands. The lyrical focus of those two albums was mainly centered on Celtic themes, though each album had a song or two about \tthe mysteries and evolution of the human mind, which is a recurring theme on later Slough Feg efforts. With Traveller<\/em>, the band shifted a bit, both musically and lyrically. The album is a heavier, doom metal influenced affair with a heavy science fiction concept. It\u2019s good to see a band evolve and not get trapped in a rut, especially when the results are this good. Traveller feels<\/em> like a natural evolution of the Slough Feg sound, and it\u2019s every bit as memorable as the previous albums.<\/p>\n

There isn\u2019t any bonus material in this set, and if the albums have been remastered they\u2019re not publicizing that fact. It sounds like they\u2019ve been cleaned up at least a little. Still, when you\u2019re getting three classic metal albums in one place at a fairly low price point, there\u2019s not much to complain about. <\/p>\n

If you\u2019re one of the initiated, one of the Slough Feg cult, this box set is only going to be useful if you haven\u2019t yet been able to track down these three albums. For most fans though, this set is the perfect way to enter the wild, strange world of The Lord Weird Slough Feg. And if you\u2019re a fan of traditional, folk, and\/or doom metal (anywhere from Iron Maiden to Skyclad to Candlemass to Falconer to Elvenking), Slough Feg is a band that you\u2019re going to kick yourself for not discovering long ago.<\/p>\n

Genre: Heavy Metal<\/p>\n

Band:
\nMike Scalzi (v) (g)
\nGreg Haa (d)
\nScott Beach (b, disc 1)
\nJon Torres (b, disc 2)
\nAdrian Maestas (b, disc 3)
\nJohn Cobbett (g, disc 2-3)<\/p>\n

Track Listing:<\/p>\n

Disc 1 \u2013 Twilight of the Idols
\n1.\tFuneral March
\n2.\tHighlander
\n3.\tHigh Season II
\n4.\tThe Pangs of Ulster
\n5.\tBrave Connor Mac
\n6.\tThe Wickerman
\n7.\tSlough Feg
\n8.\tThe Great Ice Wars
\n9.\tLife in the Dark Age
\n10.\tWarpspasm
\n11.\tBi-Polar Disorder
\n12.\tThe Wizard\u2019s Vengeance
\n13.\tWe\u2019ll Meet Again
\n14.\tBagpipe Outro<\/p>\n

Disc 2 \u2013 Down Among the Deadmen
\n1.\tSky Chariots
\n2.\tWalls of Shame
\n3.\tWarriors Dawn
\n4.\tBeast in the Broch
\n5.\tHeavy Metal Monk
\n6.\tFergus Mac Roich
\n7.\tCauldron of Blood
\n8.\tTroll Pack
\n9.\tTraders and Gunboats
\n10.\tPsionic Illuminations
\n11.\tMarauder
\n12.\tHigh Season
\n13.\tDeath Machine<\/p>\n

Disc 3 \u2013 Traveller
\n1.\tThe Spinward Marches
\n2.\tHigh Passage\/Low Passage
\n3.\tAsteroid Belts
\n4.\tProfessor\u2019s Theme
\n5.\tVargr Moon
\n6.\tVargr Theme\/Confrontation (Genetic Prophesy)
\n7.\tBaltech\u2019s Lament
\n8.\tGene-ocide
\n9.\tCurse of Humaniti
\n10.\tThe Final Gambit
\n11.\tThe Spinward Marches (Return)
\n12.\tAddendum Galactus<\/p>\n

Label: Metal Blade<\/p>\n

Website: http:\/\/www.sloughfeg.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Hardrock Haven rating: 8.5\/10<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by Justin Gaines – News Editor \/ Senior Photojournalist — If you\u2019ve heard of the San Francisco (by way of Pennsylvania) heavy metal band Slough Feg, you probably seen the word \u201ccult\u201d used to describe […]<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8704],"tags":[336,2491,1163,334,7051],"class_list":{"0":"post-27302","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-arcrvws2013","7":"tag-cd","8":"tag-heavy-metal","9":"tag-metal-blade","10":"tag-review","11":"tag-traveller"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27302\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hardrockhaven.net\/online\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}