Celtic epic metal...
Murat Batmaz | Istanbul, Turkey | 07/13/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"The cover art is, for lack of a better word, interesting. It surely refuses to reveal the content and one could only be so wrong about his guesses. Personally I thought this was some kind of extreme underground metal act playing some form of grim, dark and cold death metal. Well, I wasn't even close.
Lord Weird Slough Feg, which is the band's original name, has certainly got to be one of the most bizarre monikers I've ever heard. Now using the Slough Feg handle, this San Francisco-based band plays a curious mix of Celtic metal with 70's hard rock and touches of beautiful Irish folk. I know it seems weird, but that's what this short album is comprised of. Often walking in the path of Thin Lizzy, they write short songs, which very rarely exceed three minutes, using 70's guitar tones and song structures. The harmonies are quite powerful at times, but lack consistency. Also, some of the songs ("Postcullis", "Climax of a Generation", etc) are very short instrumental passages that are placed in between the tracks and serve the purpose of bridging the longer cuts. The songs are heavy but not Manowar-heavy. They are more in the "Cirith Ungol meets Di'Anno period Maiden with folky melodies" vein. The title track is perhaps the only exception, as it begins and ends with slow acoustic guitars centred around a very memorable Irish folk theme.
"Starport Blues" is the band's most direct foray into Thin Lizzy inspired blues rock with a nice jam session that segues into the last two tracks of the album, one of which is the sequel of the title track. Truth be told, it is a bit hard to evaluate a band with only 38 minutes of music that consists of so many bizarre influences. It's certainly worth checking out, but whether it will have appeal value for a huge metal fanbase is debatable.
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Tracklisting- Robustus . I Will Kill You / You Will Die . Portcullis . Hiberno-Latin Invasion . Climax of a Generation . Atavism . Eumaeus the Swineherd . Curse of Athena . Agnostic Grunt . High Season V . Starport Blues . Man Out of Time . Agony Slalom . Atavism II"
Oh, Yes...get this one!
D. Rucker | Bay Area, CA USA | 12/31/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well composed and executed slab of inspiring tunes from this S.F. based band. lyrical, heavy, and operatic (not cheesy) vocal delivery with a hard driving force interspersed with great guitar melodies make this release an uncommon find and among my favorites of 2005!
This band has broken new ground for great heavy music. Truly inspiring. Now somebody send me the lyrics as I got the limited LP release with no insert."
Let it grow on you...
T. Hardin | seaside,oregon | 07/22/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"first of all,there is a definite Iron Maiden thing going on here - on first listen,i couldnt focus on anything else (it's that blatantly obvious).
upon repeat listens,the more original elements have a chance to come out & place this above a simple rip-off.as another reviewer noted,there are other styles of music in here which i feel only adds to the overall package.
so,this is an excellent release of "true metal", competently performed and executed & will grow on you after repeat listens,if you can get past the Maiden worship (hey,there are worse bands to borrow from!)"
