UMUR "The Lord Weird Slough Feg" is the eponymously titled debut full-length studio album by US heavy metal act The Lord Weird Slough Feg (the band later changed their name to only Slough Feg, but changed it back to The Lord Weird Slough Feg in 2019). The album was released through Beef Rock Records in May 1996. The Lord Weird Slough Feg formed in 1990 and released no less than five demos in the years between 1990 and the release of this debut album in 1996.

Stylistically the music on the album is traditional heavy metal featuring a strong and organic playing rhythm section, hard edged and melodic guitar riffs, lead, and harmonies, and a well sounding (albeit rather eccentric) vocalist in front. The musicianship is on a high level on all posts, and you´ll notice instantly how well playing/singing a band The Lord Weird Slough Feg are. The vocals by Mike Scalzi take some getting used to, and I´d say they are the least enjoyable feature of the music, but that´s probably an aquired taste. In addition to the strong 70s/early 80s heavy metal/NWOBHM influences (artists like Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy are valid references as well as Black Sabbath), The Lord Weird Slough Feg also include celtic/folk influenced melodies and lyrics, and tracks like "The Red Branch" and "High Season III" and "High Season IV" feature strong traditional celtic elements. In that respect they have much in common with an artist like Skyclad, who also combine some of the same elements.

The sound production and the structure of the material can feel a bit chaotic and at times even a little random, but it´s actually the anarchistic organic playing style and performances, which are the greatest assets of the music. There´s a real nerve here and an obvious love for playing which shine through, and although the whole thing sometimes sounds like it´s about to derail, it should not be understood as if The Lord Weird Slough Feg aren´t a skilled and well playing unit, because they certainly are. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

siLLy puPPy Although they would shorten their name to the much shorter SLOUGH FEG, this band that formed in State College, Pennsylvania in 1990 and then move to San Francisco shortly thereafter, started out with the much more magnanimous moniker THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG which was used on their first four albums. This 1996 debut is technically their first album but contains only a mere EP’s running time. Although it hosts eight tracks, it still only clocks in just under the 24 minute mark. Re-releases would would nearly double the length with seven early demos as bonus tracks.

Despite the LORD WEIRD aspect of the band name at this point, these guys weren’t extremely different or weird in any way actually. This band began as a trio of Mike Scalzi (guitars, vocals), Justin Phelps (first bassist who would leave soon after this debut) and Greg Haa (Drums) and copped a classic epic 80s metal sound in the vein of bands like Manilla Road, Brocas Helm, Iron Maiden and Skyclad with a touch of Thin Lizzy. The band’s strange name came from a Celtic folklore-influenced comic book called “Sláine.”

At this point SLOUGH FEG hadn’t quite mastered the sizzling guitar fueled sound that would make them popular with albums like “Down Among The Deadmen” and “Traveller” but they had already moved beyond their respective influences to have a classic epic sound all their own. The music is hard driving with heavy hitting riffs and the classic Iron Maiden gallop as heard on tracks like “Quest For Fire.” Every track is high octane and packs a punk-like punch as the tracks are all short and to the point. The compositions are fairly traditional 80s metal style but the performances are top notch. The production as expected is fairly primitive but passable.

I remember seeing SLOUGH FEG way back in their early years when they opened for Brocas Helm. They were good but not OMG good but when i saw them a few years later for a second time, they had improved like 500% in just about every way possible. At this point the complexity and intensity of the future albums is absent despite a decent energetic delivery of classic epic metal. Mike Scalzi seemed to get a major jolt of creativity flowing when he joined his other band Hammers Of Misfortune in 2000. That is the era when SLOUGH FEG really got interesting and Hammers Of Misfortune began to release some stellar progressive metal albums.

Despite this not being a top dog of SLOUGH FEG albums, this is still a nice slice of 90s metal looking to the past for its inspiration. I have a soft spot for early, lo-fi and raw energy type of metal albums and this one certainly falls into that camp. The band display their high energy performances and Scalzi had already found a way to utilize his theatrical vocal style to narrate epic fantastical tales. This debut has been somewhat ignored and commands a hefty price if you seek a physical copy but the early years of SLOUGH FEG are as raw, bombast and from the heart as you can hope for.

UMUR "Twilight of the Idols" is the 2nd full-length studio album by US heavy metal act The Lord Weird Slough Feg (shortened to just Slough Feg in the period 2005-2019). The album was released through Doomed Planet Records in 1998. The CD version of the album features 4 tracks not included on the vinyl version. The Lord Weird Slough Feg formed in 1990 and released a string of demos before releasing their eponymously titled debut album in 1996.

The music on "Twilight of the Idols" is traditional heavy metal with an occasional celtic/traditional folk touch (there are even limited use of bagpipes played by drummer Scott Beach). References to artists like Manilla Road, (early) Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Cream pop up from time to time. The celtic elements remind me sligthly of Thin Lizzy and are especially dominant in the folky "Brave Connor Mac". In addition to "Brave Connor Mac", which is a standout track on the album, other highlights include "The Wickerman", "The Great Ice Wars" and the heavily Black Sabbath influenced "Bi-Polar Disorder".

The musicianship are generally strong and lead vocalist/guitarist Mike Scalzi has a distinct sounding voice and delivery. His vocal lines are sometimes delivered in a staccato type style and aligned a bit too much with the guitar riffs, but his performance here is for the most part enjoyable. The sound production is organic and raw and suits the music well. So all in all "Twilight of the Idols" is a decent release by The Lord Weird Slough Feg. The quality of the material is a bit too inconsistent though and there are also too many unremarkable tracks to deal with, so in the end the album is a bit of a mixed bag. A 3 star (60%) rating is warranted.

Warthur The heavy metal/nerd overlap is more extensive than is often acknowledge, so it made sense that sooner or later someone would make a metal concept album inspired by the classic 1970s tabletop roleplaying game Traveller, the first majorly commercially successful science fiction RPG. Slough Feg (let's not mess around with "The Lord Weird", even the band themselves admit they always called themselves just Slough Feg) produce an epic, Iron Maiden-inspired sound with a lyrical plotline evolving around sinister genetic experiments in remote regions of outer space. and if that sounds awesome to you, be assured that the execution is just as amazing as the concept.

Time Signature Heavy metal monks...

Genre: traditional/folk metal

The Lord Weird Slough Feg, or just Slough Feg, is a band that has been on my rader for some time, but which I never got around to exploring. With the cult band's recent signing to Metal Blade, the label has decided to re-issue Twilight of the Idols (1999), Down Among the Deadmen (2000), and Traveller (2003), providing me, and other curious souls with an excellent oportunity to explore this band.

Slough Feg are known for their brand of traditional metal which draws extensively on Celtic and medieval folk music, and for their eccentric – but brilliant - comics-, sci-fi-, RPG-, fantasy-, and folklore-based lyrics. And you know what, I gotta tell you straight away that, having heard the band for the first time on this box set, I am an instant fan of their music. It's simply some of the best traditionally oriented metal I have heard in a long time.

Production-wise, Twilight of the Idols is the roughest of the three abums, but musically it is really outstanding (as are the two other albums, I should say). The music draws extensively on the best that NWoBHM had to offer and bears a lot of resemblance with the first Iron Maiden album (without being a rip-off), but these traditional metal elements are combined with elements from Celtic and medieval folk music, and, what I really love is that Slough Feg do not make use of folk instrumentation as is otherwise typical of folk metal; they make use of the traditional guitar-drums-bass instrumentation and use it to perform both the metal riffs and folk melodies. Taking cues from Maiden and Skyclad alike, Slough Feg make use of song structures that are not exactly simple, some of which border on being progressively inclined. Rougher than the two other releases in the box set, this is still superior to much other traditional and folk-oriented metal I have enjoyed, and it is a great choice for re-release.

Much cleaner in production is Down Among the Deadmen, but the style of music is pretty much the same, and the band further explore the combination of traditional metal and folk music. The compositions and the performance is considerably tighter, and the metal riffing has been given a more prominent position, without tipping the scales. Just check out the perfectly balanced 'Heavy Metal Monk'/'Fergus Mac Roich' pair as well as the epic sounding 'Cauldron of Blood' and 'Troll Pack' whose rhythmic patterns almost iconically reflects the heavy lumbering about of trolls. Really, this is brilliant stuff!

Traveller is perhaps the most artistically successful of the three albums in the box set, being a sci-fi concept album based on the 'Traveller' RPG (which in itself is a stroke of genius). Musically, the album is pretty much within the same style as on Twilight of the Idols and Down Among the Deadmen, but with slightly more complex – and, dare I say, progressive – song structures and a performance which reflects a natural development in professionalism from the previous albums. Although still full of folk-based elements (just check the brilliant tracks 'Professor's Theme' and 'Vargr Moon'), this album leans more towards traditional metal than the two other albums in the box set. There really is no weak track on this album, but I would still like to mention 'Vargr Moon' as the absolute highlight of the album. Combining traditional metal and folk melodies, the song is varied and even ventures into power metal and power thrash territory. Taking the listener on a musical journey, this song is a perfect representative of a brilliant album in a brilliant box set by a brilliant band.

If you, like me, have been interested in Slough Feg for some time but never had the chance to enjoy the band, here is you chance to snatch up three top quality albums in one fell swoop. For my money, this is what folk metal should sound like: folk melodies, but without the metal resting in the background, and the sophisticated song structures go well together with the traditional metal riffage. If you are into the likes of Storm's Nordavind and Falconer's Armod, then you are bound to enjoy this collection – in fact, all three releases in the box set are far superior to the former and rival the latter in brilliance

Aw, hell! Slough Feg are geniouses. I am an instant fan. And there's nothing you can do to change that!

(review originally posted as seaoftranquility.org)