THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG is one of the few bands carrying high the flame of traditional heavy metal. There, I said it. Add in an equally gonzo dose of love for THIN LIZZY in the guitar tone, and everything from Greek and Celtic mythology to primate overthrow to classic sci-fi to a wee band of shoulda-made-it-bigger-but-never-dids called HORSLIPS, and we got ourselves a keeper! After releasing three wallopers leading up to and ushering in the new millennium, Cap’n Scalzi hunkered down for a bit, only to return with what some would say is their benchmark album, Traveller. Now, 22 years later, we jet back (or forward) in time to this world with Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades.
‘Knife World’ opens us up with slice ‘n’ dice leads, staccato riffing and syncopated rhythms, and take your time getting to the lyrics, Mike, because TLWSF is a downright heavyweight when it comes to building up a song to a triumphant verse, and a chorus the likes of which today’s namby-pamby Napalm bands would kill for. There’s an urgency, a fire that has, honestly, been not burning as hot on the past couple albums, and it’s good to feel that singe and scorch again.
‘Mission On Mithril’ and ‘Ephemeral Glades’ keep things mostly mid-paced, but TLWSF thrives in this area where a good many end up wandering like so many lost cattle. These four know where the good grass is, and it’s apparently in space. It’s easy to play superfast, it’s seen as cerebral to play at a drone, but to really shine in that halfway point and make it your own, that’s something.
Containing one of the catchiest riffs I’ve heard from this set in a while, the slinky-slide of ‘Ice Shelf Stomp’ seems just the slightest bit off-time, but it keeps you in rapt attention, especially the bass and drumwork of Messrs. Maestas and Krater, respectively. I’ll be honest, I’ve never really locked into the drumwork on TLWSF, but that may change with Krater’s arrival; he’s far more than a placeholder and will likely flavor the band’s future undertakings even more so in the future.
Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades shows a band who’s somehow forever changing, forever the same. A fine return to the saga, indeed.
Review By: Lord Randall
THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG
Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades [EP]
Cruz Del Sur Music