EP Review: The Lord Weird Slough Feg - Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades
Reviewed by Matthew Williams
If you are looking for something strange and curious to listen to, then you’ve come to the right place, as it’s the return of The Lord Weird Slough Feg, who are back to inject you with their space metal glory. This seven song EP is the long-awaited sequel to the Bay Area bands now classic 2003 “Traveller” album.
It has several similarities to the original record, with the same microphones being used in the same studio, with the same producer, and it picks up where the original left off, with “the exiled Professor Rickets living in exile on his secret asteroid ship”. The journey begins with “Knife World” a beast of a track with guitarist Mike Scalzi and Angelo Tringali exchanging riffs galore, a true trademark of the band. You can sense the urgency, as if they are being hunted down and Scalzi’s vocal performance drags you into the icy planet of Mithril.
“The Black Circle” is a short instrumental piece, however it invokes more drama and tension into the narrative of the EP before the “Mission to Mithril” explodes and you are left with this overwhelming desire to rock your head along whilst staring into space in search of the Professor. The solo midway through is excellent and the drums are given a proper working over by Austen Krater, who is “a prolific writer and contributed to many of the songs”.
“The Ephemeral Gardens” bounds onwards and I find myself being quite uplifted when I listen to it as it has that grandiose feeling, full of self-importance and I bloody love it. Again, the guitars sound strong and powerful, and you can sense the hybrid dog man going about his business. The icy chill of the planet comes across on “Magnetic Fluctuations” as the weird and bizarre comes to life in the song. With an anthemic riff, I feel like this is the leader that we are all being told to follow.
“Ice Shelf Stomp” adds more curiosity to the music but the rhythm flows so effectively, with bassist Adrian Maestes getting in on the act. And then you get hit by the glorious solo, that fits in seamlessly. A simple riff greets you at the start of “Vargr Reprise” and is complimented by the other instruments to produce a song of galactic proportions to bring a galloping end to the Traveller revival.
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