When it comes to bands like Slough Feg, talk is cheap. They’ve been around for more than I care to remember without feeling like an old fart, and on their 8th album entitled `Animal Spirits` they still deliver their brand of 80’s proto metal with folk and 70’s rock touches, as effectively as ever.
Granted that some of their albums were more groovy, hard rock oriented or just plain weird than others, so I’d say this one picks up where it’s predecessor `Ape Uprising` left off, that is somewhere between their `Down among the Deadmen` and `Atavism` records. As with all their releases, each and every song positively oozes with character, from the storming opener `Tricking the Vicar`, to the almost tribal tinge of `Lycanthropic Fantasies`, and the very Brocas Helm sounding closing track `Tactical air war` with non other than Helm’s Bobby Wright as guest vocalist, there’s really no fillers to speak of. The only downside to this release lies in the non existent booklet, which is literally a two page slip with lyrics to a single song on one side and the album credits on the other. Inexcusable slacking on behalf of Cruz Del Sur in my humble oppinion.
If you’re a Slough Feg fan, you’ll have invested anyway. If you’ve never heard of them before and you fancy a unique cross between Thin Lizzy, early Maiden and Brocas Helm, but with tons of character, give them a try and discover what you’ve been missing out!
Tons of respect and a lot of thanks to Mike Scalzi for all the great metal he’s been feeding us since 1996 (earlier if you count the demos)… damn I’m getting old!
