|
By RYAN MAVITY
Slough Feg is a band so novel I’m tempted to give them points just for having the guts to come out with a futuristic concept album about space travel and intergalactic gobbledygook. Didn’t these dudes get the memo that it’s not 1978 anymore?
Hardworlder is very much a child of the late 1970s and early 1980s, when bands could write pompous, overwrought epics about god only knows what. Hardworlder would have fit perfectly alongside Music from the Elder. In fact, there is a lot of KISS and Iron Maiden influence here, particularly in the “Detroit Rock City”-esque instrumental “Galactic Nomad.”As a band, Slough Feg isn’t bad. They play a clean, somewhat radio-friendly brand of hard rock. As I said, this album is a throwback, and the sound is very much a part of that. Hardworlder is extremely well produced and Slough Feg has some moments when they jam that kick a little ass, particularly guitarist Angelo Tringali on “Frankfurt-Hahn Airport Blues.”
The only problem with the record—and much like the Baltimore Ravens offense, it’s a big problem—is that it’s so over the top and goofy that it’s hard to take it seriously. I am not certain it was the band’s intention to be funny; certainly vocalist Michael Scalzi does not provide many hints with his earnest delivery about topics like mutant waste and whirling vortexes. Slough Feg comes off like Tenacious D without the irony. It’s a bit of a shame because the band has talent. But they are hitching their wagon to a concept that became difficult to take seriously back when Queen did the Flash Gordon soundtrack. |
