We are the apes. We share the same ancestry as the rest of music fandom, but they call us animals. We don't care. It means we don't waste time listening to annoyingly jangly guitars and really catatonic drummers or trying to decipher incoherent faux-meaningful lyrics ripped from some whining lead singer's high school notebooks. Instead, we get to listen to cool stuff, like the new Slough Feg album. 

Slough Feg, for those who don't know, are easily among today's best purveyors of traditional epic metal pleasures. Think Manilla Road spliced with Thin Lizzy. And yes, I know that spells awesome. Any Slough Feg album is going to bristle with intricate, infectious Lizzy-esque dual guitar melodies, galloping riffs and lots and lots of juicy solos. This album brings all of the above, along with a guitar tone that's maybe a bit crisper and more heavy than previously. The change hasn't marred their sound in any way, because apart from the tone, Slough Feg hasn't tried to update their sound in any way. And what a good thing that is, you'll think to yourself, as you listen to the glorious twin melodies of the title track, the doomy throb of the album opener, 'The Hunchback Of Notre Doom, the guitar pyrotechnics on 'Simian Manifesto' or the way-cool electric/acoustic dynamics on 'White Cousin'. Mike Scalzi and second guitarist Angelo Tringali seem to have unlocked some heavy metal horn of plenty, as they fire off one awesome riff or solo after another. Then there's Scalzi's voice, a stretched-to-the-limit heavy metal tenor yowl that turns everything it intones into an instant anthem, from the 'Never coming down from the trees/never bending down on my knees' refrain of 'Simian Manifesto' to those lyrics on the title song that inspired the first para of this review, or the frantic verses of 'Shakedown'.

Is this the best Slough Feg album yet? Personally, I thought the last album, Hardworlder, was one of their best, and this album has elements of that sound along with the more folksy emphasis of Down Among The Deadmen. Let's just say it's a solid Slough Feg album, and that automatically places it very high in the heap indeed. Certainly it's the first album in a while that I thought was actually a bit short (which, at about 37 minutes, it really is). A definite essential for metalheads, rockers and other refugees from the planet of the apes.



Year of Release: 2009
Label: Cruz Del Sur