Release date: 04/11/25

San Francisco heavy metal band, The Lord Weird Slough Feg, have been around for quite some time, with beginnings with their demo tapes in the early 90’s followed by their first full length album, “Twilight of The Idols” (1998). Their second full length album was released in 2000 titled “Down Among the Deadmen”. In 2003, they released the most notably full length album, “Traveller’. After “Traveller”, they released a couple of splits like, “Gloves of Metal/ Fast Taker” (2001) and “Poisoned Treasures/ Galactic Violator” (2006). The band does have a strong catalog of later albums on their belt, with full length releases: “Atavism” (2005), “Hardworlder” (2007), “Ape Uprising!” (2009), “Digital Resistance” (2014), “New Organon” (2019).

After years of the release of the full length album, “Traveller”, (2003), The Lord Weird Slough Feg have come back to continue the legacy of the album with a new and long awaited 2025 EP! Starting right where “Traveller” left off…

Review

Knife World kicks off with high, intense energy and tempo which instantly caught my attention. Blasting drums, shredding guitar riffs Immediately engulf you in. It has a nice galloping section in the beginning that almost reminds me of Iron Maiden’s “The Trooper”. It is an energetic and fun song to listen to. All around, a great kick start to this EP! (Note: the whole EP tells a story of a character named Baltech Budapest. It is a sci-fi story, all told throughout each track!)

The Black Circle rolls in with almost a doom- like tempo to open the track with slow, melodic guitar riffs and nice drumming to accompany the guitar work. It is a very short track and an instrumental as well, almost feels like a nice transition to the next track. It is a nice little addition to the EP, and great for a quick easy listen with really great guitar work. It is sort of a small instrumentation soundtrack for the story that is being told.

Mission on Mithril begins in with nice catchy riffs, not to keep bringing up the comparison but this track also reminds me of an Iron Maiden track. Gives off “Power slave” vibes, and it is very cool and entertaining nonetheless. Guitar work on this track is the main component in my opinion. The track overall sounds like a nice classic heavy metal tune with a lot of traditional elements mixed into it.

The Ephemeral Glades starts with a bang, the guitars singing just wonderfully which then Mike Scalzi’s vocals come in to give more character to the track. It is another interesting track with fun melodies, and the riff parts on this track are just so catchy to me as well. Makes you want to hum through the melodies, literally as if the guitars are also singing through the track.

Magnetic Fluctuations is an interesting piece, it sounds nice and flowy, light but also knows how to appropriately incorporate more hard hitting moments into the song. The melodies are so intricate, they “fluctuate” just beautifully in the track. The Lyrics also are interesting and made me play a sort of a cool, epic, sci-fi story in my mind.

Ice Shelf Stomp comes stomping in with more commanding tempos, and again, the guitar harmonics are just a great focal point. The guitar work seems to get me each time by how nice and pleasant it is. It sounds a bit more experimental, the bass work is also a great trait that this track presents. Towards the middle- end of the track, we get more guitar shredding and smooth bass lines.

Varger Reprise draws in as the finally track of the EP with heavy, chugging riffs that call to your attention instantly. This track is a bit longer than most of the tracks in “Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades”. The track is the final chapter of this episode (The EP), it centers around the story of Baltech one last time, who has been the hero of the story that the EP had continued on from the previous “Traveller” album. It ends with a nice, strong finish to the whole EP, leaving us wondering what is next in this storyline…

Conclusion

Although the EP is short, it does not miss out on delivering a cool and very interesting approach. It is very creative, especially from a lyric standpoint where the whole EP is essentially centered around a story all throughout the songs. It is different and entertaining especially for the fans that love sci-fi stories/ story-telling; This one is absolutely perfect. Aside from the lyrical and theme aspect of “Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades”, the musicianship is also refreshing and very intricate. It is heavy metal with a dash of more experimental elements that give a lot of the tracks a fascinating twist to each one of the tracks. For those who have not yet checked out their previous album, (Traveller, 2003) I would absolutely, HIGHLY recommend giving it a listen first before digging into this EP (“Traveller Supplement 1: The Ephemeral Glades). A true underrated gem!

TheNwothm Score: 9/10

Links

Bandcamp: https://thelordweirdsloughfeg.bandcamp.com/album/traveller-supplement-1-the-ephemeral-glades

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sloughfegofficial

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sloughfegofficial/

Label:https://www.cruzdelsurmusic.com/