THE LORD WEIRD SLOUGH FEG is the epitome of underground metal. It’s hard to tell if they dwell in the fertile underlands by choice or as a matter of forced exile. Their style of metal is avant-garde, experimental, and curious. Not quite progressive, but also far from the well-trodden roads of any subgenre. They essentially respect no borders—they play whatever and however the fuck they want. No trends, no motifs, no rules. I get the feeling that if they ever emerged from the underground—e.g. scored airtime, started trending on Spotify, became the darlings of KEXP—they would spontaneously ignite like Nosferatu sunning in Death Valley at noon in July.      

For those new to the church of SLOUGH FEG, the band formed in the ancient times of 1990 in the hinterland of mythical San Franciso. The band name in its full iteration is taken from the main villain of the Sláine graphic series. If you don’t know who this is, just pick up an issue of 2000 AD magazine anywhere between 1983 to now.

SLOUGH FEG, the band not the anti-hero, has produced ten full-length studio albums, plus numerous splits, a live album, and as of April 19, 2024, two compilations. Their latest collection, “Radical Man,” compiles some of the finest representations from the early 1990’s, which frontman and main songwriter Mike Scalzi has characterized as “the most creative, most prolific period of SLOUGH FEG songwriting.” The album also includes the previously unreleased title-track, “Radical Man,” a demo version of “Highway Corsair,” and six tracks that were until now only available as bonus track to the reissues.  

The album is clearly a fans collection piece, so I’m not going to go on about the virtues of the band or try to describe their eclectic style. I will say the album excels in several fronts. One, it makes some otherwise hard-to-find tracks easily accessible. Not everyone wants to buy reissues or has the disposable income to do so. Second, it also captures a unique time in SLOUGH FEG history. It’s hard to call it a ‘hungry wolf’ era because SLOUGH FEG seems to perpetually reside in that state of being.

Most people remember the 1990’s as one of the biggest decades for Metal, dominated by bands like PANTERA, TOOL, and METALLICA and that whole grunge thing. SLOUGH FEG ran counter to all that. Sure, you can say there are Prog elements in their music and maybe even a breath of Thrash and NWOBHM and all the rest of it, but they didn’t milk those elements for commercial success. SLOUGH FEG in the 1990’s was the fermentation of the underground Metal scene, and the “Radical Man” compilation is the high-octane distilled product, bottled and sealed for your listening pleasure.