Band:	The Lord Weird Slough Feg
Album:	Digital Resistance
Style:	Heavy metal
Release date:	February 2014

01. Analogue Avengers/Bertrand Russell's Sex Den
02. Digital Resistance
03. Habeas Corpsus
04. Magic Hooligan
05. Ghastly Appendage
06. Laser Enforcer
07. The Price Is Nice
08. Curriculum Vitae
09. The Luddite
10. Warrior's Dusk

Slough Feg's take on heavy metal never sounds out of time or place. Their sound is something which borrows from tradition but they always remain relevant and continually inventive, and after a four year silence I'm pleased to say that this is still very much the case with their ninth set of cleverly constructed tunes, boldly entitled Digital Resistance.

For those not yet acquainted, Slough Feg is fondly known nowadays for their injection of Thin Lizzy inspired hard rock into a classic heavy metal frame. It's "classic" in the sense that they're often associated with the likes of fellow Americans Brocas Helm as much as Iron Maiden and all manner of stylistic stalwarts in between. Yet Slough Feg is Slough Feg. No one sounds quite like them, avid purveyors of the fresh riff that they are, and they've being doing as much since 1990.

The daunting task of delivering unique yet fittingly traditional heavy metal in this day and age is something they never seem to have trouble achieving. Mike Scalzi and co. are more than up to this task here; Scalzi's vocals sounding as charismatically enthused as ever, this time belting out lines decrying the modern world's compulsive absorption by all things digital. As always, perhaps even more than ever, things come across as lively, spontaneous and brimming with raw character. The reduction of the play length of their records seems to emphasise this impromptu nature, though Digital Resistance is a bit longer than its predecessor.

After something of an uninspired slump in The Animal Spirits, which found the band convincingly yet uncharacteristically paying more obvious homage to the heavy metal sounds of old, Digital Resistance comes as a surprise as it is a clearer shift toward the other end of their style, hard rock. While still being firmly rooted in heavy metal tones there is a noticeably prominent rock inflection to the rhythms and guitar harmonies in many a track, "The Price Is Nice" being a representative example, and this occurs more-so than can be said of any of their previous releases. Wonderfully though, such a change isn't disconcerting in the slightest. In fact, the band seems to enjoy this side of their sound, which hitherto hasn't been explored to such an extent; Digital Resistance is an album which entertainingly strengthens an aspect of their style. I can only hope that this new found strength will serve as a lynchpin for any future exploits.

But, before I get ahead of myself, this particular exploit has a really nifty feature which I would be remiss not to mention. It has the immediate and playful use of organ, handled here by Scalzi, in the album opener "Analogue Avengers / Bertrand Russell's Sex Den," and its brief addition to this one track is just as arousing as its title would imply. At the opposite end the closer "Warrior's Dusk" has the character of a Slough Feg standard, and as such it's a fitting finale to the album and sees the band finish things in fine form.

The production of Digital Resistance is well suited throughout to best bring the hard rock nature of the record to the fore, but still provide a satisfyingly weighted sound for the heavier segments with an allowance for the percussion to pounce clearly through the abundance of guitar licks and leads.

The only major drawback with the album is that the longer tracks "Habeas Corpsus" with its country western acoustic and the half-instrumental "Curriculum Vitae" tend to get bogged down by fixed rhythms and repetition. Sure Harry Cantwell is nimble at the kit as usual but Scalzi's songwriting isn't impeccable for the album's entirety. Having said that, one track which stands out well, appropriately titled "Ghastly Appendage" for impact, was penned by Angelo Tringali and it ably adds to the dynamic of the record with its infectious beat.

After the longest wait for a new Slough Feg record in the band's history, Digital Resistance comes as a most welcome and timely reminder that they are just as relevant as ever.