Rockezine.com interview with The Lord Weird Slough Feg on Apr 01, 2003

with Mike Scalzi on Apr 01, 2003


		First of all congratulations with your excellent new album Traveller! Thanks!
		Can you tell us a bit about the origin and the background of the band as well as the recent line-up changes? Well, I don`t know. We`ve been together for 12 years now, or, I guess 11 years really. Only new member is Adrean on bass. He`s cool. Greg and I have been original since the beginning.
		If I’m not mistaken Slough Feg (hopefully shortening your name doesn’t offend you) comes from celtic mythology, how did you come up with this name and what does it exactly represent? Shortening the name is good - check out SLAIN THE BERSERKER on the internet - do a search and you`ll find out all about him, or get the re-release of our first album from Myskatonic Records, and that`ll tell you all about the name. He lives in a cave.
		Celtic mythology seems to play a huge role in your music, is there a reason for this? Not really. My riffs are mostly influenced by Sabbath and Maiden, and somehow they ended up sounding Irish. The lyrics of some of the songs are about Irish mythology because I read some and it sounded like good material for metal songs. Alot of blood spurting and body-bending.
		Your music is on the one hand very classic heavy metal but on the other hand really refreshing. How would you describe Slough Feg’s music in your own words and what bands have influenced you the most? I`m glad you think so, that`s what I try for. A lot of people call us a Maiden rip-off. It`s true to some extent, I’m not denying it. I’m proud of it, but we try to add something new. Thin Lizzy is a big influence as well, but mostly I try to come up with riffs that sound like nobody else’s. Sometimes I succeed.
		What do you think of the current revival of the metal scene, especially in Europe with bands like Hammerfall and Rhapsody pushing the scene forwards? I don`t like those bands. They’re too commercial, but if they push metal, I guess it’s okay. But really I’d like to see people like better music that sounds more real. That stuff all sounds like 80`s pop, not metal. Metal should be more raw!!! They have whiney, gay sounding vocals.
		What do you think of the current metal scene in the USA? Is the same revival going on as in Europe? No. There is no real metal scene in the USA. There’s only an underground one, and even that is small. But there are a small amount of loyal, hard core fans that are great. Mostly there is death and nu-metal. But that`s not real metal, it`s punk and rap. Real metal is almost unknown here. In Europe the underground supporters and labels support us a lot on tour, and we are very grateful to them, these people are truly courageous and deserve to be praised; there are some small labels in the US too who really work hard for their support of true metal. Without the underground we’d be nothing.
		Unfortunately I don’t have the lyrics of your new album, so I was wondering if there was a concept behind Traveller? Yes. A mad scientist is plotting genetic engineering, mixing humans and alien dog-men. Pretty silly, huh? He hires a mercenary to help him collect some funguses from asteroids for this experiment, and it turns into a big mess. The story will be on our website and is in the booklet of the finished CD. It’s insane. Sci-fi all the way in the tradition of the fifties sci-fi authors like Alfred Bester. Read “The Stars My Destination”.
		The great cover artwork is done by Erol Otus, known from his paintings for Dungeons and Dragons in the seventies and eighties. How did he get involved? Erol Otus DID NOT do the artwork. It was done by Martin Hanford from England. He did many heavy metal album covers.
		I hear your live shows are special, can you tell us a bit about them? We try to rock, that`s all I can say. We aren`t as violent as we used to be. But we still use fire and war paint. Mostly we try to rock out though.
		Will Slough Feg tour in Europe? YES. But not immediately.
		What bands would you like to tour with most? Solstice (RIP) Twisted Tower Dire, Sacred Steel!!! I want to tour with Brocas Helm too, they`re my neighbours.
		What are the future plans of Slough Feg? Any dreams or hopes? I want to put out another album next year. As long as that happens I`m okay. More extensive touring would be great, but that takes $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$, we usually have to shell out cash for our own tours and hope to sell a lot of t-shirts. It’s tough.
		Thank you very much for this interview! Is there anything you want to add? Check out the Traveller web-ring. Do a search for it on the internet to find out more about the record. Enjoy it!! Thanks for the interview; we won`t be in mainland Europe this summer, but perhaps in England and Ireland. AXES & HONOR!!!
(Frank van de Voorde)