PlanetMosh Keeping it Metal
Slough Feg have been around since the early 90’s and have released 8 critically acclaimed studio records as well as numerous splits and played worldwide to a loyal fanbase. Whilst they may not be familiar to most, once heard they will never be forgotten.
Mike Scalzi of Slough Feg took some time out to discuss the latest record “Digital Resistance” and what it means for the band to move to Metal Blade records. Not a man to mince his words and is 100 percent certain of what he wants.
This is the 9th album and once again of high quality. How would you describe the Slough Feg sound?
I would not describe it, unless someone asked who doesn’t know anything about metal I suppose. Like a lot of people in bands I hate talking about my band in everyday conversation. If I have to describe it to anyone who asks in polite conversation then I tell them its heavy metal. If they ask “Like what?”, I tell them it’s like Maiden and Priest or if they’re older I say Jethro Tull, even though I’m not really much of a Jethro Tull fan, I use that reference because a lot of older people know them, and their general style could be considered similar to ours.
With signing to Metal Blade how do you see this affecting your profile? Are you concerned with cries from the underground of sell out?
No, I’m not concerned about that at all. First of all because in order to ‘sell out’ you have to make some money. We are not making any, so there’s goes the ‘sell-out’ argument. Even if we were making money though, I would not listen to anyone who thought we sold out. This record is no more commercial sounding than anything else we’ve done. And after 8 albums why not try a bigger label? What do we have to lose?
Slough Feg tends to be a thematic band -taking a subject and exploring it over an album. Do these themes present themselves naturally or is there a concerted effort to go looking for something out of the ordinary?
No, there’s no conscious effort. Pretty much everything comes naturally, the songs, the melodies, the lyrics. That is not to say that it’s easy or doesn’t require tedious work, because it does. It’s 90% perspiration, 10% inspiration, like a lot of creative stuff, however the themes just come usually from conversation within the band or with friends or whatever. You can’t force these things, they have to come naturally.
With such a unique sound where do you feel you fit best in the overall scheme of things whether that be with like minded bands or a particular sub genre?
I have no idea, and honestly I don’t care and I’m not saying that just to sound underground or non-commercial, I would take the money, the fame etc. in a second. I just don’t want to think about sub genres much because the whole idea bores me. There was a time when sub-genres did not exist, and there was a lot better music back then in my opinion. I’m not totally against sub-genres, because of course some of this kind of classification helps us gain acceptance but it also narrows a lot of people’s and band’s tastes and writing. I just don’t want to hear about “true doom” or “true metal” or whatever; I think that’s all bullshit. Play the record, if you like it you like it, if you don’t you don’t. Who cares what the associations are between this band and that, this scene and that, who knows who, etc. that’s what sub-genres end up doing. They end up limiting the way you approach and hear the music. It’s all bullshit. If you wanna sound like Alice Cooper/Van Halen/ Sir Lord Baltimore, then go ahead, great. It might be really cool- but why does it have to have a name? Why can’t you just say “It sounds like Van Halen”, instead of when asked “what does that band sound like?” “Oh, they play Emo-Crust” or somewhat ridiculous horse-shit like that”. Why not just say, “Oh, they’re really into Joy Division but they can’t play their instruments that well.”
What form does the writing process take? Is it a band effort or do you bring full songs to the table?
I write parts on my own, you know, riffs and melodies. Then I bring them to the practice room, and of course they always sound different with the full band. So then we try to work them out and write new parts and transitions down there, and that’s the difficult part. It’s very difficult to write a metal song on your own, because the drums and bass play such a role. I suppose you could write a Beatles type song or an acoustic song on your own more easily. Most of my songwriting is a very unconscious process, like most songwriters. I guess that sort of contradicts what I said above about inspiration/perspiration (unless of course, I perspire unconsciously). I guess I mean to say that the inspiration comes sort of spontaneously, and then it’s up to you to make it a coherent song or statement. I don’t sit around thinking “what’s the next song or album going to be about?”. Ideas just come and they develop (hopefully) with the band.
What recording process do you use and which do you prefer? Analogue or digital? Did the band spend a lot of time in the studio together or was it recorded alone without each member bothering the other?
Well I believe the answer to the first question should be fairly obvious. We sort of have to do a lot of it digitally, for money reasons, etc. We spend the first third of the studio time together doing the rhythm tracks, then it’s mostly myself and the engineer. One of the reasons for this is that the studio is outside of the city, so it is kind of a trek and therefore unless you have to be there, you don’t go. I always want a more live feeling, with the whole band there in the studio, however it doesn’t always work out that way.
Slough Feg have always been very individualistic with their presentation of records and as a live unit, will the shift to metal blade change any of this?
That’s a weird question. Would you like me to say “Oh, the next album is going to be a totally generic metal album!!? It’s going to sound just like Helloween!! We’re going to get very bland and just play power-metal from now on, and sound like every European band.”
Signing to Metal Blade is just a step towards a larger audience, hopefully. That’s all. I see no reason and feel no pressure from anyone at all to change our sound.
Over the years there have been some great split 7s with the likes of Solstice and Twisted Tower Dire, are there any plans to do more things like this or will it be strictly the album tour routine from now on?
I want to do a 7″ every year. Obviously we did one last year with Laser Enforcer. This year I want to do one with a couple of covers. I love doing covers, a lot of bands shy away from it, but I love it, I’ve been writing songs for so long that it’s good to have a break.
On this n
ew record there is more use of the acoustic guitar in the background much like the way 70s bands such as Kiss and Thin Lizzy would have used. Is this a choice to further enhance the connection with the older bands or simply what the songs required?
Both. It is just what the songs seemed to require. I’m writing songs now that seem to go well with some background acoustic guitars that’s all. It’s not in an effort to actually sound like anyone, but we are perhaps doing it for the same reason they did, to enhance the way the song sounds, so there is some connection perhaps. I’m actually surprised people are hearing those guitar tracks, in a lot of cases they are pushed way to the background of the recording.
Do the members have any other side projects or involved with any other bands we should be on the look out for?
Anglo has a great new psyche band in which he sings and plays guitar. They are called the “Tomb Weavers”, and they are really good. They just put out a 7” last year on Burger Records, and it sounds really good.
What are the touring plans? Will we see more extensive gigging in the UK?
No gigs scheduled for UK right now, unfortunately and the UK is my favourite part of Europe!! I love Ireland and England (have not been to Scotland). Something really gets me about London and Dublin, I have so much fun there. However we will be doing a short Euro-tour in late May, in Sweden, Norway, Poland, Austria, Germany and Italy. I am looking forward to it quite a bit actually.
Going out on the road with such an extensive back catalogue how will you balance a live set? Are there any plans for special one off shows? – perhaps playing the whole of the new record or maybe Traveller?
We have a lot of arguments about this!! I’m always in favour of doing more new stuff, and my band wants to do more old stuff!! We try to pick a variety of songs, hitting all the periods of Slough Feg, if not all of the albums. It’s hard to do something from every album, but we try to hit most of them. The current set we do hit every album apart from “Hardworlder”, well, actually we do “Tiger Tiger” sometimes, so maybe when we come to Europe we’ll do something from each album. I don’t want to do everything from any one album though; I think that would get boring.
If you were given the choice which bands would you like to take to the road with to spread your message?
I don’t know. We play live in the Midwest with ‘Bible of the Devil”, that’s probably my favourite US band. We’re doing some shows with them again in July. We make a really good live package, and they are the most fun guys to hang out with. It is hard to find a band whose music you really love, and you love to hang out with—- but when you find that band it is great. We’ve had similar relationships in the past with Solstice, Twisted Tower Dire, Iron Sword, and some other bands. Bible of the Devil are our longest standing touring partners, they embody the spirit of rock and roll and are touring more than any band I’ve ever played with. They are from Chicago, which is a really great city to hang out in, so I always look forward to shows there with them.
So there you have it a snapshot into the world of Slough Feg. Their new record “Digital Resistance” is out now on Metal Blade records and is another triumph in a long line of stellar records. They have such a rich back catalogue grab it all and hear glorious metal played with conviction that bows down to no-one.
http://planetmosh.com/slough-feg-digital-resistance-metal-blade/
