USA, 2009, IRON KODEX RECORDS

Ever since the release of their self-titled debut album in the mid-90s, San Francisco-based classic metallers SLOUGH FEG have been one of the most astonishing and unique sounding hard rockers around. Honestly, I love this band to death and I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that there has hardly been another underground metal band in the last two decades that can keep pace with singer/guitarist Mike Skalzi and his crazy gang in terms of creativity, playfulness and sheer musical genius. You don't believe me? Well, then why don't you just buy the band's new album "Ape Uprising" and listen for yourself?

Cause SLOUGH FEG's seventh full-length output does once again turn out to be a truly amazing testimony of near perfect hard rock and heavy metal music. Being a band that never ceases to dumfound its fans, SLOUGH FEG start the album with a rather untypical song, namely the slow and creepy opener "The Hunchback Of Notre Doom", which is a classic doom metal monster in the glorious tradition of BLACK SABBATH, CATHEDRAL and Co. With riffs like bulldozers, rhythms like hailstones and vocals like lion's roars, this incredibly heavy song crushes your neck to pieces right from the start and makes sure that even after almost two decades of hard rockin', SLOUGH FEG is still always good for a nice surprise.

Next in line is the short, in-your-face rocker "Overborne", which is followed by the 10+ minutes title track "Ape Uprising", an out-of-this-world epic that embodies everything that makes SLOUGH FEG so special... MAIDEN'esque complexity, THIN LIZZY-styled twin guitars, JUDAS PRIEST'ian heaviness and AC/DC-like rock'n'roll attitude mix with the bands very own, slightly grumpy 80s metal sound and create a simply breath-taking oldschool metal whirlwind that will surely knock every dedicated headbanger flat to the ground. Next to the outstanding music, the lyrics, which tell the story of man's downfall and the taking-over of the world by a population of power-crazy monkeys, are damn awesome, too, and well worth reading.

The A-side of this record is then closed by the furious 'n frantic "Simian Manifesto", another prime example of kick-ass metal mania, whose lyrics once again deal with the entertaining yet thoughtful topic of ape supremacy.

The songs on side B, on the other hand, are a bit less epic and complex than the ones on side A, but definitely equally as good. Powerful tunes like "Shakedown At The Six", "Ape Outro" and "Nasty Hero" put more emphasis on the bands straight-forward side and smash your head right off your neck with sheer energy and musical force. Fast-paced, dynamic and seemingly unstoppable, these fantastic rock'n'metal anthems will hardly leave you any time to catch your breath.

And last but not least, there's also the incredible "White Cousin", a rather melodic number whose catchy verse and striking chorus, once heard, will be stuck in your ears for days and weeks to come.

Honestly, every single song on "Ape Uprising" is a born-and-bred hit and if the music business was at least remotely close to a fair venture, SLOUGH FEG would sell millions of albums and play in front of sold-out crowds of thousands and thousands of fans... but as we all know, this ain't the case and hence no more than 666 strictly limited copies of this instant classic have been pressed. So better hurry and get your LP soon, cause once all copies are gone, the prices on ebay will most likely rise to the sky in next to no time (just as it's also been the case with all of SLOUGH FEG's previous LPs).

Those of you who don't have a turntable at home can surely also get the CD version on CRUZ DEL SUR RECORDS, but at least in my opinion the beautifully layouted LP on IRON KODEX is much more recommended, cause the fantastic songs sound even better on vinyl and the awesome artwork looks much cooler in 12" format. But that's just my opinion and in the end it doesn't matter too much whether you buy the CD or LP, as long as you buy this amazing album at all.

5 out of 5

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