Slough Feg

San Francisco's forward-thinking revisionist heavy metal outfit, fronted by vocalist and guitarist Mike Scalzi, operated for a decade and issued four records beneath the cumbersome handle the Lord Weird Slough Feg before trimming the name to Slough Feg ahead of their fifth full-length, Atavism, in 2005. At that juncture the lineup still featured enduring guitarist John Cobbett, a recurring Scalzi associate best known for his work in the cult prog-metal group Hammers of Misfortune, alongside drummer Greg Haa, yet both musicians soon exited, leaving only the more recently arrived bassist Adrian Maestas to anchor the next effort, the characteristically eccentric and science-fiction-themed Hardworlder. That album introduced six-stringer Angelo Tringali and drummer Antoine Reuben, though Reuben was in turn succeeded by Harry Cantwell in time for the 2009 release Ape Uprising!, whose songwriting fused the prehistoric and futuristic motifs of the preceding pair of records while arguably surpassing both in overall strength. Issued by Profound Lore, Animal Spirits appeared in 2010, with Digital Resistance following in 2014.