Dr. Slaggleberry - The Slagg Factory [EP]

Crash Records

September 14, 2009, 10:08 PM

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Pleasantly brash.

Dr. Slaggleberry are a band that are filled with the joys of spring and portray this through technical metal that sounds as though it was found in an alleyway. Slightly sludgy without being too messy. Technical without being confusing. They take the key aspects of instrumental metal but leave out the negative issues that many people find off putting about the genre. Although theirs is a style that's been around for a while, I find many reviews around that are acting as though Dr. Slaggleberry have invented a new style of music, and while this is obviously not the case, it's not often that I find it done so well.

The absence of vocals is a major point that will either turn you towards this band or away from them. I personally feel that it allows you to dwell more on the music itself and listen intently to it rather having someone rabbiting on about some irrelevant rubbish. Dr. Slaggleberry remind me a lot of the band Mr. Bungle and while Mr. Bungle does not have the medical degree that Dr. Slaggleberry has, Dr. Slaggleberry has a far simpler sound and is a lot more friendly to the listener, whilst being less abusive and more accessible to the general public. I think Dr. Slaggleberry sound like really nice people. Just from the sounds that they are producing, you can tell that they are loving what they're doing and aren't compromising it in order to please anybody. If you like them, they they are pleased and if you don't, then don't listen. They won't lose any sleep over it.

We start with 'Feed Me A Stray Cat' which leads us down the dark path with a long slow introduction which builds up into the first frenzy of fretwork and musical scattery. Sludgy bass, and light guitar complement each other well and drive the track forwards. Some may find the relentless shifts between skattish, irregular rhythms and slow chugging repetition tedious, so watch out for that, but if you press through, you will end up enjoying the ride. '13 Grades of Filth' continues in the same way, with slight shifts towards a more regular metal rhythm. The guitar being a substitute for vocals, weaving a musical thread through the looping bass, tying the whole thing together and causing the competition to be very engaging.

'845' starts with a twinkly intro that forces you to itchingly wait for something to kick in. Two minutes later and they thankfully scratch that itch by launching into that now pleasantly familiar mess of low frequency noise. 'Bastard Brew', and it's more of the same. How I now wish for something to break up the relentless and exhausting riffs. The repetition is now beginning to take it's toll and I feel now that lyrics may have been useful at this junction. Not that I'm disliking it, but I bore very easily and the need for something slightly varying is a strong one during 'Bastard Brew'.

'Gone Devil', finishes off the EP strongly and provides the most dynamic track. The adjectives are starting to run out by this point, as the subtle differences between the tracks become ever more apparent. A very abrupt ending to this song brings the EP to a very anticlimactic end and leaves me feeling short changed by the whole experience. I had the CD on repeat and I had to go back and double check that I had the songs in the right order, because for such a dynamic band, Dr. Slaggleberry could have finished the EP in a more satisfying way.

We have five very separate tracks, which I think is the wrong way to approach this kind of music, especially as it's instrumental. I want to feel the ebb and flow of the music. I want to be taken on a journey that doesn't have too many pit stops. It's like going for a drive in the country and needing to stop for a toilet break every 5 minutes, it just gets a bit annoying after a while. You need to move from one stage to another with a smooth transition.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the music, there are some gaping holes in the presentation of the music, which did give me cause for concern. Maybe performing live, Dr. Slaggleberry fill the holes that are caused by recording to record.

I'd say Dr. Slaggleberry are a band to watch out for in the future.

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