Any Colour You Like
The Slagg Factory is the latest mini-album release from British instrumental metal maniacs Dr. Slaggleberry. For those unacquainted with the Doctors, the three-peice play a technical and challenging style of progressive metal that fuses several influences into a raw and powerful mix.
The Slagg Factory builds around dense guitar patterns and a heavy percussion section that seems to flow at will between odd time signatures and Meshuggah-like grooves. Indeed, the liquid crisp progression of the instrumental chaos at times has a jazz-like fluidity, before thumps of gritty metal remind the listener to keep their feet on the ground at all times. The dirty, almost primal bellow of the guitar section and the wild percussion flourishes are apt to give the illusion that far more is going on than what appears on first listen. Indeed, the jazzy-metallic fusion creates a unique atmosphere, one which suits the instrumental free-form structure of the compositions. Subtle echoes of Thrak era King Crimson are visible, and while The Slagg Factory largely eschews any direct comparison, the experimental edge of the sound only further highlights the potential for expansion the band shows.
While The Slagg Factory is a well rounded release, there is even more room to experiment here. It's not that the release lacks intensity - far from it. But there is potential for Dr. Slaggleberry to expand even further into the realms of chaos and technicality. This is testament to the strength of the core sound and the style that the Doctors are capable of. Recommended without hesitation to all fans of technical and experimental metal.